Document Type
Article
Language
eng
Format of Original
23 p.
Publication Date
8-2006
Publisher
Wiley
Source Publication
Communication Theory
Source ISSN
1050-3293
Original Item ID
doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2885.2006.00271.x
Abstract
Nearly 80% of organizations now employ some form of employee surveillance. This significant level of use infers a salient need for additional theory and research into the effects of monitoring and surveillance. Accordingly, this essay examines the panoptic effects of electronic monitoring and surveillance (EM/S) of social communication in the workplace and the underlying structural and perceptual elements that lead to these effects. It also provides future scholarly perspectives for studying EM/S and privacy in the organization from the vantage point of contemporary communication technologies, such as the telephone, voice mail, e-mail, and instant messaging, utilized for organizational communication. Finally, four propositions are presented in conjunction with a new communication-based model of EM/S, providing a framework incorporating three key components of the panoptic effect: (a) communication technology use, (b) organizational factors, and (c) organizational policies for EM/S.
Recommended Citation
D'Urso, Scott C., "Whoʼs Watching Us at Work? Toward a Structural-Perceptual Model of Electronic Monitoring and Surveillance in Organizations" (2006). College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications. 128.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/comm_fac/128
Comments
Accepted version. Communication Theory, Vol. 13, No. 3 (August 2006): 281-303. DOI. The definitive version is available at www3.interscience.wiley.com. © 2006 Wiley-Blackwell. Used with permission.