The impact of electronic monitoring on quality and quantity of performance

A laboratory experiment was conducted to assess the effects of electronic monitoring on the quality and quantity of clerical task performance. A social information processing framework was used to develop predictions about task performance and the perceived importance of quality and quantity performance. Results generally supported the hypotheses: aspects of a task that were monitored were perceived as more important and the quantity of work output was affected. Exploratory analysis of task satisfaction and motivation also showed that these variables were affected by the monitoring manipulations.