We all know that Facebook, Google and Amazon are watching what we do online, so they can target ads.

If you don’t believe it, just try this experiment: do a Google or Amazon search for  “foam mattress” or a “barbecue grill”.  Pretty soon your Facebook feed, or any random article you might be reading online, will be offering you ads for said “foam mattresses” and “barbecue grills.”

But, what about our employers, are they watching us too?

Probably. And if they aren’t, they certainly could easily install monitoring software that can tell them how employees spend their time on line and who they interact with.

Some software only looks at large trends and metadata. For example, according to the Wall Street Journal, they found that in organizations with high turnover, employees have more engagement -via email and other communication- with those outside the company.  Whereas where turnover was low, employees are heavily engaged with their peers and team members.  Tracking these trends is useful in giving employers a heads-up on future problems. So far so good.

But, where we find a more troublesome privacy concern is with software that monitors employees on a more granular level: How much time you spend on Facebook, YouTube and shopping sites, or how you manage your email- where it’s from, where it’s headed, how much you receive and how quickly you respond. Some software can even take screen shots at intervals throughout the day and list your web searches.

But can they do that without telling me?

Sure they can.  Most employees have signed a general acknowledgment that the company can monitor your communication if it’s conducted on company property.  So your company-issued cell phone, laptop that you take home  (and make dinner reservations with) are all fair game for monitoring.  And don’t forget that phone could let your employer know your location or how fast you’re driving if they choose to find out.

So, what should employees who want privacy do?

Well, come to terms with the fact that while you are working and using company property there is no privacy–using passwords at work only gives you the illusion of privacy.  So don’t conduct personal business on those devices. Plus,  you shouldn’t be on Facebook or doing non- work related stuff on their devices anyway so let them monitor at will.  However, once you’re on your own time, you should definitely switch to your personal cell phone and tablet.  Then all you have to worry about is the rest of the internet spying on you. But that we are already used to.

©Copyright Eva Del Rio

Eva Del Rio is creator of HR Box™ – tools for small businesses and startups. Send questions to Eva@evadelrio.com