Employee monitoring is generally liked by employers and disliked by employees. However, there are approaches that can minimize potential concerns, The Wall Street Journal reported Sept. 14.
About 71% of employees are digitally monitored, compared to 30% before the pandemic, according to Gartner. Research has shown that monitoring is not highly effective and causes employees stress, according to the article's author, Andrew Brodsky, PhD, an assistant professor of management at the University of Texas at Austin.
If monitoring is to be used, the following strategies could improve employees' perceptions of the process and their employers, Dr. Brodsky wrote.
1. Be transparent
It is a mistake to monitor employees without letting them know first, according to Dr. Brodsky. Informing employees that it is happening and sharing why is a better approach.
For example, one study showed that employees at university call centers who thought the explanation for monitoring was adequate felt greater job satisfaction and trust in their manager.
2. Share the data
Employees will be more comfortable and less suspicious of organizations that give employees access to the information that is gathered about them, Dr. Brodsky said.
3. Present it in the right way
In one telecommunications organization, employees felt greater satisfaction when they felt the monitoring systems were contributing to their growth, the article said.
One example of how leaders can implement this is by showing employees how the data can help them improve, such as how their time is split up throughout the day.
4. Let employees choose
Attitude and performance of employees can be negatively affected when they have less control over the monitoring process. This was seen in one experiment, in which workers completing data-entry tasks saw an average of 22% accuracy improvements compared to those who could not control monitoring, according to Dr. Brodsky.