ILPC 2027

Working life is one of the areas of society in which the level and extent of control and surveillance has increased considerably in recent years. In the wake of technological development that continuously paves the way for new and more refined methods of monitoring employees, the question often arises as to the consequences this has for the protection of the privacy of employees and for the working environment (Lyon 2002, Stanton and Stam 2003, Thompson 2003, Bråten 2008, Official Norwegian Report NOU 2009:1). This question raises several topics that are of interest in a sociological perspective: it involves for example trust and power in the relationship between the employer and the employee, workplace interactions, the autonomy of employees and their participation, as well as the experience of violation and/or safety in the work situation. It also raises questions related to the regulations of control and surveillance in working life. And it gives some new challenges for the trade union movement to handle.

Control and surveillance in working life take place in a context in which the employer’s managerial prerogative is set against the employee’s right to privacy protection and a safe working environment. Considerable changes have taken place in work tasks and work organization, and an increasing number of people carry out their work in contact with customers, users, clients, students and the like. At the same time the employer’s use of different control and surveillance systems has changed.

In this paper I address issues pertaining to the status of regulations, practices and consequences of technological control and surveillance in working life in Norway. The main questions are:

1. How is the employee’s right to protection of privacy defined in the employment relationship, and how does this relate to the employer’s right to monitor and supervise?

2. How common are the different forms of technological surveillance in working life in Norway?

3. What impact does the use of various control and surveillance systems have on the working environment?

Data

My paper is based on several data sources and methods of analyses – qualitative as well as quantitative.

The main data material is based on a web-based questionnaire among Norwegian employees. Altogether 6,022 interviews were conducted during the winter of 2009-2010. The questionnaire consisted of approximately 70 questions on the use and consequences of various forms of control and surveillance measures in working life in Norway, and approximately 20 background questions about the respondent and his or her work situation. The paper is based on analyses of a limited selection of these questions. 

The paper is first and foremost an empirical contribution to the debate on the extent of surveillance in working life and the consequences this has for the privacy protection of employees and the working environment, and also includes questions related to safety vis-á-vis customers, users, clients, students and the like.