Employee Data Use: One in Five Trust Leaders a Great Deal

One in five employees who work on a computer or another device regularly have “a great deal” of trust in their organization’s leaders to use employee data responsibly. Another 43% trust leaders “somewhat,” while 23% trust them “not too much” and 14% “not at all.”

The survey asked employees about two types of workplace data: activity data, such as hours worked, badge swipes, or the number of emails sent; and content data, such as emails, meeting content, or websites visited.

Trust in leaders’ use of employee data is closely connected to employee engagement, a measure of employees’ involvement and enthusiasm for the workplace. Forty percent of engaged employees have a great deal of trust in leaders to use employee data responsibly, compared with 13% of employees who are not engaged and just 4% of those who are actively disengaged.

Employees Often Lack Clear Information About Data Monitoring

Employees differ in their perceptions of whether their organization collects data about their work activity and behavior. Fifty-nine percent believe their employer definitely or probably collects activity data such as hours worked, badge swipes or the number of emails sent. Twenty-six percent believe it probably or definitely does not, and 15% do not know.

Employees are less likely to believe their organization collects content data such as emails, meeting content or websites visited. Forty-six percent say their employer definitely or probably collects this information, while 33% say it probably or definitely does not, and 21% do not know.

These figures reflect employees’ perceptions of what their organizations collect but may not represent their organizations’ actual data collection practices. Direct communication is uncommon: 19% of all employees say someone at work has spoken with them about data or metrics their organization collects about their work.

While managers and leaders are more likely to have access to employee data, they are not much more likely than individual contributors to have had conversations about data or metrics their organization collects about their own work. Twenty-one percent of managers and 23% of leaders have had such a conversation, compared with 19% of individual contributors.

Concern About Data Use Is Higher Among Disengaged Employees

Most employees are not highly concerned about how their organization collects and uses employee data. About one-third say they are very or somewhat concerned, while two-thirds are not too concerned or not concerned at all.

Concern is closely related to trust in leaders’ responsible use of employee data. Among employees who trust leaders a great deal, 13% are very or somewhat concerned about organizational data use. That figure rises to 30% among those who trust leaders somewhat, 46% among those who do not trust them much and 65% among those who do not trust them at all.

Concern also differs substantially by engagement, from 25% among engaged employees to 50% among actively disengaged employees.

Employees Are More Comfortable With Constructive Uses of Workplace Data

Employees’ comfort with data monitoring varies modestly by purpose. Sixty-two percent are very or somewhat comfortable with their employer using activity data to help managers support team effectiveness and goals, and 61% are comfortable with using it to help individual employees improve their performance or development.

Employees are less comfortable when data could affect decisions about their role or standing at work. Fifty-three percent are comfortable with their employer using activity data in performance reviews, and 57% are comfortable with using it for organizational decisions such as staffing and scheduling.

Across all potential uses, employees are more comfortable with their employer using data about their activity than data about the content of their activity.

This pattern suggests employees distinguish between different uses of workplace data. They are more comfortable when they see a constructive purpose and clear benefit and less comfortable when data could affect evaluations or other decisions about their work.

Direct Conversations Are Linked to Greater Trust and Comfort

Employees who have discussed workplace data use with someone in their organization are more likely to have a great deal of trust in leaders to use employee data responsibly. Twenty-six percent of those who have had a conversation express this level of trust, compared with 18% of those who have not.

However, employees who have discussed workplace data are also eight percentage points more likely to express concern about how their organization uses their data. Greater awareness of how their organization uses employee data may increase workers’ understanding of both the benefits and potential concerns.

Open communication can help employees understand what data their organization collects, how it uses those data and what limits it places on their use. Organizations can also address what they do not do with employee data, reducing uncertainty about practices that may affect employees.

Managers and Leaders With Greater Data Visibility Report More Trust

More than one in five managers and leaders do not have a clear view of the employee data available within their organization. Twenty-four percent have direct access to employee data, and 26% can request access. Another 27% cannot access the data, while 23% are unsure what they can access.

Managers and leaders with direct access are substantially more likely to have a great deal of trust in their organization’s leadership to use employee data responsibly. Forty-six percent express this level of trust, compared with 27% of managers and leaders who can request employee data and 16% who cannot access it.

Managers and leaders connect organizational data practices and employees’ day-to-day experiences. When managers understand what data the organization collects and how it uses those data, they are better prepared to answer employees’ questions.

Implications

Employees’ trust in how leaders use their data is closely related to their broader relationship with the organization. Engaged employees are much more likely than actively disengaged employees to trust leaders to use their data responsibly. Employees who have had direct conversations with someone in their organization about workplace data use also report greater trust and comfort.

Employees also distinguish among different uses of their data. They are more comfortable when organizations use data to support development and team effectiveness and less comfortable when those data may influence performance evaluations, staffing or scheduling. This makes transparency about both purpose and use especially important.

Managers have an important role in helping employees understand how their organization monitors and uses workplace data. Organizations that give managers appropriate visibility into their data practices can better equip them to answer employee questions, explain how the employer does and does not use employee data, and support greater trust in leadership.