Positives of CCTV in the Workplace – by Maria Weiss, CDM 535

CCTV can feel like “big brother is watching you”from George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Employers may install CCTV in the workplace to protect their property or catch employees in a forbidden act. CCTV may also be used to safety and ergonomic evaluations to implement improvements for the employees’ routine tasks.

In the movie, The Good Girl, a cctv is recording the stockroom activity. Therefore the store management knows that two of their employees were have sexual relations. This is relevant to the story when the store is robbed. The stockroom footage is reviewed to revile the theft. Management then asks the other half of the couple where the thief is. In this case the store has utilized the cctv to protect its assets and catch employees in criminal acts.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0279113/ The Good Girl – example of store employees being caught on tape having sexual relations.

In the movie, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, cctv is monitoring the subway system in New York City. This subway train, with its passengers, is taken hostage in order to steal money. From the central control room, all the activites are being watched. CCTV has limited views, but in this case they have been installed for safety and maintenance of the train system.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1111422/ The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 – example of cctv in public transportation on the basis of safety and maintenance.

The legalities of using cctv in the workplace needs to uphold privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms. The site also has to notify the employees that cctv is being used, however the locations (hidden or not) does not have to be disclosed. The positive reasons behind using cctv can benefit both the employer and employee. The employer will be able to terminate an employee who’s behaving against policies and laws. The employer will also be able to determine how damage or quality issues occurred and find root causes during investigation. The employee benefits from cctv when performing a job safety analysis or ergonomic study to improve the work flow. This reduces stress on the employee and identifies additional improvements, which would improve the work flow.