Private Lives in the Internet Era: The Impact of TECHNOLOGY on Workers’ Homes

Abstract

It’s almost impossible to pick up a newspaper today without seeing an article about a new threat to our privacy through the tracking of personal data. Less attention is paid to the privacy of time and space, but the intrusion is growing. We are subject to video monitors in airport lounges, doctors’ waiting areas, and elevators; telemarketers call during dinner; catalog companies litter our doorsteps with junk mail; and employees are increasingly expected to bring the work world into their homes via the Internet and other technologies.The growing importance of accessibility to work has enormous implications for employees, especially those without much organizational power. In an era when employees are becoming tied to the office via mobile technology, including computers given by employers, it’s becoming much harder to keep the workplace from intruding on private life. Some employees cope by making deals in the emerging marketplace for domestic privacy. But this solution may have problems that we are only beginning to discover.