I am being watched.My first week of work, I noticed that there were cameras in the hallways of my building. A little creepy, but not unheard of. Then I noticed that there were cameras "concealed" in little domes in the ceiling of my actual office. A little creepier. Later I noticed that there were cameras at every Coaster train station. The station where I get on in the morning, in fact, has about five that I can see, and I'm sure there are more.
My first thought after becoming aware that I was surrounded by cameras most of my work day was of CSI and how they solve crimes using surveillance cameras; if something should happen to me, they could use the cameras to discover my where-abouts. My next thought was, between the train stations and work, my every move is being tracked. Again, kind of creepy.
After working from home for years, this whole camera thing caught me off guard. I had never even noticed security cameras before, and now I see them everywhere. Not really sure what this means. Maybe that an alien race is watching us to learn our habits and will soon take over the world. Or possibly that I just get out more now.
My paranoia was put to rest, however, after I read in a news article that in some big city (London maybe?) about one-third of the cameras don't work. Budget cuts have caused them to fall into disrepair. So maybe I'm not being watched after all. Or maybe I am...
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I can see the need for cameras in public places to deter crimes and help solve them. However, having cameras in your actual office is way over the line. It conveys the impression that your organization doesn't trust you and has to check on whether or not you're working. You should be judged on your productivity. There is no reason to actually observe you working. Thumbs down for in-office cameras.
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