Software company Qualtrics conducted a survey measuring the shifting dynamics of remote work.
The survey, which gathered responses from almost 37,000 workers across 32 countries in July, offers valuable insights into how willing remote employees are to permit their employers to access and monitor their digital communications.
There is a notable difference between employees who have the opportunity to work from home part-time versus those who commute to the office daily.
Those working remotely part-time were more in support of allowing their employers to track emails, chat messages, and virtual meeting transcripts. 62% of this group expressed their comfort with broad monitoring of digital communications in exchange for having the benefit of working from home.
In contrast, only 49% of employees, who always worked at the office, were at ease with this level of surveillance. For fully remote workers, the acceptance rate stood at 57%.
While employees seem willing to have their work-related communications monitored, they are less enthusiastic about their personal content being examined, especially their social media.
Only about 40% of respondents were comfortable with their employers delving into social media posts, regardless of whether they were signed or anonymous.
