A lack of privacy laws at work, which allows bosses to ‘snoop’ on their staff, is damaging productivity and employee health in UK businesses, a Trades Union Congress (TUC) report has claimed.
The report, published in the TUC’s magazine Hazards, said that with new technology, managers can now monitor the activities of staff constantly, putting them under severe strain.
The TUC said that UK companies regularly eavesdrop on employee telephone calls, measure toilet breaks, monitor emails and internet use.
Hazards also claimed that the “largely unregulated” rise in drug, alcohol and health testing of employees also harmed productivity, and called for new laws to protect the privacy of staff.
According to the TUC, there is a severe lack of privacy regulations at work to protect employees from ‘Big Brother’ employers.
Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, said that Big Brother bosses do not get the best out of employees.
“Staff who are being snooped on are less productive and less healthy.
“There has been an unregulated boom in the intrusive and ineffective drug, drink and health testing of employees.
“The positive step to tackle this needs to be toughened up to make sure tests are only used when absolutely necessary,” he said.
Rory O’Neil, editor of Hazards, said that snooping isn’t just taking liberties, it was pure folly.
“Productivity goes down, accidents, ill health and sick leave go up and the workforce feel more like felons than valued employees.
“If employers want to know what their staff are doing, they should ask them. Consultation and participation aren’t dirty words, they are the key to a productive workplace,” he said.
