The Digital Visibility-Belonging Paradox: Digital Cohesion and Control in Contemporary Organizational Management

Abstract

Digital visibility has become a central organizing condition in digitally mediated work, reshaping how employees are recognized, evaluated, and connected. In this conceptual paper, we theorize digital visibility as a sociomaterial HRM condition that simultaneously enables recognition and generates performative pressures. Anchored in relational cohesion theory, we develop theDigital Visibility–Belonging Paradoxconcept to explain why the same visibility infrastructures that make employees more observable may also weaken the relational foundations of belonging. We distinguish betweenauthentic belongingandsimulated belongingto show how digital visibility can simultaneously support felt recognition and relational connection while encouraging employees to display connection, availability, and engagement through digitally visible cues. We further identify cognitive, emotional, and structural mechanisms through which visibility shapes these divergent trajectories, as well as organizational and system-level boundary conditions that influence whether visibility supports relational connection or intensifies performative availability. The paper contributes to HRM scholarship by repositioning visibility governance as a relational and humanistic responsibility in digitally mediated work.