Beware of GPS if Boss gives you new Cell Phone: Big Brother is Watching!
If your boss decides it's a good time to get a new cell phone for you, and it is GPS equipped, beware he may be monitoring your whereabouts. Be careful on the golf course on Tuesday afternoon. Better not catch a lunch movie. Big Brother is watching.
Cell phones are giving employers new ways to check up on employees in the field--and raising fresh workplace privacy concerns as a result.
On the leading edge of the trend is Nextel Communications. The wireless provider began selling its Mobile Locator service last November, giving bosses an easy way to find employees who carry GPS-equipped cell phones.
Earlier this month, mobile tracking firm Xora showed off the latest version of its Nextel GPS (global positioning system) phone software. The company says 1,600 corporate customers have signed up for its services, including "geofences" technology that sets off an alarm at the office when field workers go to preprogrammed off-limits sites, such as a bar or a park.