Future Trends

In 1999 Scott McNealy, Chief Executive of Sun Microsystems, declared, You have zero Privacy ” get over it (McNealy quoted in Sprenger, 1999; Brien & Brien, 2004). Whilst this may seem rather bleak, it nevertheless should operate as a warning. Constant vigilance is required, given emerging technology. It is not suggested that employees in the workplace are entitled to complete privacy, but rather that the boundaries need to be established. If legislation was to be enacted, it should be done on the Commonwealth level so as to have uniform application. It could be based upon the principles that have been ascertained in the tribunal and Court decisions discussed earlier. These might include an obligation on employers to take reasonable steps in ensuring that employees are aware that their actions online might be monitored . Furthermore, such legislation may provide that communication between a union and its members might also occur on the corporation s network. This type of legislation would not only be useful in clarifying the boundaries of workplace privacy, but also strengthening the protection of privacy in Australian law.

The likelihood of the Commonwealth extending privacy protection to the workplace is remote. Existing Commonwealth legislation regarding privacy is limited significantly to businesses with an annual turnover greater than $3 million, and employee records are explicitly excluded. It is likely, perhaps, that any movement towards further legislation would be characterised as the government needlessly interfering in the employee/employer relationship, especially within the context of enterprise bargaining.

A practical response in these circumstances would be to place emphasis on education programs in establishing or maintaining trust between employers and employees. Another strategy involves encryption technology being deployed by individual employees to protect the contents of email. This may, however, simply present further difficulties by requiring the need to install additional software applications on the employer s network. Above all, workplace monitoring strengthens the need for effective communication between employers and employees. Creating a culture of trust and respect should be a high priority of good management.