The rise of remote work brought confusion in the management process of many companies. When a large number of employees or even whole companies had to go remote, there were worries about keeping up the same level of performance.
Working remotely meant working from home for most employees. And working from home could mean less surveillance.
That’s when companies needed a way to ensure employees would work the required hours conscientiously.
Time trackers were the tools that would resolve this issue.
What Are Time Trackers?
Time trackers are tools that track users’ time on a device, analyze their app and website usage, generate detailed reports, and more.
Most time trackers have extra features for task management, communication, invoicing, and more.
We’ll take a look at a time tracker with screenshots at the end of the article, but for now, let’s dive into the pros and cons of using time-tracking software.
Pros of Using a Time Tracker
The main purpose of time trackers is what the name says, to track time. As a result, they help improve time management across a company without turning to each employee separately. However, the added extra features offer even more benefits.
Improved Time Management
The first and main benefit of time trackers is improved time management.
When you start tracking time, you get a visual and detailed idea about your time management habits.
Are you spending too much time reading emails? Are you being distracted by social network sites during work? These are the type of questions that time trackers answer.
If you are managing a team or a company, with time trackers you see how each employee spends their work time, that is, how much of it they dedicate to work.
Transparency of Work
While information about tracked time already provides transparency, time trackers also monitor information like app and website usage, attendance, productivity level, and more. Some even take screenshots of the screen, making remote work management even more transparent.
Instead of worrying and pondering whether your team is working as required, you will see their work process in every necessary detail.
To prevent screenshots from exposing private information, most trackers offer blurred mode. While it shows a general view of one’s screen, it still manages to hide the details.
Proof of Work
All the information that time trackers monitor and record is beneficial for freelancers especially. Other than providing the result, time trackers enable sharing the process with the client as well.
Most trackers turn the tracked information into reports and enable sharing them either through email or else.
Sense of Accountability
The fact that your work is being monitored makes you become more mindful of it and the results you provide. Instead of feeling like you can do your work whenever you want and letting yourself procrastinate, you feel more responsible to finish a task, as you know your work process is monitored.
The same principle is likely to work in a company. Even when working remotely, employees know that they are still working. They don’t go to the office, so the office comes to them.
Higher Productivity
All the benefits that time trackers provide are aimed at creating discipline. And discipline is one of the pillars of productivity. When it comes to improving productivity in a company, it may be difficult to apply discipline among everyone without assisting tools.
Time trackers make everyone aware that their time and work process are monitored. So next time an employee wants to spend time on social media, the tracker will remind them of the unproductivity of such platforms. As a result, when reminded, they will remember to go back to work instead.
Cons of Using a Time Tracker
Despite the abundance of advantages that time trackers offer, they also have disadvantages. The latter mostly rise when not using the tool correctly.
Risk of Micromanagement
Unfortunately, some companies perceive time trackers as a way to micromanage every step of their employees’ work process. They might use all the features, including screenshots, app and website usage, and monitor every second employees spend on work. Some might even reprimand and remind them about the tracker, thus creating a tense environment among employees.
And micromanagement may lead to unproductivity and stress among employees.
Lack of Mutual Trust
The previous con is highly likely to lead to a lack of trust towards management. When employees feel that they are constantly being watched and their performance is evaluated based on the tracked data, they feel a lack of trust. Consequently, they start to not trust the management as well.
If you are going to use a time tracker in your team or company, make sure you use it for improving productivity and benefiting not only the company but the employees as well.
Anxiety Leading to Unproductivity
When noticing that their work is under surveillance, employees might start feeling anxious. It is especially no or wrong introduction to time trackers that might ignite such feelings. And anxiety is a source of unproductivity.
WebWork Time Tracker
Among so many time trackers available on the market, WebWork stands out with the variety of features and options it offers. It is a time tracking, employee monitoring, productivity, and activity monitoring tool. Other than these functions, WebWork also functions as a Task Manager and a Communication platform.
You can choose from a variety of features such as 4 screenshot modes, including blurred, attendance tracking, work-life balance, Team Chat, Video Calls, and more.
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