1984 - audio/videotaping at the workplace

Here's my rant. Today at work, stapled to the envelope of my paycheck, is a form that I am supposed to sign and fax back to my corporate offices allowing them to randomly audio or videotape myself and my employees in the workplace. The form says "it is not meant merely as a form of discipline, but as a means of determining where training issues lie..." It goes on to say, "If you are caught [yes, they used the word "caught"] doing something good, you'll BE A STAR!!" (i know, gag me)

So am I just being some kind of hippie-beatnik-rebel-child to think that this kind of thing is just....wrong? I mean, sure, there are surveillance cameras all over the place these days, but I didn't sign a form saying I agreed with those. I guess what upsets me so much is the fact that these little, seemingly insignificant kinds of things are allowed to occur, and are introduced one by one, and people "don't see what the big deal is" and just sign the forms because it's easier to do that than, well, read them or give a s**t, and pretty soon, we have no freedom or privacy left at all. See, I told you it would be a rant. I guess I'm just looking for other people's feedback - I want to know if anyone else out there thinks I have a valid point, or if I really am just an overreactive rebellion. Thanks.

Oh, don't get me ranting as well, lol. Your employers have no right to keep you under surveillance whatsoever, and the best thing to do I suggest is to go to your workers union (or join one), and raise it there and they will help you with backing to protest against this unwanted protrusion. You can't get fired for it, either. Like you said, people can't just sit down and let these things happen, because they will progress and get worse. If you haven't already guessed my opinion, I think it's an outrage as well.

thank you for validating how i feel about this issue. sometimes i think i'm going crazy - like i'm being a rebel without a cause. (which may occasionally be the case....) still, i can't shut my brain off from thinking too much about some of these things....and i don't think i'd really want to. for the record, i still haven't signed the form, and i don't plan to. in fact, i'm seeking other employment - i didn't like this place before they pulled this stunt. :P anyway, thanks again for your reply.

you said it, Munro.

I would say it depends on your job. As many places video tape nannies, cops on trafic stops and some other jobs. I personaly feel that there is nothing wrong with it as long as it is either a form of protection, in the case of nannies beating kids. But as far as most jobs go I would say definitly not.

God Bless,
JonUs

in my particular case, i work in - are you ready for this? - a swimsuit store. the only thing being protected by the videotaping, really, are the customers....from not being shown a cover-up to every swimsuit they try on. no, i'm not kidding. it's one of our "non-negotiable selling steps" - that we show a matching coverup to every suit a customer tries on. and the corporate bigwigs are afraid this isn't happening, so they want to randomly videotape to make sure. sorry, but i don't see the pertinence. apparently i'm not cut out to be in the highly classified and cutthroat business of swimwear. sigh.

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Originally Posted by vavavoomvintage

Here's my rant. Today at work, stapled to the envelope of my paycheck, is a form that I am supposed to sign and fax back to my corporate offices allowing them to randomly audio or videotape myself and my employees in the workplace. The form says "it is not meant merely as a form of discipline, but as a means of determining where training issues lie..." It goes on to say, "If you are caught [yes, they used the word "caught"] doing something good, you'll BE A STAR!!" (i know, gag me)

So am I just being some kind of hippie-beatnik-rebel-child to think that this kind of thing is just....wrong? I mean, sure, there are surveillance cameras all over the place these days, but I didn't sign a form saying I agreed with those. I guess what upsets me so much is the fact that these little, seemingly insignificant kinds of things are allowed to occur, and are introduced one by one, and people "don't see what the big deal is" and just sign the forms because it's easier to do that than, well, read them or give a s**t, and pretty soon, we have no freedom or privacy left at all. See, I told you it would be a rant. I guess I'm just looking for other people's feedback - I want to know if anyone else out there thinks I have a valid point, or if I really am just an overreactive rebellion. Thanks.

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You actually might have no say in this matter. I believe the US government (as well as state laws) allows employers to "spy" on their employees.

As for another poster's comments about joining any kind of union, good luck. Colorado (as well as many other states in the US) is what we call a "right to work state", meaning unions have little or no say in matters. This is why you see in those states that the wages are typically lower than in states where unions actually have some sort of power.

Okay.... Not many people know about this, but America had the power to see pretty much every man woman and child on the planet by the 70's--Now pretty much any country with any decent intelligence gathering system can do that and more. Not only that, but in case you haven't noticed, computers are ten times worse than Telescreens ever were, and it's getting worse every day. All we can really do is learn to cope with it, and hope that God sees how cocky the human race is getting and comes down to wipe us all out. We are pretty much past the point that George Orwell wrote about right now. We've got the cruise missiles, the going to war simply to keep the people down, the Newspeak, every single thing in the book and more. And yes, most every single workplace now has cameras everywhere. Basicly... There's a new arms race going on and personally I think it's even worse than the Cold War. And if you don't think I'm insane by now, I might as well go ahead and say... The end is near, and if you can't see it.... Look closer.

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Originally Posted by bio

Okay.... Not many people know about this, but America had the power to see pretty much every man woman and child on the planet by the 70's--Now pretty much any country with any decent intelligence gathering system can do that and more. Not only that, but in case you haven't noticed, computers are ten times worse than Telescreens ever were, and it's getting worse every day. All we can really do is learn to cope with it, and hope that God sees how cocky the human race is getting and comes down to wipe us all out. We are pretty much past the point that George Orwell wrote about right now. We've got the cruise missiles, the going to war simply to keep the people down, the Newspeak, every single thing in the book and more. And yes, most every single workplace now has cameras everywhere. Basicly... There's a new arms race going on and personally I think it's even worse than the Cold War. And if you don't think I'm insane by now, I might as well go ahead and say... The end is near, and if you can't see it.... Look closer.

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I agree with a lot of what was stated in your post. just a few things. Although the capability to monitor anyone in the world exists. Very few people are actually monitored. As for Computers being worse than telescreens I would say no. Telescreens monitored a person ALL day long and they had no choice. In reality you do not even HAVE to use a computer.

Jonus

Saying you don't have to use computers if you don't want to is like saying if you disagree with America's politics you can just leave the country and your family and go to Europe. Anyone who rejects computers now is going to be left behind. Granted, one could always use computers for business only and never recreation, but again, computers are becoming a new standard, like telephones, and anyone who would reject telephones would more than likely be laughed at. George Orwell never said whether or not there was someone watching every single telescreen 24/7. It didn't really matter because it wasn't the actual being watched that mattered, it was the fear of being watched that controlled the people and kept them in line. They didn't need to watch them all the time to be able to notice extremely bad cases such as Winston and Julia's. Damned thought terrorists!

Also, the people of Oceania had the power to walk away from Telescreens as well -- or at least walk away from the illusion of being watched; that is, until it turned out that not wanting to be watched was the biggest red flag of all, and that there were spies set up to comfort people and let them think they weren't being watched. Nevertheless, unless you reject cell phones, computers, FAX machines, some and probably some day all cars, video games, sooner or later TV's, etc, etc, etc, all you can do is have faith in departments headed by people like Tom Ridge and created by people like George Bush.

I think you missed the point. In Oceania they had no choice, the telescreen was forced upon them. You have the freedom of choice to not use a computer. Although it may not be the best choice it IS a choice.

" all you can do is have faith in departments headed by people like Tom Ridge and created by people like George Bush."

No you just need to have faith in the constitution.

Oh well :)

Jonus

I agree that it is an invasion of privacy to be video taped during your personal/daily life. But when in the work place I think it also may be benificial to the empoyer as well as emloyees to be watched or observed. When choose a career there are certain rules that you must fallow in order to do your job correctly and efficiently. IN the book i believe it is a total invasion of their privacy by having the telescreens in the peoples houses. I dont know how the people could deal everyday with everyday tasks knowing someones watching them 24/7, every move they make. It's just not right!

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Originally Posted by bio

all you can do is have faith in departments headed by people like Tom Ridge and created by people like George Bush.

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That's as scary as 1984 itself.

Ultimately as a peon, having no control in the work place, if one's not doing anything they shouldn't be doing it really shouldn't be a big deal. If I'm walking down the street or in a store and a camera's watching my every move it’s just the same as being watched at work. Now if I were planning on picking someone's pocket or stealing that nifty do dad near the Xerox machine then I’d consider it a problem. That’s the benefit of surveillance.

Obviously surveillance is a deterrent. How you could be caught doing something good and what that criteria is I don't know. But most people aren't looking for good actions but rather the opposite. That those in charge feel a deterrent is necessary speaks volumes about society today. Besides that, cameras have been used for decades now without many people being aware of it. When I got out of the Navy I worked part time in security and I was quite surprised to see all the many places where cameras were hidden. Not only that but tiny cameras are routinely hidden to discover just who may be stealing money and other items in the work place. No one was ever told they were being filmed in order to capture the culprit it was and still is just done. One thing for sure the thief is always caught. And certainly you can believe the employees were pleased to discover their belongings were once again safe.

I don’t know but maybe since I still dabble in security, I’m a supervisor now just one night a week, I’m used to having cameras everywhere. If it’s not a company concerned with bombs, espionage, and disgruntled employees it’s banks and stores concerned with lost goods, garages concerned with the welfare of their customers etc. And that’s really what it boils down to. We might not like it but we are all a little safer for it – similar to metal detectors. Many employees are on film from the moment they enter the parking lot and until they drive off in their car. I’m on film even as I’m typing this. There’s nothing we can do about it and again no harm in it unless they start putting cameras in your home or in restrooms. Now that would be a serious problem indeed.