When it comes to electronic surveillance of employees, as the TV ad says, "Just because you can do it, doesn't mean you should."

Most companies now have the means to conduct electronic surveillance of their employees' at work, since so much that employees do passes through company computer networks. But should you peek? Susan Heathfield, HR consultant and guide to Human Resources on about.com, recently sorted out the pros and cons:

Pros of Electronic Surveillance

Heathfield gives three examples where electronic evidence led to terminations or resignations of employees who were engaging in unacceptable behavior.

1. An employee watching pornographic movies in his cubicle.
2. A supervisor who spent hours a day surfing the Web, visiting recipe sites, chatting on message boards, checking job listings, and answering personal e-mail.
3. An employee doing the bookkeeping for her personal business on company time (and the company's computer).

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The examples above typify some of the general reasons to monitor employee computer use:

Productivity. Every hour spent on personal pursuits is an hour not providing the services that would advance your business.

Nature of sites visited. Objectionable material visible on screen or forwarded as e-mail or in instant messages can create the potential for a hostile work environment claim.

Concern about the record. As discovery requests routinely include e-mail, employers are concerned about what might show up in a legal action.

And, we'll add one more reason for surveillance: Just the awareness that it’s happening may deter employees from inappropriate actions.

Cons of Electronic Surveillance

The primary reasons why employers might not want to engage in electronic surveillance are culture and morale, says Heathfield. After all, you're trying to build a culture that fosters trust and employee commitment, and surveillance may work against that goal.

The fact is that, although your surveillance may catch a few bad apples, your good employees, the ones who follow the rules, are going to feel less trusted and may contribute less as a result.

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Another complicating factor is that the line between work and home activity is becoming more and more blurred. So, yes, a manager might spend hours at work doing personal tasks online, but that same manager may spend even more hours at home doing work-related online research.

You can easily stop the employee from spending the hours at work on personal business, but in so doing, you'll probably also curtail the hours spent at home that benefit the organization.

Then, says Heathfield, there are legal issues. Primarily, these concern privacy rights. Although you generally may do monitoring for business reasons, especially if you have given notice, there is still the threat of privacy-based lawsuits.

Bottom line: Employers need to seek a balance between their need to engage in surveillance and the negative reactions that employees—especially the best employees—will certainly have.

However you decide to proceed, Heathfield says, do the following:

▪ Develop a computer, Internet, and e-mail policy.
▪ Train on the policy so workers are familiar with your expectations and intentions.
▪ Ask them to certify in writing that they have read and understand the policy.

Then, take a deep breath … and trust them.