A company has and should always have the right to dictate that its employees act and behave in a professional manner while in the office, at company functions, or any time he/she is being paid for their time. If however an employee wishes to put materials online that are of a personal nature they should be allowed to and should be able to do so without fear of termination, retaliation, or discrimination in any form. What may or may not be ironic about this type of activity is that more often than not those that do use an employees Myspace page, blog or other personal site to determine employment, promotion or otherwise do discriminate against people who engage in many of the same activities they themselves partake in.

It’s an inevitable fact that the majority of our lives are spent working for wealthy people who are only interested in obtaining more wealth for themselves and more control over you. Moreover employees are now not only expected to act in a professional manner in the workplace, but are being told that employers have the right to chastise, penalize, scrutinize, terminate, or pass on an individual for employment simply because they don’t agree with what an employee does on his or her free time. Many employees now walk on eggshells even during their off time because they fear losing their job which is a true shame.

Instead of concerning themselves with what their employees do with their free time, what their employee’s politics are, and what lifestyles their employees choose to lead, employers should focus on the employee’s in office or at work performance, attitude, and work ethic. Employers should then ask themselves if looking at or using an employee’s personal materials online is even ethical at all. Of course any business owner will tell you that they do so only to weed out undesirables and to protect the company. Sadly these people use such excuses to justify behavior that would, in the private sector might be considered immoral or unethical. Voyeurism is a crime in many states, countries, and parts of the world and when and employer peers into your personal spaces online it is a type voyeurism plain and simple.

Where as Americans do we draw the line on this type of activity? If an employer has a legal right to view and use its employee’s online information against them, why are they not allowed to peer through the windows in our homes? Surely the things we think and say behind closed doors might be detrimental to an employers business reputation so what’s stopping employers from sending a company representative into an employees home to take note of what they watch on television, how they treat their spouse, when they sleep, and who they favor in an election?

An employer should make decisions regarding its employee’s based on work performance, work experience, desire, ambition, contributions, and skill rather than the things they do, speak about, engage in or believe in on their own free time. Employers are on the verge of negating the right to choose and live a lifestyle that suits you. On the other side of the coin, you however must take great care to keep your employers best interest in mind at all times rather than your own and are expected and advised to act in an manner which is ethical.

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