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Is Electronic Surveillance At The Workplace The Iron Cage?

            In the last few years, electronic surveillance at the workplace has skyrocketed. It is becoming an every minute occurrence. This leads many social experts to recall the words of great sociologist such as Weber and Foucault. These two sociologists espoused theories that predicted such an outcome. Weber spoke of the "iron cage" in which workers creative powers and imagination were crushed by the regulations of a powerful bureaucracy. In other words, Weber discussed how rationalization and the formation of large bureaucracy would dehumanize the worker. He theorized that it would happen as bureaucracies pushed for maximum efficiency. There is a direct parallel between Weber's "iron cage" theory and the implementation of wide-scale surveillance at the work place. To achieve the most efficient company, the employers will keep watch on the workers to ensure that they are as productive as possible. However, the workers claim that this makes them feel paranoid and takes away his/her human nature. The more recent sociologist, Michael Foucault had advocated a theory that similarly parallels electronic surveillance at the work place. Foucault argued that the constant development of new technologies that allowed surveillance would be implemented; thus following the historical process in which surveillance increasingly pervades social life. Keeping these social theories in mind, this paper will examine electronic surveillance in the work place. The aspects dealt with are current trends in surveillance and the future of surveillance while looking at who is involved and how surveillance today reflects the social theories proposed many years back. Although there are variations and deviations from the theories of Weber and Foucault, their theories largely coincide with the usage and results of electronic surveillance at the work place; therefore, the further, but not complete, dehumanization of workers seems imminent.


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1. Workplace Surveillance

This highlights the magnitude of workplace surveillance, yet its application is expected to grow significantly more in the near future. ... This has been an area of constant debate ever since workplace surveillance was first introduced, even today there is doubt as to whether specific aspects of workplace surveillance are considered legal or not. ... In the United States, courts tend to favour the employer in workplace surveillance cases. ... Despite the potential obstacles, protection from increasingly intensive electronic surveillance of employees must be sought. At some point in the ...

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2. Electronic Surveillance

Electronic surveillance cameras are now being installed at street crossings, in banks, above freeways, in federal parks, and in the workplace, just to name a few. ... In January 2001, ticketholders to Super Bowl XXXV held in Tampa Bay, Florida, unwitting became victims of electronic surveillance. ... Before long, every city in the United States will consist of some sort of electronic surveillance, whether it is in public areas, traffic lights, or automatic teller machines. While the use of electronic surveillance cameras may be limited to identifying criminals today, tomorrow it could be u...

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3. Workplace Surveillance

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4. Employee Privacy in the Wired Workplace

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5. Workplace Privacy

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6. Concepts of State Surveillance

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7. Privacy

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8. The Workplace and Jail

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9. Workplace Securty

Do we really have our privacy rights in the workplace? ... First ill start off with talking about electronic monotoring. ... On the good side electronic monitoring offers a huge advantage to the employee: it is objective. ... Electronically generated information offers uniform and accurate feedback on past performance. ... Monitoring may also generate concerns about other surveillance methods. ...

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