Employees and workplace surveillance: Tensions and ways forward

Abstract

We are rapidly entering the age of no privacy where everyone is always open to surveillance, where there are no secrets – William O Douglas. This case aims to explore the effects of camera surveillance on individual behaviour at the workplace. We observe that we unconsciously tend to modify our natural behaviour into a designed one as required by the camera, what is called prosocial behaviour. Workplace surveillance has many advantages and applications for theft detection and employee discipline. However, it also impacts employees who may not be enacting deviant behaviour at the workplace. This issue needs to be addressed, as it can affect not only psychological behaviours leading to unseen disorders, but also productivity at the workplace.