NEW ZEALAND - New Zealand employers are increasing their use of surveillance cameras and tracking devices in an effort to crack down on time wasting and dishonesty that cost businesses millions, experts say.
Surfing social networking sites, online dating, music downloads, travel or gossip websites and Internet pornography provide opportunities to waste time at work. Companies are turning to surveillance to steer employees away from these sites and decrease theft.
Alan Watt, managing director of Computer Forensic Investigations, has created a business based on the problems of employees wasting time at work and stealing company information.
"One guy was spending 80 percent of his time at work looking at Internet porn, Trade Me, personal email and banking, and there are plenty more people mucking about," Watt explained. "You get people who are moonlighting, using the company's computers for outside work or taking data with them when they leave to set up their own companies, and that's a big deal for companies with a lot of intellectual property."
Watt said some companies monitor data flow by placing snooping devices on computer servers to track Internet and email usage. Traffic monitors keep tabs on websites visited and the amount of email sent and received, a key logger monitors a worker's keystrokes, and a "packet sniffer" could scan all of a company's computer activity, isolate anything unusual and identify the culprit.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers report released in October 2007 said 66.7 percent of the New Zealand businesses surveyed had experienced some form of economic crime such as fraud or embezzlement, compared with a global average of 42.9 percent and 39.1 percent in the Asia-Pacific region.
PricewaterhouseCoopers said one-fifth of the New Zealand businesses that reported fraud or theft suffered losses between $1.35 million and $13.5 million. New Zealand businesses lost a total of $69.54 million to economic crime from 2005 to 2007.
Ron McQuilter, managing director of Paragon Investigations, said the increase in theft and surveillance in New Zealand is a result of more business being done in the country.
Many businesses took a reactive approach to suspected theft, and surveillance for investigating such cases typically uses covert cameras.
McQuilter explained that legislation allows cameras to be used without employees' knowledge if there is reasonable suspicion that a crime is being committed, the cameras are used specifically for investigation and they are removed immediately after the suspected crime is solved.
Anthony Drake, a senior associate at Bell Gully solicitors, said workplace surveillance "absolutely" was more prevalent than ever.
Drake said large and small businesses are very conscious of employees' use of computer systems and need to be because of the potential for serious liability.
"There have been wonderful examples of cases in the employment courts like one where a young man decided to download music from the Internet and make CDs that were sold at the Avondale markets," he said. "He breached all sorts of copyright laws and left the employer liable for those breaches."
Psychologist Sara Chatwin said employers had a fine balance to achieve between monitoring business activity and respecting employees' rights.
"I think most people today, if they're employed in small to medium-size businesses, will know there are certain expectations placed on them by their employers, and those are outlined in employment contracts," she said. "There will always be situations where you're staying late at work and need to make a personal call or fire off a quick email. But most often, there's an understanding that work is for work and nothing else."
