A recent survey conducted by software company Qualtrics, involving nearly 37,000 part-time remote workers in 32 countries, reveals that these employees permit their employers to track emails, chat messages, and virtual meeting transcripts. While workers generally accept the monitoring of work-related communications, they express dissatisfaction when it comes to their personal and social media content being scrutinized.The survey found that only about 40 percent of respondents had no objections to their employers checking their social media posts. In the past, employers relied on surveys to gauge employee sentiment, but the advent of technology has enabled the analysis of emails, chats, and webcast comments to gain better insights into employee sentiments.
This approach, known as passive listening, involves analyzing communications to improve workplace understanding and employee satisfaction. Benjamin Granger, Chief Workplace Psychologist at Qualtrics, differentiates passive listening from the use of productivity monitoring software. Notably, seven in 10 survey respondents supported employers using email data for these purposes.Granger suggested that this trend is likely to become more widespread, allowing employers to collect anonymous data from sources like Glassdoor, Blind, and social media to assess employee sentiment. The survey results highlight the changing dynamics of remote work, workplace privacy, and employees’ evolving expectations in an increasingly digital world.”