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Electronic performance monitoring (EPM) is a ubiquitous organizational practice often used to increase productivity and discourage negative behaviors in a wide variety of jobs and industries. The conventional wisdom regarding employee reactions to EPM is that it leads to negative attitudes and behavioral reactions, but several recent studies have found positive effects on job outcomes, highlighting the need for research regarding the boundary conditions and mechanisms that explain these reactions. Drawing from work design theory and psychological contract theory, we propose that expectations of autonomy and beliefs about the employeeorganization relationship explain reactions to EPM. We find that individuals perceive EPM as a violation of the psychological contract, and individuals with greater perceptions of job autonomy are more likely to perceive a violation. Furthermore, individuals who hold negative perceptions of EPM reassert their autonomy by engaging in covert counterproductive work behaviors, such as withholding effort. Reactions to EPM also appear to differ based on job characteristics. Future research is needed to understand the formation and maintenance of monitoring expectations and explore the role of job characteristics and context in forming those expectations.