Does Electronic Monitoring Pay Off? - Influences of Electronic Monitoring Purposes on Organizational Attractiveness

Abstract

Applicants often take great care in deciding where to apply and may refrain from applying or accepting a job offer if they hear about privacy-invading practices at a future workplace. Based on communication privacy management theory, the present work examines how applicants react to different purposes of electronic monitoring. In a scenario study, we found higher privacy concerns and lower organizational attractiveness in a situation with controlling monitoring procedures as compared to supportive monitoring procedures. Furthermore, competitive participants evaluated only noncontrolling monitoring procedures more positively. This demonstrates that organizational attractiveness is harmed by controlling monitoring procedures, and decision makers should keep in mind how electronic monitoring is implemented, used, and may be perceived within and outside the organization.