Privacy in Work

The Privacy of the individual is the most important right. It supports human dignity and other values such as freedom of association and freedom of speech. It has become one of the most important human rights of the modern age. Privacy is recognized around the world in various regions and cultures. Almost every country in the world includes a right of privacy in its constitution. Without privacy, the democratic system that we know would not exist. According to the Australian Privacy Charter "A free and democratic society requires respect for the autonomy of individuals, and limits on the power of both state and private organizations to intrude on that autonomy.

The government we have today maintains and organizes our society. The elements of control are often viewed as violations of privacy. These elements are meant to protect us from irresponsible people and from hurting themselves. The laws that are in place still give privacy without invading personal lives or maybe they do invade in our lives? For some people violating into their personal life doesn't mean anything but for other people it's a huge problem.

"Privacy is only violated when people feel they are being violated"

"If people feel comfortable in their environment then privacy is not a worry"

Privacy in the workplace is also becoming a problem. In American, more and more employers are monitoring their workers at job. In fact, according to the American Management Association, nearly tree quarters of U.S. companies now electronically monitor employees in several ways. Your employer can monitor your Internet usage, what sites you visit, how often, and for how long, as with e-mail. Telephone can also be a threat. If you are on the phone at work, your boss can listen in; your voice mail is also subject to monitoring. Employers own the phone system, so they can generally monitor it as they see well. Your boss can keep a record of the numbers you dial and how long you talk, and can listen to your voice mail messages, although there are some laws preventing companies from listening to employees personal calls.

Furthermore Privacy can be divided into the following separate but related concepts:

First of all we have the information Privacy or Data protection, which involves the establishment of rules governing the collection and handling of personal data such as credit information, and medical and government records.

The second one is the Bodily privacy, which concerns the protection of people's physical selves against invasive procedures such as genetic tests, drug testing and cavity searches. The third one is the Territorial privacy, which concerns the setting of limits on invasion into the domestic and other environments such as the workplace or public space. This includes searches, video observation and ID checks.

Last of all is the Privacy of communications, which covers the security and privacy of mail, telephones, e-mail and other forms of communication Technologies of Privacy

With the recent development of commercially available technology-based systems, privacy protection has also moved into the hands of individual users. Users of the Internet and of some physical applications can employ a range of programs and systems that provide varying degrees of privacy and security of communications. These include encryption, anonymous remailers, proxy servers and digital cash. Users should be aware that not