This is a question that plagues many business owners and project managers. If you knew what they got up to during working hours, would there be more productivity? And if there isn't, at least, will you be sure you're getting your money's worth of labour?

From a business standpoint, it is a smart decision that will increase employee productivity. However, humans are complex creatures, and some may not take kindly to the intrusion the omnipresence of the employer is bound to cause.

It's like an artist trying to create a beautiful piece before a curious person who keeps asking if it's ready yet.

Still, it is undeniable that some employees will perform better knowing that their time is being tracked and the employer is looking over their shoulders virtually.

The Politics of Using Time Trackers to Monitor Employees

As earlier stated, the idea of using Time trackers to monitor employees is an excellent idea from the end of the employer. As far as the government and all legal outfits are concerned, it is within the boundaries of the law as there are no federal requirements to use time tracking software

The Fair Labor Standards Act itself charges employers with the responsibility of keeping accurate time records for all non-exempt employees and having software that can easily do that is considered a blessing.

Time tracking is essential for understanding how you or your workers spend your working time. It offers a broad range of advantages, including increased productivity, insight, and a healthy workflow.

It gives the user an oversight allowing them to make informed decisions with data that includes knowing which task takes the most time. There are several employee monitoring advantages.

Take, for instance, a worker from California. Under the state's labour law, an employer can't legally force you to work after hours. Tracking software will make setting boundaries between workers and their employers easier.

What does this mean? That every time you spend working must be paid for. What better way to keep to the status quo than with software that can easily track the amount of work being put in by employees.

The Pros & Cons

Regardless of how large a business is and what it specializes in, keeping track of the employees' time can be messy and challenging.

The simple task of getting your employees to log in their time can be very tedious, especially when it is being handled manually. That's where the software comes in.

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Like many technologies being created, software for time tracking was built to solve the problems that usually arise from the simple mistakes humans are bound to make.

Indeed like everything that exists, software for tracking time has its merits and demerits but do they cancel out, or does one succumb to the other?

The Pros

1. Increase Profitability

This is a no-brainer. Only employees who maximize their work hours deserve to be on board because no worker will work overtime for free. Furthermore, any employer knows how long his subordinates spend on a given task with tracking software and can easily weed out those with ridiculous work ethics.

2. Accurately Track Time

Tracking software will easily help any individual track time. It also excels in keeping an eye on the budget created for a particular project. This helps the user avoid going out of budget, thereby maximizing resources.

3. Set Clear Objectives

With tracking software, setting and achieving objectives is not a problem. When a team is aware of its goals, it helps keep confusion low as everyone knows what they should be doing. This enables the user to streamline their focus, simultaneously increasing productivity and morale.

4. Increase Productivity

Using an employee monitoring software or a time tracking software will give teams an edge over others as members will stay on task with ongoing projects thanks to daily insight from the software. These insights allow the employer to ferret out any potential problems in the day–to–day running and use that to form strategies to help the team become more productive at work.

5. Encourages Transparency

With software for time tracking, workers will be allowed to log their hours automatically, giving transparency to their work and enabling the employer to keep each member accountable.

6. Better Communication

Team members will find it easier to alert their bosses of any changes that may affect the project during work hours with a time tracker. This will simplify workers' communication with team leaders on their needs, thereby increasing productivity.

The Cons

As numerous as the merits of using software for time tracking, there are some pitfalls in using them.

An important one is how the employees will view the concept. For example, how will the team members take the news that they are being watched during work hours? How do they know it doesn't go beyond that?

The idea may not be a big deal to some members, especially those who do what they're getting paid to do. However, it is only prudent to assume that those who do other things during company hours may object.

The worst of them will downright refuse it — how can they agree to get monitored when they know they'll be watching TikTok videos on company time?

Aside from the guilt, it may inspire employees; the general population may start to feel like they're being watched, shifting their focus from the set objectives.

The software will be beneficial in the long run regardless of these cons, and if you're using software like Clockly, team members have nothing to fear as it is primarily centred on work hours rather than personal ones.

What Time Tracker to Use

There are top time tracking apps out there in this day and age; however one has consistently outperformed the others with its easy usability and efficient tools. Clockly is number one when it comes to comprehensive-time tracking. It was built to maximize productivity and accountability, and it is fully equipped with screenshot tools, digital timesheets, payroll management, location tracking, and much more.

There's more

Unlike some time trackers focused solely on remote workers like freelancers, Clockly can easily manage the daily activities of remote development teams and those working remotely. What more could you want? Start Clocking in with our time tracking software today!