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Now You See Me, Now You Don’t

Zia, Minahil LU ; Rexha, Djellza LU and Davidsson, Olivia LU (2026) FEKH49 20261
Department of Business Administration
Abstract
Research question: How do employees adapt to, negotiate, and work around digital
monitoring systems in their everyday work practices?
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how hourly employees within a fitness
organization perceive and respond to digital surveillance and algorithmic management,
specifically analyzing how these systems shape experiences of autonomy, stress, and control
while contributing to research on digital control and employee agency.
Method: This study adopts a qualitative approach rooted in interpretivist and social
constructionist perspectives to explore how employees experience and navigate digital
monitoring. The empirical material consists of nine semi-structured interviews conducted... (More)
Research question: How do employees adapt to, negotiate, and work around digital
monitoring systems in their everyday work practices?
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how hourly employees within a fitness
organization perceive and respond to digital surveillance and algorithmic management,
specifically analyzing how these systems shape experiences of autonomy, stress, and control
while contributing to research on digital control and employee agency.
Method: This study adopts a qualitative approach rooted in interpretivist and social
constructionist perspectives to explore how employees experience and navigate digital
monitoring. The empirical material consists of nine semi-structured interviews conducted via
Zoom with employees across three distinct gym centers within a single fitness organization.
Theoretical perspective: The study applies an integrated framework that connects
organizational structures of control, employees’ experience of digital surveillance, and the
adaptive practices through which monitoring is negotiated in everyday work.
Result: The findings reveal that employees develop strategies to circumvent system logic,
such as reporting tasks prematurely to maintain positive metrics. This 'gaming' functions as a
protective mechanism against managerial demands for data-driven control. Ultimately, a
misalignment is highlighted between centralized system design expectations and the staff's
need for operational flexibility.
Conclusion: This study contributes to organization theory by conceptualizing digital
surveillance not as a static mechanism of control, but as a dynamic process of continuous
sociomaterial negotiation. It theorizes a novel organizational paradox where employees must
actively perform digital visibility to secure the algorithmic compliance necessary to reclaim
operational autonomy in their physical execution of labor. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Zia, Minahil LU ; Rexha, Djellza LU and Davidsson, Olivia LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
A Study On Employees’ Experiences Of Algorithmic Monitoring In Everyday Work
course
FEKH49 20261
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Surveillance, algorithmic management, control, technostress, gamification
language
English
id
9241054
date added to LUP
2026-06-18 15:21:11
date last changed
2026-06-18 15:21:11
@misc{9241054,
  abstract     = {{Research question: How do employees adapt to, negotiate, and work around digital 
monitoring systems in their everyday work practices? 
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how hourly employees within a fitness 
organization perceive and respond to digital surveillance and algorithmic management, 
specifically analyzing how these systems shape experiences of autonomy, stress, and control 
while contributing to research on digital control and employee agency. 
Method: This study adopts a qualitative approach rooted in interpretivist and social 
constructionist perspectives to explore how employees experience and navigate digital 
monitoring. The empirical material consists of nine semi-structured interviews conducted via 
Zoom with employees across three distinct gym centers within a single fitness organization. 
Theoretical perspective: The study applies an integrated framework that connects 
organizational structures of control, employees’ experience of digital surveillance, and the 
adaptive practices through which monitoring is negotiated in everyday work. 
Result: The findings reveal that employees develop strategies to circumvent system logic, 
such as reporting tasks prematurely to maintain positive metrics. This 'gaming' functions as a 
protective mechanism against managerial demands for data-driven control. Ultimately, a 
misalignment is highlighted between centralized system design expectations and the staff's 
need for operational flexibility. 
Conclusion: This study contributes to organization theory by conceptualizing digital 
surveillance not as a static mechanism of control, but as a dynamic process of continuous 
sociomaterial negotiation. It theorizes a novel organizational paradox where employees must 
actively perform digital visibility to secure the algorithmic compliance necessary to reclaim 
operational autonomy in their physical execution of labor.}},
  author       = {{Zia, Minahil and Rexha, Djellza and Davidsson, Olivia}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Now You See Me, Now You Don’t}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}