{"id":104949,"date":"2024-11-04T15:43:56","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T14:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hiig.de\/?p=104949"},"modified":"2024-11-06T12:05:40","modified_gmt":"2024-11-06T11:05:40","slug":"empowering-workers-with-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hiig.de\/en\/empowering-workers-with-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Empowering workers with data"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Workers and their workplaces are becoming increasingly datafied. While much research has explored how <\/strong>this worker-related data is<\/strong> being used for management purposes, for example in the context of people analytics and algorithmic management, we know less about how workers and their representatives can leverage this data for their own purposes. Therefore, this blog post explores how some workers are organising around data to support worker advocacy. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea of using worker-related data to support worker advocacy is certainly not new. For example, circulating surveys among their members is a proven and well-tested method among unions around the world. In fact, Calacci (2022) argues that the very idea of a collective voice of workers assumes an understanding of workers\u2019 collective desires, which is \u201cclearly an information-driven practice\u201d (p. 5). However, what we observe in workplaces today goes far beyond the production of data through means of simple surveys. Workers leave a variety of digital traces throughout their working day, which can be turned into data and analysed using increasingly complex and sometimes opaque methods (Leonardi, 2021). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How data reshapes the employment relationship<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In workplace datafication, employee data typically flows from employees directly to their employers (Calacci, 2022). This can lead to data asymmetry, an information disadvantage, and power imbalances. It is most evident in but not limited to online labour platforms, where it has led to an increasing mobilisation against data-driven inequity (Kellogg et al., 2020). In traditional organisations, worker-related data is analysed to answer pressing management questions, such as whether a company will be affected by labour shortages or to identify reasons why employees quit. These analyses can provide meaningful insights and, in turn, inform management decisions. This process is referred to as people analytics<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changing perspectives: Empowering workers with data<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What about the pressing questions of workers and their representatives? To what extent can data be used to answer them? In an interview we conducted with a worker representative in 2021, she explains this potential as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“I certainly see many opportunities […] that it may actually be possible to analyse data that we have access to in a different way. […] [So that] individual observations that you typically have, ‘someone is disadvantaged because they work part-time’ or ‘someone is disadvantaged because they are male or female […]’, can be backed up with […] a certain statistical value […]. [I]t always has a completely different effect when I can present figures, data and facts and say ‘here, look, out of […] 100 part-time employees, only one has actually managed […] to have a career’. […] I think that with […] clever data analyses and evaluations, […] you could certainly do worker representation in a different way.”\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, in an Economist article of 2018, a representative of Sweden\u2019s largest trade union explains how they envision that \u201calgorithms could also predict the likelihood of lay-offs, if say a new chief executive takes over, and hence the need to get members ready to act\u201d. As part of our project Between Autonomy and Surveillance<\/a>, this led us to consider not only how we can design people analytics more worker-oriented (K\u00f6hne et al., 2024), but also how workers themselves can lead data-driven efforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlocking access to worker-related data<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For unions and other bodies representing workers, access to information is crucial to their work (Calacci, 2022). So if they want to analyse novel sources of worker-related data\u2014for example, to gain a better understanding of overwork dynamics\u2014how can they gain access to it? We would like to outline two possible ways. First, they can request existing data from employers. For example, works councils can request reports or analyses on workforce diversity. This has to comply with data protection regulations and requires collaboration with employers. The challenge here is that this data, like all data, is curated and management has made decisions about what to collect and what to make visible (Calacci, 2022). Second, worker representatives can produce their own worker-related data. An example of this is the union surveys mentioned above, for example to gather workers\u2019 experiences, opinions, and desires (Mateescu, 2023). While this allows for more control, it also requires significantly more resources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data-driven worker organising in practice<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While many examples of data-driven worker organising come from the context of platform work, such as the Shipt Transparency Calculator<\/a> and RooParse<\/a> to improve pay transparency, some initiatives go beyond platform work. A widely cited example is WeClock<\/a>, a self-tracking app that allows workers to record unpaid labour, untaken breaks, or job strain. Data is stored locally on workers\u2019 devices but can be shared with unions and organisers. The Time Project<\/a> is an anonymous data collection tool to tackle overwork in the television industry. Users can track how many (unpaid) hours they work per week and receive comparative data on hours and rates. Aggregated data provides evidence of overwork and can be used to advocate for better working conditions in the industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exploring goals and requirements<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the examples given above, there are certainly more to be found in grassroots movements as well as in traditional unions. These initiatives pursue various goals that include but are not limited to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n