Having
the boss looking over your shoulder does not necessarily improve output and can
lead to a culture of mistrust according to a
study.
Research
published by New Scientist magazine found that US workers only concentrate on
what they know is being monitored.
More
than volunteers were asked to carry out tasks on a computer and told that they
were being monitored for quality and quantity. During the tasks cues flashed up
telling them whether quality or quantity was being specifically observed.
The
research found that participants tended to concentrate on what was being
specifically monitored during each stage of the experiment. Focusing on
quality, for example, led to a fall in productivity and vice versa.
Jeffrey
Stanton of Syracuse University in New York conducted the trials and said the
findings reflected the importance of trust in the workplace.
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"The greater use of employers’ monitoring and
surveillance techniques, the greater the climate of mistrust in the
organisation," he said.
