Yes, the new Apple® wonder will do everything but stand on its head. But will it answer any of these tech-based workplace challenges? If not, what is the solution?
Earlier this summer, after a massive publicity buildup, Apple (no longer Apple Computer, if you please) introduced the iPhone.
This handy new device brought new talents to the common cell phone. iPhones can surf the Net with laptop-type speed and image quality; store and play music, movies, and data; and, oh yes, make and take phone calls.
The iPhone is the latest example of the revolution that previously brought pagers, cell phones, and the Blackberry® to the workplace. And it’s likely that tech-savvy employees will soon start demanding that you upgrade to this sleek, glassy-faced new gadget.
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While technology has brought massive improvements in both the productivity and “reachability” of employees, it has also brought issues and problems. Some were recently addressed in a BLR audio conference by Diana Gregory, SPHR, an official with Administaff in Walnut Creek, California, and Drew Langevin, a likewise-located HR consultant. Here are some of the problems they brought up:
–“Slurping.” This has nothing to do with the local 7-Eleven® store. It’s the practice of employees siphoning sensitive data off workplace systems and onto their PDA, iPod®, or MP3 units. The data are then offered to competitors for cash or a higher-paying job.
–Harmful Upload. Take action against an unruly worker and he or she may retaliate by uploading a computer virus into your systems.
–Harmful Download. Employees body shifting to hide their monitors as you pass may be retrieving offensive or obscene material. Bad for them. Worse for you. Case law shows that if it happens on your system, you are liable even if you didn’t know about it. Why? Well, you should have known about it. The same goes for discriminatory comments on worker blogs or in chat rooms made from your system.
–Harmful Communications. Offensive or discriminatory messages passed around by email are just as damaging as those spoken and are a lot more easily retrieved in an investigation. The consequences can be severe. One example brought up by Gregory and Langevin: a sexual harassment case based on an email titled “Why Beer Is Better than Women.” The (legal) bar tab was a $2.2 million penalty against the company where it was circulated.
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–Invasion of Privacy. This one comes from the use of surveillance cameras on-site and the location tracking of field workers using GPS-equipped cell phones. In some cases, unions have stepped in demanding that employers stop “prying” on where their workers are and what they’re up to. Some employees have also complained that companies that require them to carry Blackberry-type devices are fostering an addiction to keeping in touch with the company even on off hours, which leads to stress and overwork.
–Reduced Productivity. How can this be when millions of computations can be made in a second? Well, that assumes that workers are actually using the technology to work. In a recent survey partially sponsored by AOL®, workers said they waste 2 hours a day using the devices for personal reasons.
Are you about ready to toss your silicon-based equipment and return to manual typewriters and hand-cranked adding machines? Well, don’t do it just yet. The reason: There are policy solutions to these issues.
We’ll explore those in the next Daily Advisor.
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