Chapter XI: Electronic Surveillance in the Workplace--A Buddhist Perspective

Soraj Hongladarom
Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

Abstract

This chapter proposes a new way of coping with the problem of electronic surveillance, which is derived from Buddhist teaching. Many dominant Western ethical systems try to propose a set of rules that specify normative conditions under which matters can be judged as right or wrong. The chapter argues that such rule-based systems are in the end not totally effective in bringing about a condition where workers and managers work together in harmony without the need for one to be in constant vigilance of the other. This may not be conducive to optimal productivity in the long run. The chapter proposes that the Buddhist perspective offered here is more effective in promoting mutual trust and respect among all concerned parties, and describes a way toward dissolution of any need for surveillance in the first place.