Editor's note
As digital technology is deeply embedded in the work scene, some "soft infringements" in the workplace that are different from explicit infringements such as direct illegal dismissal and corporal punishment of workers have attracted attention and discussion.
"Soft infringement" in the workplace is often characterized by strong concealment, difficulty in obtaining evidence, and blurred boundaries. For example, some workers have their work equipment information secretly monitored by their employers, and have privacy concerns due to "soft surveillance" in the workplace; some employers use "soft layoffs" in the workplace such as evading work permissions to force workers to resign in disguise. In this regard, why further strengthen the "hard constraints"?
Starting today, this edition launches a series of reports titled "In the Digital Age, "Soft Torts" in the Workplace Should Have Hard Constraints", focusing on new situations and issues emerging in the field of labor relations, and exploring the standards for identifying "soft torts" in the workplace and new ways for workers to provide evidence and safeguard their rights. stay tuned.
"The company has installed monitoring software on work computers, and the leader said that he can see the running contents of the computers." On October 13, Ms. Li from Zhejiang reported to the Workers' Daily that not long ago, her company installed a software on dozens of work computers to monitor the working status of employees. "Although we have been informed, everyone does not know whether WeChat and QQ chat records will be monitored, and they do not know how much information the company can see. They are always on tenterhooks when using computers, it is so suffocating."
Real-time recording of computer screens, monitoring social software chats, checking mobile web browsing records... As digital office becomes more and more popular, traditional manual management methods are gradually becoming intelligent. At the same time, some companies rely on intelligent systems to quietly monitor employees' working status, facial expressions, operating behaviors, online time, frequency of absences, etc. Some of the monitoring scope extends to private rest periods and private social interfaces.
The above phenomenon is called "soft surveillance" by some workers in the workplace. Different from traditional monitoring methods, in the face of "soft monitoring", workers often find it difficult to detect monitoring details, define the boundaries of infringement, or fix illegal evidence. Some monitoring behaviors are also packaged as "office compliance management" and so on. Is this type of "soft surveillance" illegal? In this regard, how can workers effectively protect their rights?
Can you spend 350 yuan to monitor employees’ office computers?
The reporter searched on some social platforms or e-commerce websites and found that there are merchants selling computer monitoring software. In this regard, the reporter consulted a software merchant as a customer, and the other party said that its product can control employees' computers through real-time screen recording and screenshots, restrict applications and website networking, and thus prevent employees from shopping or watching videos at work.
"If necessary, it can also monitor social software chat records such as WeChat, QQ, DingTalk, etc., as well as web browsing records, and form viewable reports." The merchant introduced.
"After the software is installed, it will be in a hidden state, and employees will not be aware of being 'monitored.'" The businessman told reporters that this software only requires one computer as a server. The software installation fee for each computer on the employee side is 350 yuan, and the software can be used permanently in the future. The reporter saw in the demonstration video provided by the merchant that the products it sells can display chat records on WeChat, Feishu and other software in real time, and record employees' computer screens.
An IT practitioner who once worked for a listed food company revealed that his department can monitor employees' online behavior in real time. "As long as they are connected to the workplace Wi-Fi, their online behavior will be monitored. The company can also see the web browsing records of employees' mobile phones. If employees frequently browse non-work-related web pages for a long time, we will remind them and report to the leadership if serious."
"Companies can carry out necessary monitoring of corporate equipment and work scenes with prior notification, but they must follow the principles of legality, legitimacy and necessity." According to Xie Yongjiang, director of the Internet Governance and Legal Research Center of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, companies are not allowed to illegally obtain or view personal privacy information such as the content of employees' private communications. In principle, employees' private devices should not be subject to corporate surveillance.
Setting up "workplace monitoring" requires prior notification
Can an employee's deleted private WeChat chat history restored by the company without authorization be used as evidence in a lawsuit? Are such records legally binding?
Ma, who once worked for an environmental protection company, has signed fixed-term labor contracts with the company twice in a row. Before the expiration of the second contract, the company claimed that Ma had faked sick leave and fraudulently obtained vacation time, and decided not to renew the indefinite-term labor contract on the grounds of serious violation of rules and regulations. Ma believed that the company had illegally terminated the labor contract, so he took the case to court.
During the trial, the company involved in the case submitted WeChat chat records between Ma and his colleagues, but failed to prove the legality of the source of the evidence.
The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court, which heard the case, pointed out that the WeChat chat records involved in the case are personal information that belongs exclusively to Ma, and can only be recovered and collected after Ma is fully informed and voluntarily and explicitly agrees to the processing. The company restored employees' deleted data without authorization and collected the information as basis and evidence for internal punishment, which constituted improper use of Ma's personal information and violated the core purpose of personal information protection, so it was not accepted. In the end, the court determined that the company had illegally terminated the labor contract and must pay compensation to Ma for the illegal termination of the labor contract.
Xie Yongjiang said that companies can monitor employees’ online behavior in the workplace and on work equipment, which can be used to carry out business management and protect information security. However, employees must be fully informed in advance and limited to reasonable boundaries, and private spaces must not be invaded.
"Employees must be clearly informed of the scope and method of monitoring, as well as what data is collected and the purpose of the data, through employee handbooks, entry agreements and other written forms. Uninformed 'secret monitoring' is likely to be illegal." Xie Yongjiang believes that private mobile phones are employees' personal property, and even if they are connected to the company's Wi-Fi, companies have no right to view the APP list, usage time, etc. on the mobile phone. "Unless the employee separately agrees in writing and the relevant monitoring is only used to achieve necessary security purposes, the company is suspected of infringing on the personal information rights and interests stipulated in the "Personal Information Protection Law of the People's Republic of China". In addition, monitoring cannot be used to evaluate employee performance at will."
Yang Xuhua, director and professor of the Human Resources Development and Management Research Center of Capital University of Economics and Business, analyzed that workplace monitoring has both advantages and disadvantages. “On the one hand, a digital monitoring system can replace multiple inspection personnel, achieve 7×24 hours of ‘round-the-clock supervision,’ and can also quickly carry out risk tracing. On the other hand, some new technology monitoring methods may be continuous and cold, and employees may easily fall into "psychological monitoring" anxiety, and their attention may be easily distorted from "how to get things done" to "how to make the system look like I am busy."
Device ownership does not equal unlimited monitoring rights
According to Ma Ce, a partner at Kenting Law Firm, the key to judging whether workplace surveillance is legal is not who owns the equipment, but whether the surveillance has a legitimate purpose and necessity, and whether it exceeds reasonable boundaries.
"For example, in order to prevent the leakage of trade secrets, it is usually reasonable for companies to monitor whether office computer files are sent out, abnormal data transmission and other behaviors." Ma Ce believes that if a company secretly reads and collects employees' private WeChat chat records for analysis, or secretly turns on computer cameras and microphones, and uses such information for non-work privacy dissemination, it may exceed the necessary scope and be suspected of infringing on employees' privacy rights and personal information rights.
"Even if the computer is the property of the company, employees still have reasonable privacy expectations in the workplace in accordance with the law. The company's ownership of the device does not mean unlimited monitoring rights to employees' private information." Mace said.
Yang Xuhua further stated that in most cases, such "soft surveillance" methods are neither necessary nor desirable. In his view, technical monitoring methods such as screen monitoring, mouse trajectory analysis, and offline traceability are essentially an override of "process control" versus "result orientation." “It implies a negative assumption that ‘employees are inherently lazy, untrustworthy, and must be monitored at all times.’ When employees feel over-monitored, intrinsic work motivation will weaken and creativity levels will drop significantly.”
In this regard, Xiong Xingxing, a lawyer at Beijing Weiheng (Changchun) Law Firm, reminded workers that they should take the initiative to familiarize themselves with the monitoring and management rules of the unit. When signing labor contracts, confidentiality agreements, or reading employee handbooks and other documents, pay attention to whether the unit has enabled monitoring methods such as screenshots, screen recordings, and keylogging, and confirm the monitoring coverage, information collection type, and access permissions.
"If the company does set up network or equipment monitoring, workers should try to avoid leaving personal privacy information in the unit's equipment and office network." Xiong Xingxing suggested that if workers notice that the unit has unreasonable monitoring behavior, they should promptly retain evidence and provide feedback to the human resources department or management, requesting that the inappropriate monitoring behavior be terminated and personal privacy materials that have been collected in violation of regulations be deleted. If your rights and interests are seriously damaged, you can call the police or file a lawsuit in court.
Our reporter Tao Wen
"Worker Daily" (October 15, 2026, Page 06)
