New research from Gallup finds that only 20% of employees who regularly work on a computer or other device have “a great deal” of trust in their organisation’s leaders to use employee data responsibly. Another 43% trust them somewhat, while 37% have little or no trust.
The study looked at employees’ perceptions of both activity data — such as hours worked, badge swipes or number of emails sent — and content data, including emails, meeting content and websites visited. Trust also appears closely connected to engagement. Among engaged employees, 40% strongly trust leaders to handle their data responsibly, compared with just 4% of actively disengaged employees.
Yet communication about data collection remains limited. Only 19% of employees say someone at work has spoken to them about the data or metrics their organisation collects about their work. Those conversations may matter. Employees who have discussed workplace data use are more likely to express high trust in leadership: 26%, compared with 18% among those who have not.
Employees also appear more comfortable with monitoring when they see a constructive purpose. Around six in ten are comfortable with activity data being used to improve team effectiveness or individual performance and development, while comfort declines when the information may influence performance reviews or decisions about staffing and scheduling.
As workplace analytics become increasingly sophisticated, the findings point to an issue that is as much about leadership as it is about technology: collecting more data does not automatically create more trust. Transparency about what is collected, why it is collected and how it will — and will not — be used may become an increasingly important part of the employee relationship.
—
Source: Gallup
