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Survey Says Bosses Fear Being Filmed By Employees

Posted by timothy on from the it's-attaching-the-mic-that's-tricky dept.

New submitter Cazekiel writes "If you think your boss is a fearless, miserable beast whose only worries lie in how well his company or business competes, think again. The 'Business Video Behavior Project' survey conducted by Qumu reveals that those in-charge are growing more and more paranoid about something the Average Joe fears just walking down the street nowadays: employees who will 'secretly film him with his metaphorical pants down and then post the footage for public delectation.' It would seem that it doesn't matter if you're powerful, wealthy and lording over hundreds of cubicles; they know the internet exists, everyone has a cell phone camera and thick wallets don't make discarded banana peels magically move out of their path." The company that paid for the study, note, promises to "securely distribute business video simultaneously over multiple Edge routes," so they probably don't mind some workplace paranoia.

12 of 159 comments (clear)

  1. I have an idea by Psychotria · · Score: 5, Insightful

    No, he's scared you might use your new technological tools to make naughty videos -- the worst of which would be to secretly film him with his metaphorical pants down and then post the footage for public delectation.

    My brilliant idea is that if you're a boss BEHAVE APPROPRIATELY, ethically and fairly. It's not that hard.

    1. Re:I have an idea by furytrader · · Score: 4, Informative

      That's Business Ethics 101 - if you're doing something at work that you wouldn't want posted on the front page of the local newspapers, don't do it.

    2. Re:I have an idea by causality · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I guess, your statement has more to do with simply not wanting to get caught

      That's about the only thing a sociopath fears. That's why the "threat" of video documentation is so effective.

      than being ethical.

      I don't see what ethical people would fear from this. Not at the workplace, anyway.

      I think this situation has merely arisen to cope with a modern reality: that altruism and enlightened self-interest are at an all-time low. Many people won't even fake them anymore to be thought of as "good" because it is the value of those things itself that is eroding. People like this are self-absorbed and often live as though other people don't exist and could not be inconvenienced or harmed by their bad decision-making, something you can witness in traffic daily. It's not that they are malicious, it's that they don't even notice how their actions affect other people. They don't even have sense enough not to block doorways or other basic things like that. People like this need a selfish reason to do the right thing, like avoiding embarassment, because they can no longer be trusted to have any other kind.

      Of course there have always been bandits, assholes, etc. The difference is they used to be rare enough to stand out. Self-absorbed obliviousness as a societal norm is the next logical step after ADD and perpetual victimhood ("nothing's ever my fault"). That's where we are today.

      --
      It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
    3. Re:I have an idea by tophermeyer · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think my concern would be that someone is trying to collect video of me that, out of context, puts me in a bad light. I say this because I once had a junior employee (not a direct report) try to throw me under the bus for one of his mistakes by presenting an email that appeared to show me giving him specific directions. It was dumb because, you know email. But without context it might be difficult to defend yourself from false allegations.

    4. Re:I have an idea by jellomizer · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Business ethics gets very complicated very quickly.

      Here is an example. Your job is to sell your product to a foreign country (You sell a good product at a good price). In this country offering bribes is common and legal, however it is considered immoral and illegal for you and your culture and country to offer the bribes. So you go to the business deal the the owner says, you are offering a fine offer however what is in it for me (wink, wink).

      Do you.
      1. Turn down the bribe and loose the business.
      2. Offer the bribe and hope they don't find out.
      3. Offer to close the deal near your headquarters in Orlando Florida, and give him prepaid tickets and cover expenses (and his family who should be leaving his side) to come to headquarters to fill out the deal.

      The problem is the more diverse set of people you meet the more muddy ethics get.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    5. Re:I have an idea by Sarten-X · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Problem: 100 people on a sinking boat, only enough lifeboat space for 50

      Ethical solution: Pick 50 people at random for the boats

      Politically-correct statement the public wants the captain to say: "Put a few extra people in the boats! We'll save as many as we can!!">

      Politically-correct statement the company wants him to say: "We'll make a lottery, remove ourselves, and pick 10 people at random, then we'll let them take their families, and pick more until we run out of space"

      Quick statement: "We'll pick 50 people at random. There will be orphans."

      Frankly, I'd be pissed if my knee-jerk reaction statements were recorded, too, regardless of whether my behavior is ethical or not. The public at large is so quick to become enraged, and the media is so willing to sensationalize, that anything but silence in a bad situation is a PR mess.

      --
      You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
    6. Re:I have an idea by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Reality solution: Crew grabs lifeboats and leaves the sinking ship, passengers will survive, or not, who cares.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    7. Re:I have an idea by kelemvor4 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Business ethics gets very complicated very quickly. Here is an example. Your job is to sell your product to a foreign country (You sell a good product at a good price). In this country offering bribes is common and legal, however it is considered immoral and illegal for you and your culture and country to offer the bribes. So you go to the business deal the the owner says, you are offering a fine offer however what is in it for me (wink, wink). Do you. 1. Turn down the bribe and loose the business. 2. Offer the bribe and hope they don't find out. 3. Offer to close the deal near your headquarters in Orlando Florida, and give him prepaid tickets and cover expenses (and his family who should be leaving his side) to come to headquarters to fill out the deal. The problem is the more diverse set of people you meet the more muddy ethics get.

      It only seems complicated because (most?) businesspeople think there are a separate set of rules just for them. Hence the fact that the term "business ethics" even exists. Option 1 is the correct answer.

  2. Relevant Quote by Frogbert · · Score: 5, Funny

    You know, the courts may not be working any more, but as long as everyone is videotaping everyone else, justice will be done.
    - Marge Simpson

  3. Re:Hiding under a bed by Psychotria · · Score: 5, Funny

    Isn't there a French saying to the effect of "No man will check under his wife's bed unless he himself has hidden under a woman's bed."?

    Not sure about that because this is Slashdot and I've never had a GF -- let alone a wife. But I do check under my bed before I go to sleep in case there's monsters or ghosts hiding under there. Sometimes I check twice just in case there's a nymphomaniac under there, but no luck yet.

  4. Two can play this game by Vinegar+Joe · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The bosses have been spying on employees for years. Feels kinda different now, doesn't it?

    --
    "The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
  5. Good! by assertation · · Score: 4, Interesting

    No reason only ordinary people should go through life feeling like an amoebae under a microscope.

    I enjoy the occasional article posted to Slashdot about law enforcement organizations lobbying against police being videod ( it is time to retire the word "filmed" as obsolete ).

    I love the irony of the authorities, at least some of them, being told what they tell us.

    "Gee officer, if you are doing your job and following all the rules then you have nothing to be worried about"