The idea of employee rights involves many complex issues. An employee's right to a workplace free of discrimination and harmful environmental factors is obvious. Yet, other issues surrounding privacy, personal expression, and communication monitoring are not as clear-cut. While employees may feel that they have the right to express their opinions and use business communications while working, not only may they be fooling themselves but they are acting in a way that is unethical. While businesses do not have the right to control employee behaviors outside of the workplace, they do have the right to monitor and control communications and employee actions during paid time. As such, employees have the right to reasonable expectations in terms of communication, yet cannot (within limits) ethically demand a right to privacy, private communication, or personal expression while they are utilizing business property or on business time.
             Workplace privacy has been a hot issue in the last decade, as more and more workplaces incorporate email and Internet-use into the office environment. Many employees now use email and the Internet daily, not to mention the telephone (Nord, McCubbins, & Nord, 2006). With high volumes of communication, it becomes more likely that some employees will abuse the communications tools available. In fact, Nord, McCubbins, and Nord (2006) found that 62% of workers who had access to the Internet at work go online at least once a workday for personal reasons. One use a day should not be grounds for dismissal, and probably would not be in most businesses. However, companies might monitor for excessive use of company time spent on personal emails, since that time should be spent on work.
             It is not unreasonable for companies to expect employees to work during work hours, as employees are paid for that reason. A goal common to most businesses is that of making a profit. Employees are aware of this goal whether they hav...