Neatness: 2 Completeness: 3 Creativity: 2 Output: 8 Total: 15

ARELLANO UNIVERSITY
Jose Abad Santos Campus

Basic Education Department – Senior High School
3058 Taft Avenue Pasay City
Neatness: 2
Completeness: 3
Creativity: 2
Output: 8
Total: 15
Subject: Work Immersion Reference: Work Immersion SHS

Topic: Confidentiality in the workplace Type of Activity: Written Activity
Activity Numbers: 6
Learning Target: at the end of the lesson the learner should:
Define Confidentiality in the Workplace
Identify tips for handling confidentiality in the workplace
Appreciate the importance of having confidentiality in the workplace
____________________________________________________________________________________________
CONCEPT NOTES
Confidentiality in the Workplace
What is Confidentiality?
If something is confidential, it has been ‘given in confidence’, that is, in the trust that it will be kept
secret. The root of the word is ‘confide’ or to tell someone something secret, often reluctantly.
Confidentiality pertains to the treatment of information that an individual has disclosed in a relationship
of trust and with the expectation that it will not be divulged to others without permission in ways that are
inconsistent with the understanding of the original disclosure (UCI Office of Research, 2019).
Workplace confidentiality can be defined as keeping the employee, customer and client information
private. Usually, it is seen that organizations take a number of steps to ensure that client information
remains confidential but when it comes to employee information, they may not be so particular.
What Type of Information Must or Should Be Protected?
1. Employee Information
2. Management Information
3. Business Information
Employee Information- “personal identifying information” (e.g., an employee’s Social Insurance

number, home address or telephone number, e-mail address, Internet identification name or password).
Medical and disability information is kept confidential and limits access to those employees who have a
“business need-to-know” (e.g., supervisors who need to know about restrictions on the work of an
employee or other reasonable accommodations that need to be made, safety personnel handling medical
emergencies, government officers investigating complaints of disability discrimination).
Management Information includes:

-Discussions about employee relations issues,
-Disciplinary actions,
-Impending layoffs/reductions-in-force,
-Terminations,
-Workplace investigations of employee misconduct, etc.
Some of this information may also be used to discriminate against employees and should be kept secret
from all except those in management who need the information.
Business Information- refers as “proprietary information” or “trade secrets”. It is an information that’s

not generally known to the public and would not ordinarily be available to competitors except via illegal
or improper means.
Common examples of “trade secrets” include manufacturing processes and methods, business plans,
financial data, budgets and forecasts, computer programs and data compilation, client/customer lists,
ingredient formulas and recipes, membership or employee lists, supplier lists, etc.
“Trade secrets” does not include information that a company voluntarily gives to potential customers,
posts on its website, or otherwise freely provides outside of the company.
Tips for Handling Confidential Information
1. Control Access
2. Use confidential waste bins and shredders
3. Lockable document storage cabinets
4. Secure delivery of confidential documents
5. Employee Training
Why is Confidentiality important?

Confidentiality is important for several reasons. One of the most important elements of confidentiality is
that it helps to build and develop trust between employer and employee. Employees will feel reassured
knowing that their personal information is being retained and used appropriately.
Maintaining confidentiality is important for honest communication between customers, clients and
employees. It potentially allows for the free flow of information between the client and worker and
acknowledges that a client’s personal life and all the issues and problems that they have belong to them.
If a company’s personal information gets into the wrong hands, this may cause a series of illegal
activities such as fraud or discrimination, which may lead to expenses such as costly lawsuits for the
employer. Failure to properly secure and protect confidential business information can lead to the loss of
business/clients.
Activity Number 1
Directions: Interview one employee of any establishment closed to your strand and ask him/her to share
one work situation that shows on how to handle confidentiality in the workplace.
Example: As an encoder, he/she have access on the personal information of the employees stored in the
computer. One of the customers asks for the address and family background of a certain employee. What
did he/she do?
Name (Optional):
_____________________________________________________
Position:
Office clerk .
Establishment:
Dulce memorial chapel .
Work Situation: How he/she manages and addresses it:
There are times when she is arranging a flight for Even though she is a friend of the owner, she
a business work trip. A friend of the company’s respectfully explained that she cannot tell
owner called to inquire about the flight's anyone about the flight information, which
departure time. should only be known by the person who
organized the trip and the people who will be
traveling with them.
Guide Questions
1. What is the meaning of confidentiality in the workplace?
- Confidentiality in the workplace is characterized as information that is kept secret and only a
few people have access to it. It's knowledge and a contract with certain parts and details kept
hidden.
2. What are the ways to handle confidential information?
- Controlling access, practicing the use of waste bins and shredders, as well as using lockable
document storage and safe distribution of sensitive documents are the ways to manage
confidential information.
3. Why is it important to maintain confidentiality in the workplace?

- Maintaining workplace confidentiality is vital because it promotes trust between workers and
employers. They would also trust that their information is protected inside the company and
that it will not be misused for illegal activities.
4. What is a breach of confidentiality at work?

- Simply asking and looking for the phone number, home address, or e-mail address of
someone without the owner's permission constitutes a breach of confidentiality at work.
5. What are the consequences of breaking a confidentiality agreement?

- Some of the consequences of violating confidentiality include being fired from your job and,
in the worst-case scenario, being imprisoned or having to pay a fine.

Neatness: 2 Completeness: 3 Creativity: 2 Output: 8 Total: 15

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ARELLANO UNIVERSITY

Jose Abad Santos Campus

Subject: Work Immersion Reference: Work Immersion SHS

Employee Information- “personal identifying information” (e.g., an employee’s Social Insurance

Management Information includes:

Business Information- refers as “proprietary information” or “trade secrets”. It is an information that’s

Why is Confidentiality important?

Work Situation: How he/she manages and addresses it:

3. Why is it important to maintain confidentiality in the workplace?

4. What is a breach of confidentiality at work?

5. What are the consequences of breaking a confidentiality agreement?

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