Regulating Off-Duty Conduct

The purpose of this discussion is to give you the opportunity to apply ethical theories and perspectives to modern issues of the workplace. Off-duty conduct away from the workplace can be monitored and reported in many ways and with the increase in social media use, there will be far greater opportunities for employers to become aware of what employees get up to outside of the workplace.

While some types of behaviors are especially concerning as they may have on-duty consequences, there are other types of off-duty behavior which are more difficult to clearly define as grossly inappropriate to warrant employer intervention.

But who draws this line and what are the ethical implications of where the line is drawn? Prepare and post a response to the following prompt:

Using the resources provided, your own research, and your knowledge of the ethical concepts from the text, consider the issue of off-site monitoring of conduct:

Are there different levels of concerning conduct and should they be treated differently?

What are the issues for the employer? Using one ethical theory or perspective, to help support the employer's viewpoint, and use a scholarly resource as your evidence.

What about the employee's viewpoint? Use one ethical theory or perspective to support the employee's right to privacy outside of work, and use a scholarly resource as your evidence.

If your boss asked about your off-duty activity, how would you respond? Share your un-emotional, well defined, evidence-based, response to your boss to support your viewpoint.