Defining Privacy

Privacy is a slippery concept, and its definition depends on the lens (e.g., legal, ethical, economic) used. One definition that applies to the workplace considers privacy as employees’ beliefs of the degree to which they can control personal information about them that is collected, used, and disseminated by their employers. At its essence, the definition reflects concerns related to boundaries between the individual and the organization. It underlies a key reason why concerns related to workplace privacy surface: the potential conflict between legitimate organizational requirements for employee information and legitimate employee concerns of individual rights.

Organizational Requirements for Employee Information

Through the course of the employment relationship, employers require different types of information about their employees. Before the employment relationship begins, during the selection process, ...

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