Almost one-quarter of employees think their company uses employee monitoring software to track them at work. Executives and Generation X are fearful of employee monitoring software’s effect on morale, while HR departments and millennials disagree.
As the period of remote working continues to get extended and return to work seems unlikely for the rest of this year, companies are wondering if employees are as productive when working from home. The concern about remote worker productivity has been a recurring one and has only been accentuated by the current pandemic and lockdown. Surveys in the past few months have shown that productivity has shot up, but is this a sustainable trend? Do companies need to invest in employee monitoring or productivity software to measure their performance daily?
As per a new study by Clutch,Opens a new window a whopping 72% of employees have shared that such software has no impact on their productivity levels. Some other important findings from this survey are:
- Almost half of the employees (49%) say their company doesn’t use employee monitoring software.
- Only 10% of employees believe they would trust their employer more if they used the software. As compared to that 37% shared that use of employee monitoring software would reduce trust.
- There is a difference in how different generations perceive it – Only 22% of those aged 18–34 are concerned with employee monitoring software, while 31% of those aged 35–54 are concerned.
The challenge that is emerging is how companies can balance the use of employee monitoring software since it seems to have an adverse effect on employee morale for some segments of employees. But for the younger workers, it can become a validation tool and motivator for the good work they do.
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How can a balance be created for different generations at the workplace if the company chooses to use an employee monitoring software?
1. Analyzing the data – The first step is to communicate and understand that the purpose of the tool should be mainly to analyze data and not use it as a barometer for measuring performance. For example, Sapience Vue is a platform that allows companies to become aware of the operational, technological and work-behavioral changes associated with the shift to remote work environments. It also gives clear and visible insights to managers about how a change in work environment is impacting the employee work patterns, their performance and productivity.
2. Focusing on employee support – Instead of using tools to only monitor, organizations need to focus on providing tools that can track but also help them manage their time better as well as share challenges they face in being able to performance at optimal levels. For example, RescueTime is one such platform, which generates insights and also allows managers to track productivity. The main purpose is not employee monitoring but is instead providing insights on productivity trends. This is accomplished bys allowing employees to own all the data that is shared and stored within the platform. Apart from that it gives them the flexibility to choose which productivity elements are tracked and when. By shifting the onus to the employees, companies can ensure that they perform and are productive because they are motivated enough to do it, not because they are forced to. Similarly, Beesy is another such software and tool, but again it gives the employees the opportunity to manage their time better. It gives the company and the employees the feature to set goals, share them, and map self and others’ progress. So while it allows managers to use it for decision making it also gives the employees the option to self-monitor and improve their work.
There is a lot of lack of awareness amongst employees about whether their companies are using such a software. This can also become a serious privacy issue and breach of trust. Should companies decide to use such tools to monitor their screens, apps, and websites that they use during the day and how productive they are with their time, it is essential that communication be strong and transparent.
Note – Clutch surveyed 400 full-time workers in the U.S. in June 2020.
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