Uniting Workers and Citizens in IS Design With and Through Data

Nyman et al. (2024) make the compelling case that IS research is well-positioned to support data-driven labour organizing through the design of work tracking technologies. Yet, given that democratic society is mirrored in the workplace (Kyng 1994), data-driven workplace technologies pose broader society-wide challenges unaddressed in a strict focus on workers. Taking our example of the public sector: with workplaces tracking civil servants, and civil servants tracking their own working conditions, how do citizens, the recipients of public sector services, interject their needs? Our focus in IS research should be on how to design data-driven work tracking technologies that reinforce democratic values like trust, and care. While civil servants may always be faced with a need to organize for better working conditions, and citizens may always need to self-advocate for better service provision, our role as researchers is to ensure that both workers and citizens can consider each other’s needs when designing data-driven technologies. Our design strategies should demonstrate an expansive understanding of digital citizenship that encompasses both workers and citizens.