Majority Of Employees Wouldn't Object To E-Mail Monitoring

Nearly three-quarters of employees (73%) who have access to the Internet at work believe their employers have the right to monitor both their e-mails and Internet usage at the office, according to a survey by the Angus Reid Group Inc., a New York market research and public-opinion polling firm. An interesting statement considering 46% of respondents say that they use the Internet at work for personal surfing and 55% admit they use the Internet at work to send and receive personal e-mail. "I am stunned that so many workers are putting their employers' rights above their own privacy," says Edward Morawski, senior analyst, Angus Reid Group. "The telephone is employer-owned as well, but how many employees would accept corporate monitoring of all their telephone conversations?" Those without Internet access are less willing to give employers that right -- only 43% of those workers said that potential invasion of privacy would be justified.