on their computer (such as Microsoft Excel) would prove sufficient to their needs. Or, the company might determine that employees are not as well trained in the use of software as they could be, and that they need additional training in order to make them more proficient. In these situations, companies are able to decrease their asset cost and improve their competitive position by offering appropriate and timely training to their employees.
Surveillance, particularly video surveillance, can also be justified by employers who argue that the mere presence of video cameras can prevent theft both from the company and from other employees. Numerous companies have found that installing cameras (even fake cameras) pointed at refrigerators in lunchrooms can greatly decrease the number of employee lunch thefts. In other situations, installing cameras or other monitoring technology has resulted in a decrease in employee theft, or an increase in productivity (as when a notice that e-mail is being monitored results in a sharp decline in the number of e-mail messages being sent from the company, suggesting that personal e-mail messages have sharply declined) (Mishra & Crampton 3).
Employers are also finding that they are having to take steps to protect their employees against workplace violence. This violence has increased in recent years, and employers are increasingly considered to be liable for violence which occurs at their work sites. In addition, companies are finding that workplace violence is particularly expensive: according to one study, more than 1.7 million work days are lost each year due to violence at the workplace, and more than $55 million in lost wages. Homicide is the leading cause of death for women in the workplace, and the second leading cause of death for men (industrial accidents are the primary cause of death for men in the workplace) (Green 132).
Employer liability for violence in the workplace has increase...