Search

Despite a surge in the number of organizations using surveillance technology to monitor their workers, understanding of the health impacts of these technologies in the broader working population is limited. The current study addresses this omission using a novel measure of an individual's overall perception of workplace surveillance, which enables it to be asked of all workers, rather than only those in specific occupations or work contexts that have historically been vulnerable to electronic performance monitoring. Structural equation modeling analyses based on a national sample of Canadian workers (N = 3,508) reveal that surveillance perceptions are indirectly associated with increased psychological distress and lower job satisfaction through stress proliferation. Findings demonstrate that the negative consequences of surveillance are explained by its positive association with three secondary work stressors: job pressures, reduced autonomy, and privacy violations. In the case of psychological distress, these stressors fully mediate a positive association with surveillance. The relationship between surveillance and job satisfaction is more complex, however, with the indirect effects of stress proliferation balanced out by a positive direct effect of surveillance on satisfaction. These results support the use of a stress process framework to examine how surveillance impacts worker well-being through stress proliferation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This article examines whether performing location-based platform work is associated with greater work-family conflict--and if this association is stronger for those relying on labor platforms for their primary employment. Background: Digital labor platforms project a vision of flexibility and improved work-family balance for workers; however, empirical evidence supporting these promises remains elusive. While platform workers are normally offered the freedom to choose their work hours, the efforts of labor platforms to algorithmically manage workers' schedules may encourage an 'always-on' approach to work that pressures workers to prioritize work availability that exacerbates work-family conflicts. Method: We conducted three national surveys of Canadian workers in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Based on pooled survey data (N = 10,483), structural equational modeling was used to investigate (1) the relationship between locationbased platform work and work-family conflict and (2) the mediating role of work-family role blurring--captured by work contact outside of normal working hours. Results: We discovered that platform workers, compared to employees and the traditional self-employed, reported greater work-family conflict--conflicts that were especially pronounced for those relying on labor platforms as their primary source of income. These patterns were partially explained by platform workers' increased exposure to work contact outside of work hours. Conclusion: Our findings question the assertion that digital labor platforms provide enhanced flexibility for managing work and family demands. Instead, we contend that the instability inherent in platform work blurs and disrupts work-family role boundaries, disproportionately favoring labor platforms and their clientele at the expense of workers' familial responsibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]