Business Services Industry

Constant conflict - Future Focus

HR Magazine, Dec, 2002 by Dave Patel

Sun Microsystems Chairman and CEO Scott McNealy caused quite a stir a few years ago when, during a session with analysts and reporters, he remarked: "You have no privacy. Get over it." But we're not over it. In fact, the tug-of-war between the need for information and the right to privacy has widened as advances in information technology have emerged during this period of heightened concerns about security. And HR will continually be drawn into the struggle.

The Internet and other technologies are creating a seemingly unlimited capacity for information storage, manipulation and retrieval. Employers track employee Internet and e-mail use, for example. Online retailers gather data on consumers' shopping habits. And personal information such as Social Security numbers and tax returns can be purchased from some vendors.

The potential for abusing such information is large. Tens of thousands of Americans are victims of identity theft each year. Estimates of costs to the economy vary widely. As noted in this month's cover story, "Stolen Identity," on page 30, the No. 1 source of identity fraud is theft of employer records. Personnel files, benefits data, and payroll and tax records--all increasingly stored electronically--are prime targets for thieves.

Concurrently, the war on terrorism has underscored the high value we place on security. Corporations and government agencies are turning to biometric technologies such as retinal scans, fingerprint recognition and digital photographs. In the future, advances in genetics could provide detailed records of individuals' day-to-day activities.

Although employers are stepping up their workplace monitoring for security reasons, many are also doing it to prevent theft of proprietary information, for example, or to stem productivity declines caused by employees using improper web sites when they should be working.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management's 2000 Workplace Privacy Survey, 74 percent of responding employers said they monitor employee Internet use at least some of the time. There's technology now for tracking all the keystrokes on a computer.

As the line between work time and personal time blurs, so too will the line between information that employees consider personal and information that employers consider necessary for protecting and running their businesses. Until clear rules are established in the privacy vs. security debate, employers will have to figure out the issue on their own. And that means HR professionals may have to develop yet another competency.

Going forward, globalization, the 24/7 nature of work and technological advances could further complicate privacy issues. As genetic information becomes as commonly available as blood type, will there be a greater temptation to engage in genetic profiling?

Growing use of digital information could also indirectly affect employment. For example, will people with security clearances have a competitive advantage even for jobs not requiring such clearance?

HR professionals will have to walk the tightrope between employee concerns for privacy and larger concerns for security. Their success will go a long way toward establishing trust in the workplace.

For more information on emerging issues, visit www.shrm.org/trends.> Dave Patel is the manager of workplace trends and forecasting at SHRM.