An equity-focused research agenda for workplace surveillance

Abstract

We propose an equity-focused research agenda for workplace surveillance that attends to both historical continuities and contemporary shifts. Contemporary workplace surveillance continues longstanding patterns of managerial oversight present since the Industrial Revolution, but has evolved in important ways. We emphasize three shifts: the extension of surveillance into new work sectors, the network of actors beyond the manager-worker dyad, and a broader accounting of surveillance harms and potential benefits. An equity-focused approach to workplace surveillance should derive with the principle that being seen entails recognition of workers’ well-being.