Home Subjects Archives Quotations
Search: Search Tips

snoopervision (snoo.pur.VIZH.un) n. A management or regulatory style characterized by intrusiveness or excessive prying.
snoopervisor n. —snoopervise v.

Example Citation:
"Snoopervision" has always been a concern among U.S. workers. It's not uncommon for employees to complain periodically about "big brother" looking over their shoulder. With the advent of today's sophisticated monitoring technology, these complaints have grown louder and more frequent. Now, the issue of workplace privacy is spilling over into the courts. Wary supervisors had better start paying attention.
—Robert. D. Ramsey, "The 'snoopervision' debate: employer interests vs. employee privacy," Supervision, August 1, 1999

Earliest Citation:
A number of the men agree with a 44-year-old CEO who declared that his bank could "take care of misconduct without government snoopervision."
—Eliza G. Collins, Timothy B. Blodgett, "Sexual Harassment," Harvard Business Review, March/April 1981

Notes:
This blend of snooping and supervision was sent to me by subscriber Katie Ochieano.

Note that the great science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein used the verb form snoopervise in one of his young-adult novels:

Daddy is a dear and does not snoopervise me.
—Robert A. Heinlein, Podkayne of Mars, 1963

Related Words:
acoustic snooping
dilbert
marzipan layer
regime change
seagull manager

Subject Categories:
Business - Corporate Culture
Business - Employees
The World - Government

Posted on June 3, 2002 at 10:26 PM


 Recent posts:
  free-range kid
  bio-mom
  jingle mail
  tuxeda
  boreout
  scuppie
  allergy bullying
  IMBY
  agflation
  mullet strategy
 Alphabetical archives:
  A B C D E F G H I
  J K L M N O P Q R
  S T U V W X Y Z #
 Other links:
Top 100 Words

Recent Words

Recent Quotes

Word Spy, The Book

Word Spy Citations

Feedback

My Favorite Words

My Neologisms

Paul McFedries



Copyright © 1995 - 2008 Paul McFedries and Logophilia Limited