Somebody's watching me: boundary turbulence and its impact on employee engagement

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to use the concept of boundary turbulence from Communication Privacy Management (CPM) theory to better understand how employee monitoring impacts employee engagement. This study is one of the first in corporate communication to combine the frameworks of CPM and employee engagement to better understand employee experiences.Design/methodology/approachTo answer the research question, we conducted an online, open-ended survey that asked 633 participants to provide feedback regarding being monitored at work and how these experiences impacted their engagement with their employer.FindingsThis study sought to understand how boundary turbulence occurs in relation to employee engagement when employees are monitored at work. In total, four examples of boundary turbulence were illustrated in the data: employer monitoring creates distrust; employees find ways to resist being monitored; monitoring doesn’t accurately capture employee engagement; and monitoring leads to disengagement.Originality/valueThe findings from this study lead to important conclusions regarding what happens when employees experience boundary turbulence, and how it relates to employee engagement. This study illustrates how employee monitoring is interpreted as an attempt to control employees, which can lead to distrust and negatively impact employee engagement. Furthermore, boundary turbulence can threaten psychological safety and presence, which can cultivate employee disengagement. Therefore, employees may seek out ways to actively resist, which reiterates that internal publics are distinctive, active, and agentic audiences that cannot be forgotten or assumed.