Taking strict action against its employees for violating company policy and participating in activism at work, Google has terminated one employee and sent two others on leave.
The employees in question were found to have leaked confidential information about Google staff to the media.
One of the employees had apparently retrieved information and documents pertaining to staff members and shared them beyond his scope of work. The other had monitored the individual calendars of employees who worked in the community platforms, human resources, and communication teams. Naturally, the employees who were being tracked felt insecure and unsafe, prompting Google to take action.
This incident comes close on the heels of Google’s introduction of systems to put a check on employees trying to organise themselves or indulge in union-like activities. The employees themselves had seen the move as an attempt to ‘spy’ on them, as it involved installing a Chrome extension on each employee’s computer. With the latest termination, people are alleging that the action against the three workers is Google’s way of punishing members of the workforce who dare to raise their voice against the management.
It is reported that the employees who have been sent on leave tried to access certain documents pertaining to the installation of the so-called ‘surveillance tool’. The installation will alert the management if any worker attempts to create a calendar event with over 10 rooms or 100 participants.
However, the Company still maintains that the browser extension was installed only to decrease calendar spam. The Company spokesperson has clarified that action has been taken against certain employees only because they tried to access and share a whole lot of official documents that should not have been leaked to outsiders.
