The Surveillance Paradox: How Remote Employee Monitoring Destroys the Trust It Is Meant to Build

Abstract

This quantitative research explores the impact of the intensity of remote employee monitoring (REM) on organizational trust and counterproductive work behavior (CWB) in the IT and banking industries of Pakistan. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory (Blau, 1964) and Psychological Reactance Theory (Brehm & Brehm, 1981), the research examines how monitoring intensity negatively affects organizational trust and, in turn, leads to counterproductive work behavior. The study used a cross-sectional survey approach, surveying 287 remote and hybrid employees in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad with a structured closed-ended questionnaire using five-point Likert scales. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations and multiple linear regression. We found that remote monitoring intensity was significantly negatively related to organizational trust (r = −.62, p < .001), and positively related to counterproductive work behavior (r = .54, p < .001). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that monitoring intensity was a significant predictor of organizational trust (β = −.58, t = −12.14, p < .001) and CWB (β = .49, t = −9.87, p < .001). Organizational trust partially mediated the link between monitoring and CWB (indirect effect = .31, 95% CI [.22, .41]). Additionally, gender moderated the impact of monitoring on trust, with women reporting lower trust when monitoring was intensive. The results support the Surveillance Paradox phenomenon and have critical implications for the design of HRM policy in the rapidly expanding remote work sector in Pakistan.