Privacy Self-Management: A Strategy to Protect Worker Privacy from Excessive Employer Surveillance in Light of Scant Legal Protections

Abstract

This article examines current and future trends in worker surveillance. It also examines the various, though minimal, legal protections workers have against extensive work-related monitoring. With no meaningful legal protections against excessive work-related surveillance, employees are arguably taking matters into their own hands by engaging in deviant behaviors that attempt to thwart surveillance efforts. Factoring in the ethical and managerial dimensions of a workforce under constant and excessive surveillance, this article examines a way forward for workers to engage in self-managed privacy, potentially leading to a less intrusive, but still productive, work environment.