This document is a report on a study about workplace monitoring in India. It includes: - An introduction describing the growth of workplace monitoring with increased IT usage. - Types of monitoring used like cameras, email monitoring and social media blocking. - Hypotheses that employee trust, commitment, efficiency and behavior are independent of monitoring. - A survey analysis of 147 IT employees finding monitoring affects trust, efficiency and commitment but not behavior. Monitoring type and level impact these factors.

1. Workplace monitoring
in
India
RM Project
Under the guidance of Prof. C P Gupta
26NMP03
26NMP15
26NMP20
26NMP28
26NMP36
26NMP45
GROUP 8
Abhijeet Singh Tomar
Argha Ray
Bankim Sammadar
Khushal Malik
Pravin Sharma
Sanjay Prasad
Workplace monitoring of online and workplace activities is quite routine
in firms in India. What is the impact on this on morale, productivity and
loyalty of employees?
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2. Table of Contents
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 3
2. Types of workplace monitoring .......................................................................................................... 3
3. Rationale behind monitoring .............................................................................................................. 3
3.1 Employer perspective ................................................................................................................... 3
3.2 Employee responses ..................................................................................................................... 3
4. Objectives of the study ...................................................................................................................... 4
5. Methodology ....................................................................................................................................... 4
5.1 Hypothesis formulation .................................................................................................................... 4
6. Analysis ............................................................................................................................................... 5
6.1 Demographics of the survey respondents .................................................................................... 5
6.2 Work profile of the survey respondents ....................................................................................... 6
6.3 Types of monitoring used in the workplace ................................................................................. 7
6.4 Analysis by level of monitoring (ANOVA Test) .............................................................................. 7
6.4.1 Behaviour Index: .................................................................................................................... 7
6.4.2 Trust Index: ............................................................................................................................ 8
6.4.3 Efficiency Index: ................................................................................................................... 10
6.4.4 Commitment Index .............................................................................................................. 11
6.5 Impact on Age Groups ................................................................................................................ 12
6.5.1 Effect of different types of monitoring ................................................................................ 13
6.5.2 Do Men and Women see workplace monitoring differently? ............................................. 14
6.5.3 Impact of workplace monitoring on employee attrition. .................................................... 15
7. Reliability Analysis:............................................................................................................................ 16
7.1 Reliability Analysis for efficiency:................................................................................................ 16
7.2 Reliability Analysis for trust: ....................................................................................................... 17
7.3 Reliability Analysis for commitment: .......................................................................................... 17
7.4 Reliability Analysis for behaviour: ............................................................................................... 17
8. Limitations:........................................................................................................................................ 18
9. Conclusion: ........................................................................................................................................ 18
10. Appendix ......................................................................................................................................... 18
10.1 Appendix I: Interview Transcripts ............................................................................................. 18
10.2 Appendix II: Survey Questionnaire ............................................................................................ 21
11. Bibliography .................................................................................................................................... 27
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3. 1. Introduction
A recent survey describes that more than 40 % of corporations monitor their employees in
ways that could be called intrusive. Since the last decade there has been a huge shift in our GDP
contributions. It came as a decline of the agricultural industry & a steep growth in the services
industry. With the rise in services industry it was a huge boom in Information Technology. The
growth in IT affected not only services but every other business as well. IT was the key thing
and if one didn’t have a good IT infrastructure, the company lost its competitive position in the
market. Huge corporations were drawn to India setting up bases throughout the country. It led
to rise in IT parks and further boosted the service industry prospects. Competition became
even stronger. To get a competitive advantage companies had to reform their internal and
external process. One of the key things that refined internal processes was workplace
monitoring techniques. IT Corporations came up with strict electronic surveillance methods as
well as manual monitoring methods.
2. Types of workplace monitoring
Electronic surveillance methods included video surveillance, email monitoring and techniques
like blocking social websites. For some corporations there are audio monitors, monitoring of
phone and maintenance of logs. Manual modes included increasing monitoring by the superiors.
3. Rationale behind monitoring
3.1 Employer perspective
The main reasons to monitor the employees from the perspective of employers are

Safety and security for workers and customers

Knowledge management

To track the worker conduct in case of violation of human rights legislation

Information systems management
3.2 Employee responses
Although corporations claim increased level of productivity due to adherence of company
standard by employees post implementation of monitoring techniques; employees think
otherwise. However corporations reasoning were that these techniques resulted in increasing
levels of productivity as employees adhered to the company standards. However, the techniques
too had a downside where the employees had increasing level of distrust with the organization.
Workers at many workplaces have even resisted or expressed discontent about such work
processes. It also resulted in employees getting restricted in their work environment.
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4. 4. Objectives of the study
The overall objective of this case study is to analyse the impact of workplace monitoring on
employee morale, employee behaviour, employee faith in employer and his commitment
towards job.
The report analyses both the sides of surveillance & comes to a conclusion.
5. Methodology
The study exposes the facts based on survey method. The survey attempts to measure various
responses and reactions of IT employees with respect to workplace monitoring. A rigorous analysis is
performed on the collected responses by identifying a relationship between various parameters
affecting employee performance and workplace monitoring.
Sample Size
Sample Type
Sampling Unit
Survey Method
Type of Research
Tools Used
147
Simple Random Sampling
Employees of IT Organisation
An online questionnaire was designed for the employees of IT organisation
Empirical Research
Microsoft Excel 2010, IBM SPSS 18.0
5.1 Hypothesis formulation
The IT professional interviewed considered the following factors to be of great importance in
their jobs –





Freedom in job
Trust from employer
Commitment
Importance of data security
Efficiency in work
We have tried to identify some themes in the interviews [Appendix I] and have used these to
formulate our hypotheses from employee point of view.
a)
b)
c)
d)
Trust is not related to organizational monitoring.
Commitment is not related to organizational monitoring.
Efficiency is not related to organizational monitoring.
Behaviour is not related to organizational monitoring.
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5. Trust
Commitment
Organizational
Monitoring
Efficiency
Behaviour
6. Analysis
6.1 Demographics of the survey respondents
We collected survey responses (Appendix II) from 147 professionals who are involved in IT
related works in their respective organizations. Our survey respondents constituted 29.25 %
female and 70.75% male. Majority of the respondents (~69%) are aged between 21-26 years.
We collected survey responses from a broad range of companies which include Wipro, TCS,
Samsung, Bank of America, Infosys, Flipkart, KPMG, HSBC, Microsoft, Cognizant, IBM, JSPL,
Ericson, Birlasoft, Capgemini, Cognizant, L&T, Adobe etc.
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6. 6.2 Work profile of the survey respondents
Majority of our survey respondents are involved in engineering/technology role (55.10%),
which is basically a non-supervisor kind of a role. A total of 16.33% of the respondents are
involved in supervisor and managerial roles, constituted by Managers/admins (12.93%) and HR
(3.40%). Responses from persons with a bit different kinds of roles like Graphic designer, and
sales were also collected as a part of this study.
Role
Percentage
Engineering/Technology
55.10 %
Manager/Administration
12.93 %
Sales
11.56 %
Finance
6.80 %
HR
3.40 %
Others (Graphic Designer / Clerical Job /Team
10.20 %
lead/Project coordinator/CEO / etc.)
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7. 6.3 Types of monitoring used in the workplace
60.00%
50.00%
55.10%
48.98%
52.38%
48.30%
44.22%
44.90%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
Security
Camera
Computer
Monitoring
Social
Media
Blocking
Mobile Telephone
Restriction Tapping
Others
Blocking of networking and social media sites, computer monitoring system and security
cameras are the major technique of workplace monitoring as mentioned by the respondents.
6.4 Analysis by level of monitoring (ANOVA Test)
To test the validity of our hypothesis we have conducted ANOVA test, where the independent
variable was the level of monitoring in the organization, and the dependent variable was the
responses obtained from the survey to the statements shown in the tables respective to each
hypothesis. For performing ANNOVA an index was computed by adding up the values of that
particular area. ‘Compute Variable’ function of SPSS was used to calculate these indexes. Indexes
were calculated for Trust, Efficiency, Behaviour and Commitment. All these questions are on
likert scale.
6.4.1 Behaviour Index:
COMPUTE BEHAVIOUR_INDEX=q27_behaviour_3 + q18_behaviour_1.
EXECUTE.
The above response is the summation of the following question which was in likert scale:
1. I would behave differently when I know I am being monitored?
2. Workplace monitoring irritates you?
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8. Hypothesis Formulation:
H0: The behavior of employees is independent of organizational monitoring.
H1: The behavior of employees changes with organizational monitoring.
Oneway ANNOVA
Descriptives
BEHAVIOUR_INDEX
95% Confidence Interval
for Mean
Std.
N
Very High
Mean
Std.
Lower
Upper
Deviation
Error
Bound
Bound
Minimum Maximum
36
6.42
1.962
.327
5.75
7.08
2
10
High Monitoring
57
5.93
2.186
.290
5.35
6.51
2
10
Moderate
14
6.86
1.512
.404
5.98
7.73
4
9
Less Monitoring
28
5.61
1.912
.361
4.87
6.35
2
9
No Monitoring
12
7.17
2.552
.737
5.54
8.79
4
10
147
6.18
2.086
.172
5.84
6.52
2
10
Monitoring
Monitoring
Total
ANOVA
BEHAVIOUR_INDEX
Sum of Squares
Between Groups
df
Mean Square
32.873
4
8.218
Within Groups
602.529
142
635.401
1.937
Sig.
4.243
Total
F
.108
146
From the results obtained we can say that, Employee behaviour is not a function of Workplace
monitoring. (As the sig. is >0.05). So, Hypothesis is accepted based on the result.
6.4.2 Trust Index:
The above response is the summation of the following question which were in likert scale:
1. I have a strong sense of belonging to my organization?
2. I really feel as if this organization’s problems are my own?
3. Workplace monitoring affects the level of trust between me and my employer.
4. Workplace monitoring helps my organisation to achieve long term goals.
5. My organization trusts my capabilities and has given me decision making rights?
6. Workplace monitoring is to meet service level agreement and not for direct employee or
employee activity monitoring?
7. Monitoring the employees with or without their knowledge is a breach of trust?
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9. 8. To establish trust, company should tell the employees about all the ways in which they get
monitored?
9. If organization completely stops workplace monitoring is it going to increase your trust for
your organization?
Hypothesis Formulation:
H0: Employee trust is independent of organizational monitoring.
H1: Employee trust is dependent on organizational monitoring.
COMPUTE TRUST_INDEX=q9_trust_1 + q11_trust_2 + q12_trust_3 + q15_trust_4 + q17_trust_5 +
q20_trust_6 + q21_trust_7 + q22_trust_8 + q23_trust_9.
EXECUTE.
Oneway Annova:
Descriptives
TRUST_INDEX
95% Confidence Interval
for Mean
Std.
N
Very High
Mean
Std.
Lower
Upper
Deviation
Error
Bound
Bound
Minimum Maximum
36
24.31
5.350
.892
22.50
26.12
12
35
High Monitoring
57
25.02
5.933
.786
23.44
26.59
13
37
Moderate
14
28.43
2.954
.789
26.72
30.13
23
33
Less Monitoring
28
27.32
4.092
.773
25.73
28.91
19
36
No Monitoring
12
31.75
6.210
1.793
27.80
35.70
25
41
147
26.16
5.641
.465
25.24
27.08
12
41
Monitoring
Monitoring
Total
ANOVA
TRUST_INDEX
Sum of Squares
Between Groups
df
Mean Square
682.994
4
170.749
Within Groups
3962.407
142
4645.401
Sig.
27.904
Total
F
6.119
146
From the results obtained we can say that, Employee trust is a function of Workplace
monitoring. (As the sig. is <0.05). So, Hypothesis is rejected based on the result.
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.000

10. 6.4.3 Efficiency Index:
H0: Employee efficiency is independent of organizational monitoring.
H1: Employee efficiency is dependent on organizational monitoring.
COMPUTE EFFICINCY_INDEX = q29_efficiency_5 + q28_efficiency_4+ q19_efficiency_3+
q16_efficiency_2+ q13_efficiency_1.
EXECUTE.
The above response is the summation of the following question which were in likert scale:
1. I feel more comfortable in a work environment where no restrictions on using social
networking and personal email sites?
2. Social networking** at work-hours helps me relieve stress and improve concentration?
3. I will be more productive if there is no workplace monitoring in my organization?
4. I will spend more time at desk if I can access site relevant to my interest?
5. I am more innovative in my work without workplace monitoring in my organization?
Oneway
Descriptives
EFFICINCY_INDEX
95% Confidence Interval
for Mean
Std.
N
Very High
Mean
Std.
Lower
Upper
Deviation
Error
Bound
Bound
Minimum Maximum
36
12.81
4.070
.678
11.43
14.18
6
23
High Monitoring
57
15.77
4.404
.583
14.60
16.94
5
25
Moderate
14
13.43
4.702
1.257
10.71
16.14
6
25
Less Monitoring
28
14.93
4.055
.766
13.36
16.50
6
21
No Monitoring
12
16.42
4.621
1.334
13.48
19.35
7
23
147
14.71
4.446
.367
13.99
15.44
5
25
Monitoring
Monitoring
Total
ANOVA
EFFICINCY_INDEX
Sum of Squares
Between Groups
df
Mean Square
254.124
4
63.531
Within Groups
2631.876
142
2886.000
3.428
Sig.
18.534
Total
F
.010
146
From the results obtained we can say that, Employee efficiency is a function of Workplace
monitoring. (As the sig. is <0.05). So, Hypothesis is rejected based on the result.
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11. 6.4.4 Commitment Index
H0: Employee commitment is independent of organizational monitoring.
H1: Employee commitment is dependent on organizational monitoring.
COMPUTE COMMITMENT_INDEX=q14_commitment_3 + q10_commitment_2 + q8_commitment_1.
EXECUTE.
The above response is the summation of the following question which were in likert scale:
1. Knowledge of constant monitoring but with undisclosed monitoring methods will hamper
my commitment for my organization?
2. It would be very hard for me to leave my organization right now, even if I wanted to?
3. I would be happy to spend rest of my career with this organization?
Oneway
Descriptives
COMMITMENT_INDEX
95% Confidence Interval
for Mean
Std.
N
Very High
Mean
Std.
Lower
Upper
Deviation
Error
Bound
Bound
Minimum Maximum
36
7.03
2.971
.495
6.02
8.03
3
13
High Monitoring
57
8.28
2.218
.294
7.69
8.87
3
13
Moderate
14
9.21
1.424
.381
8.39
10.04
7
12
Less Monitoring
28
10.11
2.061
.389
9.31
10.91
6
14
No Monitoring
12
12.58
1.379
.398
11.71
13.46
11
15
147
8.76
2.741
.226
8.32
9.21
3
15
Monitoring
Monitoring
Total
ANOVA
COMMITMENT_INDEX
Sum of Squares
df
Mean Square
Between Groups
350.233
4
87.558
Within Groups
746.433
142
146
Total
16.657
Sig.
5.257
1096.667
F
.000
From the results obtained we can say that, Employee Commitment is a function of Workplace
monitoring. (As the sig. is <0.05). So, Hypothesis is rejected based on the result.
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12. 6.5 Impact on Age Groups
For establishing a correlation between Workplace Monitoring and different age groups we have
used Goodman and Kruskal Gamma Correlation Test.
Hypothesis Formulation
H0: There is no correlation between age of a person and level of monitoring.
H1: There is a correlation between age of a person and level of monitoring.
What is your age group? * What level of Workplace Monitoring do you experience in your organization?
Crosstabulation
Count
What level of Workplace Monitoring do you experience in your
organization?
Very High
group?
Less
No
Monitoring
Monitoring
Monitoring
Monitoring
0
3
0
0
0
3
30
49
12
6
4
101
6
5
2
0
0
13
0
0
0
22
8
30
36
less than 21
Moderate
Monitoring
What is your age
High
57
14
28
12
147
Total
years
21 to 26 years
old
26 to 35 years
old
greater than 35
years
Total
Symmetric Measures
Asymp. Std.
Value
Ordinal by Ordinal
Gamma
.657
Error
a
b
Approx. T
.083
6.054
Approx. Sig.
.000
N of Valid Cases
147
a. Not assuming the null hypothesis.
b. Using the asymptotic standard error assuming the null hypothesis.
From the results obtained we can say that, Younger employees (Age<26) are more likely to
affected by workplace monitoring while employees greater than 35 years old are less affected
by work place monitoring.
As the sig. is <0.05, So, Hypothesis is rejected based on the result.
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13. Highlighted area in red indicates younger employees (age less than 26) feel there is high monitoring in there
organisations while employees greater than 35 years are less concerned about monitoring.
6.5.1 Effect of different types of monitoring
We have used Cochran Test to study the effects of different types of monitoring techniques used.
Hypothesis Formulation
H0: All respondents are equally exposed to different types of workplace monitoring.
H1: All respondents are not equally exposed to different types of workplace monitoring.
Descriptive Statistics
N
Mean
Std. Deviation
Minimum
Maximum
Security Camera monitoring
147
1.51
.502
1
2
Computer monitoring
147
1.45
.499
1
2
Blocking of social media
147
1.48
.501
1
2
Restriction on mobile
147
1.52
.501
1
2
Telephone tapping
147
1.56
.498
1
2
Other monitoring
147
1.55
.499
1
2
sites
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14. Cochran Test
Frequencies
Value
1
2
Security Camera monitoring
72
75
Computer monitoring
81
66
Blocking of social media sites
77
70
Restriction on mobile
71
76
Telephone tapping
65
82
Other monitoring
66
81
Test Statistics
N
147
Cochran's Q
5.304
df
a
5
Asymp. Sig.
.380
a. 2 is treated as a success.
Hypothesis accepted. Employees are exposed equally to all types of workplace monitoring.
From the results obtained we can say that, employees are affected equally by all the workplace
monitoring techniques.
As the sig. is >0.05, So, Hypothesis is accepted and employees are affected equally by different
type of workplace monitoring techniques.
6.5.2 Do Men and Women see workplace monitoring differently?
We have used Mann-Whitney Test to identify whether perception to monitoring is same across the
gender divide.
Hypothesis Formulation
H0: Male and female have similar perception of workplace monitoring.
H1: Male and females have different perception of workplace monitoring.
Mann-Whitney Test
Ranks
Gender
What level of Workplace
Male
Monitoring do you experience
Female
in your organization?
Total
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N
Mean Rank
Sum of Ranks
104
73.92
7688.00
43
74.19
3190.00
147

15. a
Test Statistics
What level of Workplace Monitoring do you
experience in your organization?
Mann-Whitney U
2228.000
Wilcoxon W
7688.000
Z
-.036
Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed)
.972
a. Grouping Variable: Gender
As the sig. is >0.05, So, Hypothesis is accepted
From the above analysis we can conclude that Workplace monitoring affects male and
female equally and they have similar attitude towards workplace monitoring.
6.5.3 Impact of workplace monitoring on employee attrition.
We have used Kruskal-Wallis Test to identify the impacts of workplace monitoring on employee
attrition.
Hypothesis Formulation
H0: Workplace monitoring has no effect on employee attrition.
H1: Workplace monitoring affects employee attrition.
Descriptive Statistics
N
What level of Workplace Monitoring
Mean
Std. Deviation
Minimum
Maximum
147
2.48
1.273
1
5
147
3.18
1.766
1
5
do you experience in your
organization?
Are you likely to leave your
organisation because of work place
monitoring?
Kruskal-Wallis Test
Ranks
Are you likely to leave your
organisation because of work
place monitoring?
What level of Workplace
51
55.52
Cant Say
32
68.97
No
64
91.24
dimension1
Total
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Mean Rank
Yes
Monitoring do you experience
in your organization?
N
147

16. a,b
Test Statistics
What level of Workplace Monitoring do you experience in your
organization?
Chi-square
22.366
df
2
Asymp. Sig.
.000
a. Kruskal Wallis Test
b. Grouping Variable: Are you likely to leave your organisation because of work place monitoring?
As the sig. <0.05 we can reject the hypothesis and conclude that employee decision to stay in an
organisation depends on the level of monitoring he/she is subjected to.
7. Reliability Analysis:
A reliability analysis is performed on the various facets of employee attributes like trust,
efficincy etc. Cronbach's Alpha is used to test the reliability of these facets.
7.1 Reliability Analysis for efficiency:
RELIABILITY
/VARIABLES=q28_efficiency_4 q29_efficiency_5 q19_efficiency_3 q16_efficiency_2 q13_efficiency_1
/SCALE('ALL VARIABLES') ALL
/MODEL=ALPHA
/STATISTICS=DESCRIPTIVE SCALE CORR
/SUMMARY=TOTAL.
Reliability
Case Processing Summary
N
Cases
Valid
%
147
0
Total
.0
147
a
Excluded
100.0
100.0
a. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure.
Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's Alpha
Cronbach's Alpha Based on Standardized Items
.709
N of Items
.707
Reliability analysis suggests that Efficiency responses are reliable with 70.9% of accuracy.
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5

17. 7.2 Reliability Analysis for trust:
Case Processing Summary
N
Cases
%
Valid
147
0
Total
.0
147
a
Excluded
100.0
100.0
a. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure.
Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's Alpha
Cronbach's Alpha Based on Standardized Items
.664
N of Items
.670
10
Reliability analysis suggests that responses for trust are reliable with 66.4% of accuracy.
7.3 Reliability Analysis for commitment:
Case Processing Summary
N
Cases
Valid
%
147
Total
.0
147
Excluded
100.0
0
a
100.0
a. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure.
Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's
Alpha
Cronbach's Alpha Based on Standardized Items
.641
N of Items
.641
4
Reliability analysis suggests that responses for commitment are reliable with 64.1% of accuracy.
7.4 Reliability Analysis for behaviour:
Case Processing Summary
N
Cases
Valid
a
Excluded
Total
a. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure.
Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's Alpha
.603
%
147
0
147
100.0
.0
100.0
Cronbach's Alpha Based on Standardized Items
N of Items
.621
Reliability analysis suggests that responses for Employee Behaviour are reliable with 60.3% of
accuracy.
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3

18. 8. Limitations:
Few limitations of this study are listed below:



This study is conducted on a very small sample. If large number of respondents have
been considered the results might have differed.
Only one individual was interviewed for each industry type.
Responses were collected only through online survey.
9. Conclusion:
Initially when we started writing this paper based on initial few direct interviews it came out
that the individual employees does not give that much importance to workplace monitoring. But
after the end of research, it has been found that monitoring does affect the employee’s
productivity, efficiency and reduces his/her commitment and trust towards organisation. We
have also found out that while on a sub-ordinate level the employees feel that giving them
access to the social networking sites will increase their efficiency and concentration. Many of
the responses are dependent on the level and type of monitoring used by the organization. So,
based on the findings it can be concluded that while workplace monitoring takes a hit at
employees trust and commitment for the organization on an individual level. Employees may
find it harsh enough to leave the organization for the breach of privacy at workplace due to
monitoring.
10. Appendix
10.1 Appendix I: Interview Transcripts
Interview Transcript I
Name: Abhijeet Kulkarni
Company: Adobe
Sector: Product Based Company
Work Ex: 7 Year
Designation: Team Lead
Q. Are you aware about any workplace monitoring of online and workplace activities at
Adobe?
A. Adobe has a very open culture and there is no monitoring at all of any kind whether it is
related to workplace or online activity.
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19. Q. What impact will it have if such policy is imposed?
A. Trust will be lost. The environment will like a School where you had to explain what you are
doing and why you are doing. Personal life will be impacted as well as I won’t be able to take my
private and personal email at workplace; this in turn may reduce my efficiency and commitment
as well.
Q. But many people might misuse such facility; they can share Adobe client/user data
with external world?
A. I agree there is always a security threat and it is forcing many companies to take stringent
action including blocking of websites and 24*7 monitoring. But my opinion is, instead of
monitoring there should be enough awareness on what we should do and what we shouldn’t do.
Let me give my example. When I joined Convergys, my first organization, I downloaded 500GB
data in 6 months. One day unknowingly I started 5-6 thread of download simultaneously and
the entire organization suffered bandwidth issue. So I think there should be IT policies that
specifies the “Do(s) and Don’t(s)”.
Q. Your final call on monitoring?
A. There should not be monitoring as it may create loss of trust, and it can also
reduce productivity. Freedom should be given to the employees with some sense of
responsibility.
Interview Transcript II
Name: Sonal Singh
Company: Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.
Sector: Services
Work Ex: 9 Months
Designation: Assistant Software Engineer
Q. Are you aware about any workplace monitoring of online and workplace activities at TCS?
A. Yes, most of the activities get monitored. If my action is found against TCS restriction policy it may
result in my termination.
Q. Do they track you through a camera?
A. Yes. The camera is just to monitor the activity of associates and other people.
Q. Site restriction?
A. All social and email sites are open, but adult sites are blocked.
Q. Email monitoring?
A. Yes they have email monitoring in place. We are not supposed to share programming
codes and project information outside of team/LOB.
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20. Q. What if there is 24*7 monitoring of online activity and all social networking sites
are blocked?
A. Freedom will be lost. A small brake from work increases efficiency. So, with 24*7 monitoring I
may start taking longer brakes. I may also feel less committed to the organization.
Interview Transcript III
Name: Prasad Kalele
Company: Infosys India Pvt Ltd.
Work Ex: 8 years
Sector: Services
Q. Are you aware about any workplace monitoring of online and workplace activities
at Infosys?
A. Yes there are security camera installed in most of the Offshore Development Centre (ODC);
they are mainly for security and monitoring workplace activity. Our workstations are also
under IT surveillance to make sure activities are as per Infosys IT guidelines.
Q. Are social networking and email sites accessible?
A. No. all such sites are blocked because of data security.
Q. Should they be blocked?
A. Yes, they should be blocked as there are many associates who are just college pass outs.
They may spend majority of their time on social networking sites which may hamper the
competitive business position of Infosys. It may decrease efficiency; hence quality of work
may also get reduced.
Q. Don’t you think the social networking sites can improve your social
life?
A. I don’t think website like Facebook can increase my social life here in Infosys. We have more
than 1.5 Lakhs employees and I can chat & talk with them on my organization network any
time I want. And I will be happier to go on someone’s desk and talk to them to strengthen my
social life. I will be happier to play TT instead play on FB to refresh my mood.
Q. If your organization would have allowed all websites without monitoring, would that
improve your commitment or loyalty?
A. Commitment doesn’t come from what kind of monitoring company provides, but it comes
from what quality work you are doing and whether the work is aligned with your long term
personal and professional goal.
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21. 10.2 Appendix II: Survey Questionnaire
Welcome, thank you for participating in our survey. We are a student group from MDI Gurgaon
and this survey is a part of our academic project. The results of this survey are strictly for
academic purpose and the results won't be shared in any case. Please fill the survey. Thanking
you again.
*Required

* What is your age group?
<21
21-26
27-35
>35
* Gender
Male
Female
* Company Name
* Which department do you work in?
Admin
Finance
Sales
HR
Engineering/Technology
Other (Please Specify):
* How long are you working in the current organization ?
0-1years
1-2years
3-5years
>5 years
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22. * What level of Workplace Monitoring** do you experience in your organization?*
**Monitoring Indicates restriction on website usage, activity monitoring on your work station
and physical monitoring by surveillance systems etc.
No Monitoring
Less Monitoring
Moderate Monitoring
High Monitoring
Very High Monitored
* What kinds of monitoring are you exposed to?*(You may tick more than one choice)
Security cameras
Computer monitoring systems
Blocking of social networking and blogging sites
Restriction on mobile phone usage.
Telephone tapping devices
Other (Please Specify):
* I would be happy to spend rest of my career with this organization?
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
* I have a strong sense of belonging to my organization?
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
* It would be very hard for me to leave my organization right now, even if I wanted to?
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23. Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
* I really feel as if this organization’s problems are my own?
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
* Workplace monitoring affects the level of trust between me and my employer.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
* I feel more comfortable in a work environment where no restrictions on using social
networking and personal email sites?
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
* Knowledge of constant monitoring but with undisclosed monitoring methods will
hamper my commitment for my organization?
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
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24. Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
* Workplace monitoring helps my organisation to achieve long term goals.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
16* Social networking** at work-hours helps me relieve stress and improve concentration?
**Social networking means using website like Facebook, twitter, personal email etc.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
*
My organization trusts my capabilities and has given me decision making rights?
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
* I would behave differently when I know I am being monitored?
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
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25. * I will be more productive if there is no workplace monitoring in my organization?
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
* Workplace monitoring is to meet service level agreement and not for direct employee or
employee activity monitoring?
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
* Monitoring the employees with or without their knowledge is a breach of trust?
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
* To establish trust, company should tell the employees about all the ways in which they
get monitored?
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
* If organization completely stops workplace monitoring is it going to increase your trust
for your organization?
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
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26. Agree
Strongly Agree
* Are you likely to leave your organisation because of work place monitoring?
Yes
No
Can’t say
* Would you recommend this organisation for your friends/relatives etc. ?
Yes
No
* Have you recently visited any doctor for stress related issues?
Yes
No
* Workplace monitoring irritates you?
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
* I will spend more time at desk if I can access site relevant to my interest?
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
* I am more innovative in my work without workplace monitoring in my organization?
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
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27. 11. Bibliography
1. Trust and monitoring in the workplace. Weckert, J. s.l. : Technology and Society,
2000. University as a Bridge from Technology to Society. IEEE International
Symposium on, 2000. ISTAS.2000.915635.
2. Avner Levin, Mary Foster, Tony Hernandez, Mary Jo Nicholson. Office of the
privacy commissioner of Canada. [Online] 30 10 2012. [Cited: 23 03 2013.]
http://www.priv.gc.ca/resource/cp/2005-2006/p_200506_03_e.asp.
3. Electronic workplace monitoring: what employees think. Effy Oz, Richard Glass,
Robert Behling. 1999, Omega, Int. J. Mgmt Sci., Vol. 27, pp. 167-177.
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