The use of the Internet for personal purposes in the workplace has seen phenomenal growth over the last quarter century. Along with this growth, employers and employees have used the Internet as a tool to increase profits, manage time, and facilitate communications. However, such technological progress has its problems. The issue explored is how the growth of electronic monitoring has changed employee expectations regarding privacy in the workplace. Should employees be able to use the Internet for personal items while working? Does the employee's ability to do this ultimately save the employer time and money? The answer to the question of whether employees should use the Internet for personal purposes while working is both a yes and a no. The devil is in the details of the employer's policies. A small business can easily monitor computer stations and may be more relaxed in this behavior because the intimacy of the office promotes relational interaction. However, a large company may not have personal relationships with each of its employees and therefore may not be able to assess the potential abuse of time and resources by an employee who sees himself as just a cog in the company machine and potentially invisible. Regardless, an employer can save time and money by showing flexibility in using the Internet for personal activities during, for example, a lunch break. This would minimize employee stress and limit employees' free time to engage in such tasks. (Anandarajan, Simmers, & Igbaria, 2000) How does covert or electronic monitoring differ from a manager's decision to walk around an office, unannounced, to observe behavior and work? Covert monitoring elicits images of Orson Welles' Big Brother, a militant force devoid of empathy for needs and desires... center of paper... from web.ebscohost.comHoffman, MW, Hoffman, LP, and Rowe, M. (2003, Autumn). You've got mail and the boss knows it [Magazine]. Business and Society Review, 108(3), 285-307. Retrieved from web.ebscohost.comKatz, M. L. (2011, May). Social media navigates legal dangers. Industry Week, 260, 52-54. Retrieved from web.esbcohost.comPhillips, L. (2008, January 24). Trusting staff to surf sensibly boosts morale. People Management, 14(2), 16. Retrieved from web.ebscohost.comPoremba, S. M. (2008, September). Risky business that manages email security risk. Econtent, 31(7), 40-44. Retrieved from web.ebscohost.comRead my email get a warrant [Magazine]. (2012, January). Scientific American, 306(1), 12. doi:web.ebscohost.comSipior, J.C., & Ward, B.T. (1999, July). The dark side of employee emails. Communications of the ACM, 42(7), 88-95. Retrieved from web.ebscohost.com