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. 2022 May 27;161(2):289–314. doi: 10.1111/ilr.12219

Essential jobs, remote work and digital surveillance: Addressing the COVID‐19 pandemic panopticon

Antonio ALOISI 1,✉, Valerio DE STEFANO 2
PMCID: PMC8444901  PMID: 34548685

Abstract

An unprecedented COVID‐19‐induced explosion in digital surveillance has reconfigured power relationships in professional settings. This article critically concentrates on the interplay between technology‐enabled intrusive monitoring and the augmentation of managerial prerogatives in physical and digital workplaces. It identifies excessive supervision as the common denominator of “essential” and “remotable” activities, besides discussing the various drawbacks faced by the two categories of workers during (and after) the pandemic. It also assesses the adequacy of the current European Union legal framework in addressing the expansion of data‐driven management. Social dialogue, workers' empowerment and digital literacy are identified as effective ways to promote organizational flexibility, well‐being and competitiveness.

Keywords: essential workers, telework, digital surveillance, COVID‐19, algorithmic management, employee monitoring, managerial prerogatives, collective bargaining

 

Antonio Aloisi's contribution is made within the framework of the “Boss Ex Machina” project, which has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Marie Skłodowska‐Curie grant agreement No. 893888. Valerio De Stefano's contribution is made under the Odysseus grant “Employment rights and labour protection in the on‐demand economy” from the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO).

Responsibility for opinions expressed in signed articles rests solely with their authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsement by the ILO.

This article is also available in French, in Revue internationale du Travail 161 (2), and Spanish, in Revista Internacional del Trabajo 141 (2).

Contributor Information

Antonio ALOISI, Email: antonio.aloisi@ie.edu.

Valerio DE STEFANO, Email: vdestefano@osgoode.yorku.ca.

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