The eternal debate is about employee tracking, especially during a crisis when companies aim to enhance performance. The question arises: should I increase monitoring of my employees? Should I restrict social networks? Should I limit access to certain online content?
As with everything in life, it depends. There are many things to think about. It might be helpful to change old traditions. Start treating employees like responsible adults, not children.
What the law says about employee tracking
“The Workers’ Statute states that the employer may adopt the monitoring and control measures deemed most appropriate to verify that the worker complies with their obligations and duties, provided these measures are necessary for the proper functioning of productive activity and respect the workers’ right to privacy.”
The problem lies in the word “control” and its negative connotations. It would be more accurate to use the term “supervise.” Supervision can be good but too much can be bad. Feeling stressed and unmotivated can lower productivity and competitiveness within an organization.
Some companies don’t trust their employees and limit their access to internet tools and content. To curb internet use, access is blocked for employees. To enforce adherence to schedules, companies install time-tracking machines. Is this necessary?
Despite what may appear, these actions do not lead to increased productivity by making workers focus more on their tasks. Instead, they limit employees’ work possibilities and generate distrust and demotivation by not feeling supported by the company.
We shouldn’t inspect every break employees take. In fact, experts recommend that everyone needs to take a few minutes of relaxation periodically to disconnect and refresh their minds. While smokers take these breaks to smoke, non-smokers might have a coffee, browse Facebook, check the news about their favorite team, or make personal calls. This should be within agreed-upon limits and schedules mutually established by the company and the worker.
Employees are not children and should not be treated as such. Blocking internet access makes employees feel less part of the project, generating distrust and reducing productivity. Companies must know how to educate, motivate, and manage their most valuable resource: people. We can give our employees more freedom without losing any work productivity.
One way to achieve this balance of labor flexibility is by allowing a specific amount of time for leisure activities. During this time, the employee can access information that does not fit within their work hours.
They can look up flights, check weekend photos, and plan vacations. This requires good communication to grant free access to the internet. Schedules should be established per person or department, though this might be cumbersome for small and medium-sized companies with limited resources.
Ultimately, it is about providing more flexibility in the workplace and promoting time self-management. It involves keeping your staff motivated and recognizing their effort and involvement in their work. We must show them that we trust them and that we don’t need to constantly monitor them to be efficient. As I said at the beginning, it is about treating them like the responsible adults they are.
Self-management as an alternative to employee tracking
Offering employees data about their own job performance allows them to understand how to optimize their work strategy, recognize their productivity levels, and identify when they are more or less productive during their workday. Tools like performance management software, WorkMeter’s productivity measurement software, facilitate the acquisition and visualization of these data.
Performance management software automatically collects information about each employee’s work activity from the moment they log in to their computer until they log out. It allows employees to view their results, self-evaluate their performance, and optimize their time management, consequently balancing their professional and personal lives better.
Managers and supervisors also have access to data about their teams’ performance, enabling them to improve monitoring, analyze results, and enhance the employee experience by distributing workloads more evenly.
Performance management software eliminates the perception of a lack of control and facilitates labor flexibility by measuring the time each employee spends on different tasks, applications, and tools during their workday.
The resources and tasks each employee needs to perform their functions are previously defined in the productivity map provided by the performance management software.
It is important to highlight that performance management software only measures investment times. It does not take screenshots or delve into content; it only provides information about employee productivity while respecting their right to privacy. Additionally, it ensures compliance with the work hours registration law, telework law, and the right to disconnect from work.
