Is time tracking a morale booster or buster? Well, if you think about it, it can be both, as employee time tracking is a double-edged sword. It can significantly impact employee productivity and efficiency, but it can also cosplay as a privacy intruder with all that screen activity tracking and sensitive data collection. The only way time tracking for employees works is if it’s built on ethical practices.

In this article, we debunk the pros and cons of time tracking, focusing on ethical ways to keep track of time. We also provide tips on how to boost employee morale while using time tracking apps. Get all the knowledge. 

employee morale

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The pros of time tracking

Time tracking tools are great because they show you all the data regarding operational efficiency. The data you collect from these tools serves as a baseline to calculate your employees’ utilization and work hours for payroll so you can ensure they are getting the most out of their time.

But time tracking apps don’t just boost employee productivity; they optimize revenue generation. According to FinancesOnline, time tracking data revealed that the US economy loses 50 million hours in productivity daily because of unrecorded work activities.

The math is pretty simple.

If you work for a service business and partner with clients, you need to know how many hours your employees actually work so you can capture that time and accurately invoice billable time.

Even if your company is not service-based, time tracking works in your favor. When you know where your employees’ time goes, you can identify excessive time spent on tasks and what you could do to streamline their work days一invest in new hardware, workshops, training, etc.

But time tracking isn’t just for your company’s benefit. It acts as a confidant to your employees. 

Here’s how:

  • Time tracking helps employees remove bottlenecks. Knowing how much time they spend on each task and project allows them to pinpoint inefficient processes and improper planning.
  • Time tracking enhances employee accountability. It acts as a feedback loop, constantly providing data for areas of improvement and encouraging more responsible working habits and accountability.
  • Time tracking acts as a “nudge in the right direction”. A time tracking app can serve as an additional motivator to experiment with new working habits and more efficient processes.

The mentioned practices boost employee morale by promoting a more efficient, transparent, and supportive work environment.

Time tracking gives employees a sense of control over their work, leading to greater job satisfaction.

It allows them to see the impact of their efforts, encouraging them to take ownership of their tasks and projects and feel a sense of accomplishment.

Ultimately, time tracking helps employees stay focused and productive without constant supervision. They can improve their working methods, grow, and gain more confidence in their abilities, boosting their sense of self and well-being.

Are there any cons of time tracking? Can it destroy employee morale?

Technically speaking, there shouldn’t be any cons. But when time tracking is turned into monitoring一pure employee privacy invasion, it impacts employee morale and performance.

When time tracking is used to monitor employees’ every move, work habit, or break time, it creates discomfort and a feeling of distrust in employees. They feel like managers are breathing down their necks, which leaves them an unmotivated workforce, stressed, disengaged, and with low morale.

Here’s how time tracking can cross the line and move toward surveillance and monitoring:

  • Employee location tracking.
  • Screen activity tracking.
  • Collecting unauthorized personal employee data.
  • Storing personal data on a public cloud.
  • Using time tracking data as a tool for micromanagement.
  • Using time tracking as surveillance.

Navigating a fine line: Ethical time tracking

The only way to make time tracking work for your company and boost employee morale is by choosing the right app and creating a time tracking policy (along with some other tips). Let’s break down these two aspects.

Must-have features for a time tracking tool

The right time tracking app will ensure your employees feel productive, accomplished, and accountable using these features:

  • Locally stored time data. Some time tracking apps, like Memtime, store data locally, meaning they keep data on users’ devices so no one has access to it beside the user who is tracking time.
  • No surveillance features. This means that a time tracking tool should not be able to track keyboard and mouse movement, take periodic screenshots, use facial or fingerprint recognition, insist on location tracking, etc.

Best practices for ethical time tracking

A time tracking app is just that: a tool, a new system, that needs to be carefully introduced to and implemented by your employees.

Here are ways you can make time tracking ethical, positive, and productive for everyone at your company:

  • Get employee consent. Before you even introduce the tool to your employees, ask for their explicit consent.
  • Offer an “opt-out” option to your employees. Their time doesn’t have to be tracked if they have legitimate personal and business reasons.
  • Create a time tracking policy. The policy should explain the benefits of using a time tracking tool, what data is collected, how it’s stored, and what your goals are.
  • Communicate the time tracking goals clearly. Mention to your employees that time tracking boosts productivity and that the company’s management will not use it as a weapon against them.
  • Stick to your policy. As soon as you start to micromanage, you are using time tracking as a weapon your employee did not comply with, so stick to your time tracking policy, and everyone will be on the same page.
  • Reward good time tracking. Awarding bonus points to the employees who submit their timesheets on time is a form of creating incentives; you can even introduce a KPI tied to timesheet compliance.

Final words

The only way to get employees to be open to the idea of time tracking is to do it ethically and explain why time tracking data is invaluable to your company.

If you don’t do this, introducing a time tracking app will backfire, and a significant number of employees will portray you as a merciless dictator who wants to take away their power and micromanage.

So, as long as you don’t choose a tool with intrusive features, your employees will (most likely) comply. It’s up to you to foster a trust-based working environment, where employees have time to get to know the time tracking app, how their data is handled, whether their privacy is at risk, etc.

Good luck with time tracking, and may your moral compass lead you through it.