Spring 2023 Winner of the Civil Rights Scholarship

Kayla Torres

Kayla is in her third year of studies at Cornell University, where she studies Industrial and Labor Relations. She also maintains two minors in Business and Law. After earning her undergraduate degree, she hopes to attend law school. Kayla’s essay takes an interesting look at privacy concerns in the new work-from-home era.

Kayla’s Winning Essay:

The most important civil rights issues affecting millennial workers are workplace privacy issues. Privacy issues have become extremely important, especially in the post-pandemic and highly work-from-home era. Unfortunately, people who work from home or even conduct workplace activities from home open the door to judgment, potential discrimination, and a lack of privacy in their previously safe spaces. This can be especially detrimental to already targeted groups as they face significant workplace issues, and opening up their homes to be viewed by their peers can lead to increased microaggressions and uncomfortable situations as their employers and colleagues gain access to personal information.

Mothers can suffer significantly in this regard. It is not always possible to fully control an environment, especially when other pieces are involved, like children and family. Being at home simultaneously opens the door to being called in to work as a mother and employee. Another way privacy is significant for millennials in the workplace is through social media monitoring. Younger generations, including millennials, have spent years on the internet, and building a digital footprint is not always meant for workplace viewing. Many employees look up and subsequentially scrutinize employees for their online presence. This is troubling now because online and in-person presence has become very similar with event social events being held online. Work-from-home norms are also not inclusive to employees in lower economic classes or those without a safe home environment. This can worsen other issues, limiting people’s ability to move up and work for their future. Not everyone has the space or comfort for a work-from-home situation; as more employers expect that, more people are being pushed down.

Millennials need to be better informed about how they can protect their rights in the workplace because while there are and have been civil rights issues in the workplace for a long time, the newly expanded reach of work-to-home has brought new challenges. Also, millennials are more at risk as they typically have a greater online presence than their older colleagues. Others do not understand social media use, especially newer forms such as TikTok. All of these platforms can now be monitored by an employer. Also, employers often monitored work from home using surveillance in your home and often on your device, as many companies have moved toward a bring-your-own-computer approach. This is dangerous as personal spaces and devices reveal so much more personal information than was typically available in the workplace before significant the technology take over or before work from home became so normalized. Additionally, this can lead to more danger if employers do not protect their workers’ devices and there is a data breach. This grey area between work and home life can be extremely dangerous if employees keep personal information on the device. This can be as silly as a TikTok account but also as serious as banking information, showing how these issues are wide-ranging.

Workers can ensure they understand their rights by taking the initiative and starting/joining groups based on workplace rights and education. Many unions have taken the initiative to respond to the new post covid needs, but many workplaces must catch up. Unfortunately, change does not usually happen unprovoked or overnight, so employees need to take the initiative and take advantage of their legal protections. In many ways, it is up to the employees to start the path to long-lasting change in their favor. In the meantime, they can protect themselves by finding ways to separate work and home life and safeguard their privacy. Creating private spaces or even imitating one by using a greenscreen are small but essential ways to protect yourself. Employees can also make their social media private, even if they only do so, until employees guarantee they will not use the information against them.