Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-2023
Publisher
Wiley
Source Publication
Journal of Computer Mediated Communication
Source ISSN
1083-6101
Abstract
The future of work increasingly focuses on the collection and analysis of worker data to monitor communication, ensure productivity, reduce security threats, and assist in decision-making. The COVID-19 pandemic increased employer reliance on these technologies; however, the blurring of home and work boundaries meant these monitoring tools might also surveil private spaces. To explore workers’ attitudes toward increased monitoring practices, we present findings from a factorial vignette survey of 645 U.S. adults who worked from home during the early months of the pandemic. Using the theory of privacy as contextual integrity to guide the survey design and analysis, we unpack the types of workplace surveillance practices that violate privacy norms and consider attitudinal differences between male and female workers. Our findings highlight that the acceptability of workplace surveillance practices is highly contextual, and that reductions in privacy and autonomy at work may further exacerbate power imbalances, especially for vulnerable employees.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Vitak, Jessica and Zimmer, Michael, "Surveillance and the Future of Work: Exploring Employees’ Attitudes toward Monitoring in a Post-COVID Workplace" (2023). Computer Science Faculty Research and Publications. 90.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/comp_fac/90
Comments
Published version. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Vol. 28, No. 4 (2023). DOI. © The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of International Communication Association.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.