Dataveillance in the Workplace

Abstract

The many obvious benefits that accompany digital technology have been matched by some less welcome and more contentious impacts. One of these is the steady erosion of employee privacy. Whilst employee performance has frequently been the object of scrutiny, the increasing number of organizations that monitor employees through advanced digital technologies has added a dystopian edge to existing employee privacy concerns, particularly as many employees are unable to exercise choice in relation to use of these technologies. If unaddressed, their concerns have potential to impact the psychological contract between employee and employer, resulting in loss of employee trust, negative attitudes, and counterproductive work behaviors. This chapter outlines some of the emerging issues relating to use of employee monitoring technologies. It summarizes both management rationale for monitoring as well as employee privacy concerns and proposes an ethical framework that is useful for balancing these differing perspectives.