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Nithin Jawahar

Are you comfortable with your company asking you to use a time tracking software?

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time tracking Softwares like Hubstaff not only report the time you worked, but also take screenshots of your computer and send it to your employer each and every minute. What are your thoughts on it? Does it really improve remote work productivity?

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Harshavardhan Reddy
personally I don't like time tracker. Time tracker will help to increase the productivity as it will be kind of reminder of what they have to complete. But if they are committed to their work and wanted to add value to their company, you really don't need to have a Time tracker.
Software Guy (Aarvy)
@harsha_vardhan01 @nithin_jawahar Yes, even I feel pressurized with micro-managing.
Nithin Jawahar
@harsha_vardhan01 yeah. Basic time tracking is fine. But I feel time tracking apps are getting more and more intrusive with camera detection and screen monitoring. That's where it starts becoming uncomfortable and a little intrusive.
Nithin Jawahar
@harsha_vardhan01 @software_guy Also one problem with time tracking is employees wouldn't work a minute more than the exact required time necessary to clock that day. They will stop going the extra mile because of the time tracker.
Murali Gottumukkala
I personally don't like micro-management, but I certainly need some way to ensure there is productivity. I believe in individual responsibility to feel part of organization and committing to the vision rather than doing this.
Nithin Jawahar
@murali_aasaan yeah I'm all in for productivity offcourse. But I feel setting clear deadlines or milestones might do a better job to improve productivity than this type of micromanagement.
Ali Ataei
Not comfortable, at all! And I wouldn't be at a company that uses such software. I work at a big tech and I can share what they 'we' tried which failed. (Happily failed). Long story short, They tried to track the number of git commits of software developers in a few departments. The more you push, the more productive you are.
Nithin Jawahar
@zoom_in that didn't work out? I'm surprised to hear that. I used to work at an edutech company with a similar system where they track how many minutes of video is produced per day and how many words are written per day. The more produced, the more productive you are.
Chetan Natesh
Depends, If it's obvious the team can do more I wouldn't mind. But if the team is doing its best then I would not like it.
Nithin Jawahar
@chetan_natesh got it. do you have any previous experience using them in your workplace or are you yet to try this method of tracking?
Nithin Jawahar
@chetan_natesh Cool. That sounds okay. It's more like a status update at the end of the day right?
Chetan Natesh
@nithin_jawahar We actually just had to give an excel breakup of our activities.
John Morrison
No, I think it's better to focus on outcome, not output.
Nithin Jawahar
@john_morrison1 that makes a lot of sense. I also had similar thoughts about it.
Swapnil D Puranik
Interestingly, I know of no startup or company that either I am involved with as consulting clients or even in the larger peer group - so no anecdotal insight to comment. Personally, I hate the idea of installing time trackers for all the reasons covered in previous comments, plus - it makes the relationship very transactional and takes away the trust factor - without which what's even the point?
Nithin Jawahar
@swapdp_01 exactly. That's what I feel about it too. Prior to this practise, people used to focus more on getting the task done than clocking In the hours. Because they really want to deliver better results for the company. Time tracking makes the relationship very transactional like you mentioned.
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Jade Mackenzie
I'm not a fan of this at all. There are plenty of other more strategic & impactful ways to improve productivity. This screams a lack of trust to me.
Nithin Jawahar
@jade_mack I feel the same. And when employees sense lack of trust, they won't go above and beyond for their company. It will become more like working at factory where you clock in, log the required working hours and then log out exactly when your shift ends.Not a minute later.
Jade Mackenzie
@nithin_jawahar agree. How archaic!
Rich Watson
i've seen a few posts about this, and how controversial it is. but i'm all for it
Nithin Jawahar
@richw have you seen it improve productivity?
Iqbal Alvi
Time tracking is always seen as micro-management and to some degree it really is. But it shouldn't have to be like that if the time tracking is not invading your personal stuff and that you feel like you are under surveillance all the time. I have been working on a time tracking solution that respects privacy and gives employees the power to log their activities by themselves so that they know they are sharing work related information only. It is called timegram. You can find more information here: www.timegram.io
Iqbal Alvi
Think of it as a win-win situation where managers get productivity insights and employees feel comfortable working even with a time tracker running in the background.