The evolution of surveillance technology is a direct result of a push to maximize productivity. .
Electronic surveillance is widely used in the contemporary U.S workplace. The 1991 Privacy for Workers and Consumers Act defines electronic surveillance as.
the collection, storage, analysis, or reporting of information concerning an employee's activities by means of a computer, electronic observation and supervision, telephone service observation, telephone call accounting, or other form of visual, auditory, or computer-based technology which is conducted by any method other than direct observation by another person, including the following methods: Transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature which are transmitted in whole or in part by wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric, or photo-optical system (U.S House of Representatives 1991: Sec 2 No 1).
Although it is hard to know exact numbers of how many companies use surveillance, many indicators show that surveillance has largely increased over the last decade or two. In 1993, Mac World concluded that 20 million workers in America were under surveillance through only computers. In companies with more than 1000 employees, 30% searched employees computer files, emails and voice mails. That is 10 percent more than the average. Another type of surveillance used by companies is random testing for alcohol and drugs (Pipe 1993: 273). In 1996, The American Management Association stated that 81.1% of the Fortune 500 companies used some sort of surveillance. Company surveys are, however, not the only way to see that electronic surveillance is on the rise. Another indicator of the rise is the increasing sales of electronic surveillance equipment. In a hearing in Congress, Morton Bahr testified that the amount of money spent on surveillance equipment from 1985 to 1988 rose 200%. In 1991, employers spent 175 millions dollars on surveillance.