Workplace Privacy Laws and Policies - Essay on Human Resources Management

The management team in an organization comes up with policies in the organization that define the workplace policies and ensure privacy laws (MacDougall et al., 2015). Policies help protect the interests of the company as well as limit the exploitation from staffs in using the resources of the organization to engage in personal activities at the expense of the firm. One of the policies that organizations should consider is using all the electronic systems including the email, internet, and others for business-related activities (Jackson, Schuler, & Werner, 2009). However, employees are only allowed to do small assignments that involve their matters using company resources and should only occur during their rimes like during lunchtime breaks. Therefore, employees should always protect the privacy of the company by ensuring that they log off secure data systems that only a few authorized personnel in the firm have access (MacDougall et al., 2015). In addition, no employee should send or receive pornographic material or play games during official working hours. Staffs at the workplace should also log off from personal chat systems that divert their attention from conducting the core functions of the business (Jackson, Schuler, & Werner, 2009). The management of an organization puts this policy in place so that employees can respect the workplace by doing activities that only bring profits to the firm both in the short-term and in the long-term.

Another policy that staffs in an organization should obey is that they must not use the electronic system of the company to misrepresent the firm or abuse other people, which may attract the intervention of law enforcers (Jackson, Schuler, & Werner, 2009). Every employee in a workplace has no right to represent the workplace in any forum unless under instruction. Engaging in personal arguments in online chats using the organizational internet is a misguided perception, and the human resource management has a right to take disciplinary action against staffs. Every employee should protect the interests of the company and should not be a cause for losses in the organization through their actions online (MacDougall et al., 2015). Companies also insist their employees should not use the companys telephone to make personal calls. One of the major actions that management in an organization does is track calls that staffs make randomly, and if anyone is found going against the company policies, they receive disciplinary actions. It helps act as a warning to other employees while factoring in the interests of a workplace (Jackson, Schuler, & Werner, 2009). A company puts the above policy in place so that it can ensure that employees do the right thing at the right time. It is also important for the management of an organization to separate the pleasure and business so that it can reach its objectives and goals using the input of employees.

Employees do not agree and respect policies put in place by the management of organizations since they feel limited in doing their activities. For instance, some employees might want to engage in conversations with their friends and family during work hours because they are available during the day. In addition, employees may want to keep up with each other during the day as they work (MacDougall et al., 2015). However, some employees agree with the policy since it helps the management protect the interests of its firm by reducing the number of time staffs waste engaging in unnecessary activities that add no value to the entity. Nevertheless, employees have no choice but to respect the wishes of the organization and obeying what the management puts in place (Jackson, Schuler, & Werner, 2009). This is because employees must work despite the workplace policies since they need to receive salaries at the end of each month as a reward for providing their services.

Some of the latest workplace privacy policies and related legislation include limiting personal activities during office hours and protection of data security related to the organization. Employees have a responsibility of engaging in work-related activities during office hours and are free to do what they want after they finish their duties (MacDougall et al., 2015). On the other hand, an employee should not use the internet services provided in the workplace to pass hate messages that may contradict the image and position of the organization.

Research on latest Workplace Privacy Policies and Legislation

Workplace policy and legislation Status of Employees Perception of Employees

Limit of engaging in personal activities Protected and no form of exploitation Negative

Protection of data security Protected and no form of exploitation Positive

Employees understand that the management must protect their resources so that they can reach the highest level of performance in the organization (Jackson, Schuler, & Werner, 2009). Policies are in place so that every employee can have a conducive environment where they can perform their duties with ease while reducing any form of distractions. In addition, it is important for the management team to monitor the activities of the organization as it sends a positive message to employees that they are under laws (MacDougall et al., 2015). They must adhere to the laws so that they can secure their jobs. It also helps limit the risk of exposure of business secrets to the outsiders by employees.

References

Jackson, S. E., Schuler, R. S., & Werner, S. (2009). Managing human resources (p. 358). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

MacDougall, A. E., Bagdasarov, Z., Johnson, J. F., & Mumford, M. D. (2015). Managing workplace ethics: An extended conceptualization of ethical sensemaking and the facilitative role of human resources. In Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management (pp. 121-189). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.