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A
coworker of mine was recently reprimanded by our boss because of her poor
performance. Ever since that time she (and also our boss) has been monitoring the work of the other
members of the department - if someone gets a phone call or has a discussion
with another person, she writes the date and time spent on a steno pad in her
office! She isn't trying to hide the fact that she's doing this - she has
already admitted it to a few of us. If she has enough time to keep track of
everyone else's workday, she can't be improving her performance! If she takes
this "list" to Human Resources, what are our rights? We all have job
related discussions during the day, as well as business phone calls - how do we
know she's not writing these down too? Can anything be done?
Signed,
Being Watched
Dear Watched:
You don't have any rights when it comes to being monitored by your boss. Aside from watching you in the restroom, your boss can monitor every aspect of your workday including phone calls, emails, and can even keep videotape of the work area. It's all legal, but is it a good idea? Probably not.
You would agree that some monitoring of employees is necessary, especially in workplaces where there has been theft, unethical behavior, or actions which have been detrimental to productivity. However there is a point at which heavy monitoring can be detrimental to morale. This is obviously the case in your workplace.
The situation is not without remedy. Depending on your relationship with your boss, you might want to discuss the matter with her. Explain to her that the excessive monitoring is hurting morale. Tell her that you understand her concern and hope that all can share the responsibility for making the department focused on delivering high productivity, ethical behavior, and a team spirit. It may be that your boss feels that she is the only person who cares if things are done right. If all the other workers knew that the previously reprimanded worker was out of line but said or did nothing to remedy the situation, she may have an understandable "them against me" view. An effective team has a system of checks and balances to ensure quality and productivity. Let your boss know that she does not have to serve as the checks and balances by herself.
If your relationship with your boss does not allow you to talk candidly about the issues mentioned above, you can always make a preemptive strike by going directly to HR. Tell HR that your boss has been monitoring everyone's actions and that if accusations are going to made, you'd all like a chance to respond. That may serve to 1) give you a chance to respond if necessary; and 2) let HR know about the monitoring. It may be that HR does not know and would not like this monitoring of employees. You might also tell HR that this excessive monitoring is causing lowered morale and culture of suspicion.
Neither of these approaches are risk-free and your choice of what to do must be based on your relationship with your boss and the status and strength of your HR department. Whatever you decide to do, make the focus on improving quality and trust, not on keeping people in line. The approach your boss is taking might prevent a host of bad things from happening, but you'll never raise quality above mediocre unless you have cohesiveness and some degree of freedom to do your job.
WEGO is about pro-active employee involvement, not distance through defensiveness.
Dan West