“I Didn’t Agree to These Terms”: Electronic Performance Monitoring Violates the Psychological Contract

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Leon Tomczak ◽  
Tara S. Behrend ◽  
Jon Willford ◽  
William P. Jimenez
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Contract ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Performance Monitoring ◽  
Job Characteristics ◽  
Counterproductive Work Behaviors ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Negative Behaviors ◽  
Electronic Performance Monitoring ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Electronic Performance

Electronic performance monitoring (EPM) is a ubiquitous organizational practice often used to increase productivity and discourage negative behaviors in a wide variety of jobs and industries. The conventional wisdom regarding employee reactions to EPM is that it leads to negative attitudes and behavioral reactions, but several recent studies have found positive effects on job outcomes, highlighting the need for research regarding the boundary conditions and mechanisms that explain these reactions. Drawing from work design theory and psychological contract theory, we propose that expectations of autonomy and beliefs about the employee-organization relationship explain reactions to EPM. We find that individuals perceive EPM as a violation of the psychological contract, and individuals with greater perceptions of job autonomy are more likely to perceive a violation. Furthermore, individuals who hold negative perceptions of EPM reassert their autonomy by engaging in covert counterproductive work behaviors, such as withholding effort. Reactions to EPM also appear to differ based on job characteristics. Future research is needed to understand the formation and maintenance of monitoring expectations and explore the role of job characteristics and context in forming those expectations.

EPM 20/20: A Review, Framework, and Research Agenda for Electronic Performance Monitoring

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel M. Ravid ◽  
David L. Tomczak ◽  
Jerod C. White ◽  
Tara S. Behrend
Keyword(s):  
Job Performance ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Performance Monitoring ◽  
Individual Performance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Psychological Variables ◽  
Electronic Performance Monitoring ◽  
Considerable Research ◽  
Electronic Performance ◽  
Technological Means

Electronic performance monitoring (EPM) refers to the use of technological means to observe, record, and analyze information that directly or indirectly relates to job performance. The last comprehensive review of the EPM literature was published in 2000. Since 2000, dramatic advances in information technologies have created an environment in which organizations are able to monitor employees to a greater extent and with greater intensity than was previously possible. Moreover, since that time, considerable research has been devoted to understanding the effects of EPM on individual performance and attitudes. Contradictory findings in the EPM literature exist, suggesting that EPM is a multidimensional phenomenon and one for which contextual and psychological variables are pertinent. Thus, we propose a theory-based typology of EPM characteristics and use this typology as a framework to review the EPM literature and identify an agenda for future research and practice.

Beyond Privacy and Fairness Concerns

2011 ◽  
pp. 101-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Zweig
Keyword(s):  
Performance Monitoring ◽  
Employee Performance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Electronic Performance Monitoring ◽  
Fairness Concerns ◽  
Electronic Performance

This chapter explores the possibility that electronic performance monitoring violates the basic psychological boundary between the employer and employee. Once this boundary has been violated, a host of negative implications are likely, ranging from dissatisfaction and stress to resistance and deviance. This chapter outlines research investigating the implications of electronic performance monitoring and discusses the potential consequences if organizations continue to opt for electronic methods of monitoring to maximize employee performance. Furthermore, it offers suggestions for future research and the practice of electronic performance monitoring in an effort to define the boundaries around its use and limit the negative consequences experienced by electronically monitored employees in organizations.

scholarly journals Electronic Performance Monitoring in the Digital Workplace: Conceptualization, Review of Effects and Moderators, and Future Research Opportunities

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Kalischko ◽  
René Riedl
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Performance Monitoring ◽  
Resource Planning ◽  
Worker Safety ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Home Office ◽  
Electronic Performance Monitoring ◽  
Research Opportunities ◽  
Electronic Performance

The rise of digital and interconnected technology within the workplace, including programs that facilitate monitoring and surveillance of employees is unstoppable. The COVID-19-induced lockdowns and the resulting increase in home office adoption even increased this trend. Apart from major benefits that may come along with such information and communication technologies (e.g., productivity increases, better resource planning, and increased worker safety), they also enable comprehensive Electronic Performance Monitoring (EPM) which may also have negative effects (e.g., increased stress and a reduction in job satisfaction). This conceptual article investigates EPM to better understand the development, adoption, and impact of EPM systems in organizations. The EPM literature published since the 1980s constitutes the basis for this conceptual article. We present a framework which is intended to serve as foundation for future studies. Moreover, we reviewed more than three decades of empirical EPM research and identified six major outcomes that are influenced by the use of an EPM system, as well as a large number of moderator variables. Based on our conceptual analyses and the resulting insights, which also include privacy, ethical, and cultural considerations, we discuss future research opportunities where we also refer to design implications for EPM systems.

Towards a design theory of computer-supported organizational participation

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 188-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Wagenknecht ◽  
René Filpe ◽  
Christof Weinhardt
Keyword(s):  
Design Theory ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Work Conditions ◽  
Information Management System ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Expert Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Participation ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Expert Interview

Purpose Employees demand high responsibility and empowerment, while keeping their work communal and flexible. Initiatives that foster organizational participation (OP) can contribute to the fulfillment of such work conditions. Research in sociology and psychology demonstrated positive effects on job satisfaction as well as on productivity. However, adoption of social software is widely spread in firms, research on the determinants of computer-supported OP is scarce. The purpose of this paper is to describe the elements to consider when designing OP processes that aim to be beneficial for both the employer as well as the employees. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted 20 guided expert interviews to propose a nascent design theory, following a socio-technical approach that promotes democratic and humanistic principles. Findings Building on the expert interview, the process model includes a topic horizon and a collaboration phase, which creates proposals that have to be decided in order to produce results. The authors show how employee competence and leadership commitment are as important as the workload and support as well as an option for anonymous communication. The authors propose a set of features and explain principles of implementation. Research limitations/implications Despite the authors’ best efforts to diversify the authors’ set of experts, the findings have a limited generalizability as the authors only interviewed a few selected German experts that were either members of the board, HR or IT managers, often concerned with organizing rather than only participating in computer-supported organizational participation (CSOP) processes. Besides testing the model in practise, future research should also consider surveying a broader (and more international) set of employers and employees. Practical implications The authors propose a step-by-step procedure to introduce CSOP. Despite identifying many pitfalls, the research demonstrates that CSOP promises a wide variety of benefits to both employers as well as the employees of an organization, including increased satisfaction as well as productivity. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to propose a nascent design theory for CSOP. The authors derive a number of requirements to consider when implementing an information management system that seeks to improve both the efficiency and equality of employers and employees and lead to a win-win situation for both. The authors describe valid constructs for firms with spatially and timely dispersed teams and more than 50 employees. The research is based on 20 expert interviews, conducted with senior managers of medium and large German enterprises.

Electronic Performance Monitoring, Job Design and Psychological Stress

2011 ◽  
pp. 98-103
Author(s):  
Katherine J.S. Rogers ◽  
Michael J. Smith ◽  
Pascale C. Sainfort
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Stress ◽  
Discriminant Function ◽  
Discriminant Function Analysis ◽  
Performance Monitoring ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Job Design ◽  
Electronic Performance Monitoring ◽  
Design Variables ◽  
High Workload ◽  
Electronic Performance

This study helps establish how electronic performance monitoring may influence employee physical strain levels through job design. It identifies job design variables which differ between monitored and non-monitored employees in the telecommunications industry (using discriminant function analysis). These variables’ relationships to psychological stress outcomes were examined using multiple regression analysis. A group of 704 employees in three job categories (telephone operator {n=228}, customer service representative {n=230}, and clerk {n=246}) responded to a questionnaire survey mailed to their residence. Four hundred thirty-four of the respondents were monitored and 264 were not. The results indicated that the monitored employees had significantly higher levels of reported psychological stress than the non-monitored employees. The discriminant function analysis of job design variables showed that a variety of job design factors discriminated between monitored and non-monitored employees. High levels of workload, few lulls between periods of high workload, high levels of career/future ambiguity, poor relationships with supervisors, as well as low levels of task meaningfulness and completeness were significant predictors of psychological stress outcomes (tension, anxiety, depression and fatigue).

scholarly journals The Mediating Role of Electronic Performance Monitoring in the relationship between Personality Traits and Work Passion

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fizza Hussain ◽  
◽  
Mumtaz Ali Memon ◽  
Hadia Naeem ◽  
Shumaila Hafeez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Performance Monitoring ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Electronic Performance Monitoring ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Electronic Performance ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Work Passion

This study aims to study the relationship between personality traits (conscientiousness and extraversion), electronic performance monitoring (EPM) and work passion. In addition, it investigates the mediating role of EPM between personality traits and work passion. Data was collected from 105 employees working in call centers throughout Pakistan. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), using SmartPLS 3.0, was performed to test the hypothesized model. The results showed that consciousness and extraversion have a positive impact on EPM and work passion. In addition, EPM acts significantly as a mediator between personality traits and work passion among call center employees. This is the first study that examines the mediating role of EPM in the relation between personality differences and work passion. The results of the study would help Asian human resources professionals effectively perform human resources functions, such as employee staffing, training, and performance management. Implications for managers and recommendations for future studies are proposed.

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