Work, privacy, and autonomy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Work, privacy, and autonomy - Essay Example Privacy, on the other hand, involves two things. First is control of information about ones self, and the other, some control over who can experience or observe the person. An example given is that privacy in relation to a spouse is different from privacy in relation to an employer. As proposed by Kupfer, privacy and autonomy are related to each other in that autonomy requires an awareness of control over one’s relationship with others, which is part of the essence of personal choice. Privacy contributes to autonomy because it provides he individual control over whether or not he/she will allow somebody else to be part of his/her experiences. Further, Lippke and Kupfer argue that autonomous individuals are those that have the capacity for it, a developed autonomous self-concept. If the individual cannot develop his autonomous self-concept, then he/she is not autonomous. Lack of privacy prevents or inhibits the development of such autonomous self-concept. I agree that both autonomy and privacy are valuable. Autonomy can be likened to a person’s independence or capacity for independent choices. Like in the relationship of a parent and child, it is deemed necessary for the parent to develop independence in a child as part of the preparation for responsible adulthood. And among the ways of nurturing this independence, aside from a parent’s mentoring, is by respecting the growing child increasing rights to privacy. In the workplace, I believe that the employees’ rights to privacy must be maintained and upheld. After all, there are advantages to both employee and employer by maintaining employee autonomy. Most organizations today desire employees who are initiative, resourceful and require minimal supervision. However, the scope of employee privacy rights in the workplace needs to be defined and accepted by both employer and employee as part of the exercise of freedom of contract. 2. Relying on a contractual model of