How would you feel about going to the office everyday knowing that you were being observed by hidden cameras ? Many people find themselves in essentially this situation, because they work for corporations which carefully monitor their internet use and their email. While not actually the same thing as direct surveillance by a spy camera, this kind of computer monitoring is arguably just as intrusive and just as unnerving. However, it seems to be part of the cost of working for a large corporation.

Large corporations are risk averse by nature, and one can hardly blame them for being so, especially when it comes to what their employees do with their computers. One of the many ways in which the internet has simplified modern life is that it has made breaking the law easier than ever. A  spy camera trained on an employee at her desk might reveal nothing amiss, and yet she might be streaming a movie illegally, cyber stalking  her favorite celebrity, or committing any number of felonies. Businesses are right to be wary of their liability when one of their employees uses one of their computers to perform some illegal activity.

So while spy cameras are not yet a familiar part of the modern office environment, computer monitoring definitely is, and it’s here to stay. What effect this has on morale, or on the comfort level of office workers, who should expect some degree of trust from their employers, is not clear, but it can’t be good.