Trust corruption and surveillance in the electronic workplace

Information Age | Trust, corruption and surveillance in the electronic workplace

Every wondered why it is a bad idea for your boss to monitor you at work? Ever wanted to hone your arguments against monitoring (to take on your boss)? Good old fashioned trust is the most productive form of 'monitoring' at work it seems. Here is an article from Professor John Weckert, from the Centre of Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, at Charles Sturt University in Western Australia (from 'Information Age' 10 August, 2002)

There is little doubt that trust is important. A group, whether an organisation or a society, can achieve much more with it than without it. Things are more efficient where there is trust. Where there is lack of trust there must be surveillance, filling out of documents and keeping of records, which is all largely unproductive work. Societies function better the more trust that there is, and without any trust could not function at all.