If you subscribe to the IT News Digest (for those of you who don’t, click here to automatically subscribe), then you saw my selection for today’s top news story: “Using cell phones to track employees.”

Here is the summary that I posted in the newsletter: “Advances in mobile phone tracking technology turn British firms into cyber sleuths as they keep a virtual eye on their staff. These firms are able to determine whether workers have been “held up” in the pub rather than in a traffic jam. Not everybody is happy about being monitored, and civil rights group Liberty says the growth of tracking raises data privacy concerns. How would you feel about being tracked on the job?“

The link directly above will lead you to TechRepublic’s Discussion Center, and you’ll be able to see what your IT peers have to say about this subject. A large majority of respondents agreed that they don’t advocate mobile phone tracking technology, and a few even said they would refuse to work for a company that insisted on knowing their whereabouts (that’s the polite version). Others said that they didn’t think it was a big deal, as long as the tracking was solely during work hours. Personally, I don’t think that it would be a big deal – but I might have a completely different opinion if I spent more of my day out of the office. Most of my time is spent right here, sitting at my desk. Other than that, there’s the kitchen and the bathroom. Pretty exciting stuff, let me tell ‘ya!

Have I mentioned that we have a game room here, where a few of my male colleagues spend some of their time? As far as how much time, I’d certainly be interested in tracking THAT activity! 😉