The Effect of Formal Advance Notice and Justification on Internet Monitoring Fairness: Much About Nothing?

Abstract

Considerable discussion stresses the importance of implementing employee monitoring systems in ways that enhance perceived fairness. Less attention focuses on the organizational context in which such systems are implemented. A longitudinal field experiment examined the effects of advance notice, justification, and trust on employee reactions to Internet monitoring. Results indicate that formal characteristics of monitoring implementation were less important than organizational climate in determining employee reactions. Neither advance notice nor justification significantly affected perceptions of monitoring fairness. In contrast, trust significantly influenced these perceptions, which in turn positively affected employees' job attitudes.