Openness and trust is needed on both sides of the employment relationship

We are hearing more and more about the ‘intrusion culture' in our lives, from CCTV in every street to micro-chips in our dustbins to local authorities following parents to see if they actually live in the catchment area for an oversubscribed school.

These same concerns apply to the workplace as well, so I was not surprised to see the results of this poll, which, I suspect, is an over-action to the drip-drip-drip of the surveillance society we all see on a daily basis. On the other hand, when it comes to the workplace, I feel it is wholly appropriate for employers to look at their employees' employment history, at their absence record and any other issue that can directly affect their ability to do their job.

That doesn't mean that as a consequence of whatever they find they should automatically, without engaging in dialogue with their employee, take some punitive action against them if something untoward is found.

We talk in the HR world about engagement, about the importance of this for the health, wellbeing and productivity of the organisation. For me engagement is a two-way process, where the employer and employee work together to achieve common goals. This can only happen when we have an open and honest working environment, where people feel enabled to tell their employers anything relevant to their jobs, without feeling that it will adversely affect their job security or career or promotion or whatever.

Employees should expect the same from their employers, that issues that might affect them will be honestly revealed (for example, about possible redundancies, major restructurings, and so on). Employers need to know about certain aspects of an employee's past working life, what is currently happening in their working world, etc.

They are not entitled to know about their political beliefs or party affiliations (including trade union membership), information about their personal relationships outside of work, their financial circumstance (unless it is highly relevant) or any other personal information about them, unless it is absolutely necessary for the performance of their job.
However, openness is a two-way street, if we are to have an engaged workforce, trust is needed and the ability to communicate about relevant aspects of ‘you' in the context of work, without being fearful, is fundamental to a engaged and genuine working environment. We must celebrate our differences.  As J. Paul Getty once wrote: "No one can possibly achieve any real and lasting success or ‘get rich' in business by being a conformist".

Cary Cooper is professor of organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University Management School