Can employers get personal information of their employees without the employees' permission? The answers are various because people have different cultural and educational backgrounds. While some people argue that employees' personal information should be protected from their employers, I am convinced that employers should keep the right to access this information under necessary circumstances.
One main reason supporting my view is that conditions of employees personal life are very likely to influence productivity of the company. People who live a regular and heathy life are usually more energetic and effiecient than their counterparts, thereby improving the overall performance. To survive in today's highly competitive market, company should has deep knowledge about itself in very aspects, inclucding employees' personal life, so that it could avoid severe shortages.
Moveover, if employers supervise their employees inadequently, the possibility of working accidents will increase. For example, an addicted worker may be careless during working hours and, as a result, conduct seriers mistakes that not only hurt the profit of company but also impose risk to his or her collegues' lives.
In addtion, knowing personal information of employees enhances the management of human resourse. When selecting individual for specific position, managers can make use of this information to make a better choice. For instance, it is better for people who is interested in cartoon to communicate with customers from animation companies, because this employee has superior knowledge about the customers and those companies, compared with other employees.
Admittedly, private information is protected by law and regulations in many areas. Stealing presonal information is also unethical. However, employees tend to hide the information that adversely affects their career, resulting greater damage to their collegue, their employers and even the whole society. Clearly, the benefits outweight the risks.
To sum up, the issue of whether employers can obtain employees' personal information is complex and controversial. From the analysis above, we can arrive at the conclusion that employers should have this right.