Fostering support for work floor energy conservation policies: Accounting for privacy concerns

Abstract

The advent of electronic monitoring technology (e.g., smart meters and in-car GPS devices) poses the opportunity for organizations to promote energy conservation behaviors among their employees through individual feedback and incentives. Although electronic monitoring thus can help in reducing the organization's environmental footprint, organizations may be reluctant to take such steps because of privacy concerns that may arise among those whose behavior is being monitored. This paper examines the roots of such privacy concerns. On the basis of literature on motivated cognition, we expect that people may sometimes construe privacy concerns in a self-serving fashion. Three empirical studies support this assumption and suggest an interesting and potentially controversial conclusion: electronic monitoring in itself may not necessarily raise concerns about privacy, except when people anticipate that monitoring will lead to negative consequences for them personally. Thus, this paper offers clear policy advice for organizations aiming to implement work floor energy conservation policies that rely on electronic monitoring of employee behavior: communicating the individual benefits for employees may alleviate employee privacy concerns and boost organizational support.

Transformational Organizational Change, Reinforcing Structures, and Formal Communication

“…For example, organizations invest in energy-efficient equipment and materials to save energy, but their savings may be limited by employee behaviors (e.g., increased consumption, wasteful behaviors) (Bolderdijk et al 2013). The concept of motivated cognition indicates employees' motivation influences how they select, process, and interpret sustainability initiative-related messages.…”

Greening organizational behavior: An introduction to the special issue

“…The third article, titled "Fostering Support for Work Floor Energy Conservation Policies: Accounting for Privacy Concerns," by Bolderdijk, Steg, and Postmes (2013), considers phenomena that arise at the interface between individuals and organizations, focusing specifically on the use of electronic monitoring technology as a means of measuring and managing workplace pro-environmental behavior. Bolderdijk et al (2013) acknowledged the value of obtaining objective measures of behavior, while also investigating the possible "dark side" of monitoring that invades the privacy of individual employees. On the one hand, electronic monitoring technologies offer a means for providing useful feedback to employees concerning their pro-environment behaviors, and such feedback can be effective in creating behavioral change.…”

“…On the other hand, such monitoring may also elicit negative reactions if it raises privacy concerns. Bolderdijk et al (2013) described three studies that examine these issues; two studies were conducted in the Netherlands and one study was conducted in the U.S.A. Results revealed that privacy concerns were not raised by behavior monitoring per se; rather, privacy concerns were associated with the anticipated negative consequences of being monitored.…”

Apportioning energy consumption in the workplace: a review of issues in using metering data to motivate staff to save energy

“…From this, Bolderdijk, Steg, and Postmes (2013) argue that privacy concerns are dependent on the individual's motivations; monitoring may not necessarily raise privacy concerns and is likely to be accepted where the subject of it believes it comes with a neutral or positive personal benefit-cost ratio. Particular forms of monitoring (e.g.…”