General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Nothing worse for the Democratic Party or the United States than the spying apologists who [View all]Swede Atlanta
(3,596 posts)are acts of cowardice and shame for our nation, when it comes to employment I have a different take.
Let's be totally honest. When you work for someone else you are a prostitute. You prostitute your time and talent for the enjoyment of others, namely the owners of the business.
I accept when I am at work that my activities may be scrutinized and regulated by my employer. The employer is paying me $$ for my time and talent. As such they have wide discretion on what I can and cannot do.
If I were an employer I would give my employees the liberty to make reasonable use of company assets to keep in touch with their family, etc. but those uses come with risks for the employer.
An unfettered use of e-mail, etc. can end up landing the company in legal trouble. An employee who uses company resources and who knowingly, maliciously or negligently distributes malware, viruses, etc. or engages in threatening, harmful or slanderous communication implicates the company.
So I have to give great deference to company policies on the use of their resources and what you may and may not do on their time. A workplace should not be a prison or feel like enslavement but employees are just that, employees. They have agreed to do certain things in exchange for a salary and benefits.