Paper Number
ECIS2026-1745
Paper Type
CRP
Abstract
Psychological safety, the belief that speaking up will not result in negative consequences, is essential for employees to share critical workplace experiences. However, posting negative reviews on digital employer review platforms can expose users to adverse career consequences, in particular when the writer is identified. Prior research has shown that language features such as word choice or tone can reveal an author’s identity. Building on this, we investigate whether a Generative AI (GenAI) paraphrasing tool that changes the writing style influences users’ perceptions. We conducted an online between-subjects experiment (N = 90) to test these effects. Our results show that GenAI paraphrasing reduces perceived career-related privacy risks and increases perceived anonymity, which both enhance psychological safety. We contribute to literature by presenting a novel approach to enhance privacy perceptions when writing employer reviews, thereby providing insights into how users perceive digital platforms that are modified with GenAI tools.
Recommended Citation
Oesterwind, Lynn, "Paraphrasing For Safety: How Genai Shapes Privacy Perceptions On Digital Employer Review Platforms" (2026). ECIS 2026 Proceedings. 9.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2026/security/security/9
Paraphrasing For Safety: How Genai Shapes Privacy Perceptions On Digital Employer Review Platforms
Psychological safety, the belief that speaking up will not result in negative consequences, is essential for employees to share critical workplace experiences. However, posting negative reviews on digital employer review platforms can expose users to adverse career consequences, in particular when the writer is identified. Prior research has shown that language features such as word choice or tone can reveal an author’s identity. Building on this, we investigate whether a Generative AI (GenAI) paraphrasing tool that changes the writing style influences users’ perceptions. We conducted an online between-subjects experiment (N = 90) to test these effects. Our results show that GenAI paraphrasing reduces perceived career-related privacy risks and increases perceived anonymity, which both enhance psychological safety. We contribute to literature by presenting a novel approach to enhance privacy perceptions when writing employer reviews, thereby providing insights into how users perceive digital platforms that are modified with GenAI tools.