Surveilling Employees Erodes Trust -- and Puts Managers in a Bind.

This article discusses the growing trend of using electronic monitoring systems to track employee productivity, particularly in the context of remote or hybrid work arrangements. The authors conducted two studies to understand the impact of monitoring on supervisor-subordinate relationships. They found that when supervisors used monitoring for control purposes, employee performance decreased and deviant behavior increased. However, when supervisors used monitoring data for developmental feedback, employees maintained positive relationships and performed better. The authors suggest three strategies for organizations to achieve the benefits of monitoring while preventing negative consequences: transparency about the purpose of monitoring, training supervisors to deliver feedback in a non-punitive way, and highlighting the benefits of monitoring and delivering on promises. The article emphasizes the importance of considering employee autonomy and fairness in the implementation of monitoring systems. [Extracted from the article]