Individual differences and electronic monitoring at work

Abstract

Individual differences such as personality and demographic factors have effects on how people react to Electronic Performance Monitoring (EPM), yet the literature on this aspect of electronic monitoring has been scattered. The present paper summarizes this body of empirical research and presents a framework for organizing current research findings based on two dimensions: the probability of successful work under the monitoring and the probability of accepting that the monitoring is of value. The framework also allows researchers to make predictions regarding additional individual difference variables. Managers may use this information to select employees who are likely to respond well to monitoring conditions and to structure monitoring procedures so that they are likely to be accepted by their employees with particular individual difference characteristics.

Keywords:

• Electronic Performance Monitoring
• individual differences
• personality
• surveillance
• electronic monitoring

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Kristine Ross and the anonymous reviewers for insightful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. The order of authorship was determined alphabetically.

Notes

1. Note that variations on these same two dimensions have been theorized to be important in other ambiguous work-related situations. Vroom's (1964) Expectancy theory uses the dimensions of valence and instrumentality to record the importance of expected outcomes and their likelihood of occurring to predict a worker's motivation. Carnevale's (1986) Strategic Choice model of mediator behavior predicts a mediator's intervention strategy in disputes based on how much the mediator values certain outcomes and based on the probability that the disputants will agree. These are but two examples where two dimensions – (1) the probability of achieving certain types of outcomes and (2) the value of achieving those outcomes – have been used to explain behavior.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jengchung V. Chen

Jengchung V. Chen (PhD CIS, University of Hawaii) is an Assistant Professor in the Institute of Telecommunications Management at the National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan, ROC. He has published articles in numerous journals in the areas of trust and Internet privacy and won a ‘Distinguished Research Award’ at the 2003 Allied Academies convention.

William H. Ross

William H. Ross (PhD, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, University of Illinois) is Professor of Human Resource Management at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse. He has published articles dealing with electronic monitoring, trust and third-party dispute resolution procedures in numerous journals including Academy of Management Review, Journal of Applied Psychology and Personnel Psychology.