Is it irritating when somebody is watching you all the time? Can you stand somebody’s supervision especially when you are working? It is high time you got used to it. More than every second Russian employee is under surveillance of “the glassy eye”. Video cameras obtrusively rush in office life, break customs and set new rules. Stay on alert! A step to the right or a step to the left may be regarded as an escape, while a jump – as an attempt to fly away.
 |
|
|
 |
| Covert video surveillance becomes widespread in Russian offices |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Birthdays and various parties that used to be boisterous office merrymaking turned into mere tea-parties. There is no rumour-mongering in the smoking room any more, but there is more distrust and intimidation for directors. Employees miss the times when they could move around the office without leaving their chairs and play with crumpled paper balls in their free time. Colleagues became humble and hardworking; they come to work as per schedule, spend minimum time for dinner and fully devote themselves to work.
Does that sound familiar to you? Most of you work in companies equipped with video surveillance systems. As it turns out, video surveillance affects employee’s work more significantly than other control methods (wiretapping, looking through emails and reading the most frequently visited websites).
Directors’ interest in work of their employees is quite understandable. Indeed it is important for the working process how disciplined employees are, when they come to work and whether they pay too much attention to talks and things damaging to work. The surveillance of their day provides the employer with all the necessary information about his employees and helps learn whether they spend their working time efficiently and rationally. Besides, such data enable them to discover imminent conflicts and to settle them in good time. That is why Russian companies follow the Western fashion and install video surveillance systems.
Meanwhile, it is not so very simple to install video surveillance systems in offices, for it may cause discontent or even protest on the part of employees. It is worth remembering that every citizen of our country has the constitutional right to privacy. However, some lawyers consider that work is not part of privacy and approve of office surveillance. According to them, the time spent at work belongs to a company, since it is “bought” by employers.
Opponents of this approach argue that when performing employment duties every person has his own “immunity zone” and nobody has the right to intrude into it. Thus, before installing a video surveillance system the employer should consult his employees and get their permission for this innovation.
Join Pravda.ru forum. Registration is free and simple
Moderate earthquake hits Indonesia
Forum
STATISTICS
Source: 
