Employee perceptions of fairness toward IoT monitoring

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to explore Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled monitoring in a multi-national petrochemical organization in Qatar and finds that the technology does not negatively influence employee perceptions of fairness, challenging current propositions on monitoring and highlighting the emerging role of culture, competition and paradoxical leadership in moderating the relationship between IoT-enabled monitoring and perceptions of fairness. Design/methodology/approach The authors adopted qualitative research as the methodological premise to explore the relationship between IoT-enabled monitoring and perceptions of fairness. They collected data from an oil and gas organization in Qatar to test the validity of the proposed hypotheses. Findings While I0T-enabled monitoring was perceived as pervasive, tracking every move and recording conversations, the diffusion of the technology throughout Qatar desensitized employees who felt it was the new reality around workspaces. The following three important factors reshaped employees’ perceptions toward IoT-enabled monitoring: a culture that is driven by productivity and strongly adheres by policies and standards to reach set goals; a highly competitive job market; and a paradoxical leadership who balances between the competition and lucrative rewards. Research limitations/implications The limitation of this research is that the authors conducted a case study in similar organizations within the oil and gas industry in the State of Qatar to refute the theory that electronic monitoring of employees in the workspace elicits perceptions of unfairness. Future research can conduct quantitative surveys of employee perceptions in different industries within different cultures to be able to generalize and evolve a universal theory. Practical implications The research findings shed light on the escalating pressure global competition exerts on employees that nervousness about pervasive monitoring systems is replaced with fear of job loss and analytics on monitoring data is welcomed as a means of readjusting behavior to meet performance expectations. Originality/value The case study is the first to highlight the desensitization of employees to monitoring and the increasing pressure competition plays in motivating them to exceed expectations.