Controlling working crowds: The impact of digitalization on worker autonomy and monitoring across hierarchical levels
Gerten E, MB, Bellmann L (2018)
Publication Type: Other publication type
Publication year: 2018
Series: WWZ working paper
City/Town: Basel
Book Volume: 2018/09
Abstract
"The digitalization of
workplace organization encourages firms to implement modern
technological tools into the daily working life of employees. Innovative
information and communication technologies, for instance, enable a
cheaper access to work relative knowledge and a faster communication
among employees. Using these ICT for professional activities promises
higher performance levels. In addition, work organizations become more
and more fl
exible as the use of ICT decreases the neeto define total working hours
(work-life blending), work places (home office) and task execution.
However, digital ICT and its possible application to collect data, to
record working time or to track real-time locations - to name only a few
examples - foster the attractiveness of employee monitoring. This means
that, on the one hand, new work arrangements due to the use of digital
ICT may increase an employee's autonomy, but, on the other hand,
monitoring activities might increase as well.
The objective of this paper is to highlight the impact of using digital
ICT devices on workplace organization. More precisely, we explore
whether using digital ICT leads to more monitoring or autonomy, or to an
increase in both management practices across hierarchical levels. Prior
studies call attention to a forthcoming decentralization of work
structures, but neglect to analyze work practices that lead to a more
centralized workplace organization. However, with an increase in today's
monitoring possibilities, it is important to juxtapose decentralization
and centralization measures such as autonomy and monitoring, to find
out which policy prevails and if there are differences of the impact of
using ICT on worker autonomy and monitoring across hierarchical levels.
Using new linked employer-employee data from the German Linked Personnel
Panel and the IAB Establishment Panel, we applied an ordinary least
squares and, additionally, an instrumental variables estimation approach
to account for endogeneity issues. From the OLS estimations, we
conclude that using digital ICT is positively associated with monitoring
activities, independent of the employee's hierarchical position."
Authors with CRIS profile
Lutz Bellmann
Lehrstuhl für Volkswirtschaftslehre, insbesondere Arbeitsökonomie (Stiftungslehrstuhl)
Involved external institutions
Switzerland (CH)How to cite
APA:
Gerten, E., , M.B., & Bellmann, L. (2018). Controlling working crowds: The impact of digitalization on worker autonomy and monitoring across hierarchical levels. Basel.
MLA:
Gerten, Elisa, Michael Beckmann , and Lutz Bellmann. Controlling working crowds: The impact of digitalization on worker autonomy and monitoring across hierarchical levels. Basel, 2018.
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