🕜 The (new) surveillance capitalism

🕝 On The Clock is a biweekly newsletter sharing opinions and advice on the world of work — and the way it should be. If this episode was sent to you, subscribe here so you don't miss the next one!

Hey 👋

Welcome back to 🕝 On The Clock.

Like any monumental shift in society, progression always comes with pushback. 

When COVID-19 hit, thousands of companies were forced into a previously impossible scenario: remote work. Employees worked from home, adapted to Zoom meetings, and figured out how to collaborate async. 

Now the physical world has returned to normal, workers are reluctant to resume the commute and in-house desk sitting. Yet, leaders are reluctant to mould their workplaces — physical or remote — into a more flexible environment.

So what are employers doing about it? It's not great news. 

The (new) surveillance capitalism

In April 2020, global demand for employee monitoring software more than doubled.

Online searches for “how to monitor employees working from home” skyrocketed by 1,700%. And sales for software that monitored desktop activity, tracked keystrokes, and surveilled employees over video went through the roof. 

Data we collected in The Toggl 2025 Productivity Index™️ backs this up. The C-suite is weirdly comfortable with using unpopular methods like surveillance software, location tracking, and screen monitoring to measure performance.

The data also pinpointed a clear lack of confidence the C-suite has around non-traditional work environments.

There is also a sombre reality for employers hidden in our findings. 34% of leaders say resistance from employees about productivity tracking is the biggest challenge in measuring company productivity.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why. If employees don’t feel trusted to do their jobs — they’re going to be p*ssed.

But it goes a little deeper than that.  

The broken workplace contract 

A major study in the Journal of Organizational Behaviour looked at what researchers called the “social exchange” between leaders and employees. It found electronic monitoring inhibited task performance by undermining employee trust.

Basically, surveillance programs were eroding the “social exchange” in the employer–employee workplace dynamic.  

And once the social contract is broken, it’s hard to repair the dynamic. 

The Toggl 2025 Productivity Index™️ did find a path forward for leaders who need productivity data to make informed decisions. We found a strong association between the tools used to measure productivity — and the amount of confidence leaders had in their team’s work activities. 

Leaders using tools like time tracking software were significantly more confident in measuring high-value activities. This data also gave leaders more confidence around what specific activities were driving revenue.

Using time to win the revenue game

Toggl has a very strong stance against surveillance software from a moral point of view. But even if you don't care about the morality around surveillance software, it's still a (really) poor way to measure productivity and growth.

Our data found companies with a carefully chosen tech stack were more likely to measure productivity well 👇

• 🧑💻 Leaders from smaller companies had basic tech stacks and leaned on task management apps to track productivity. But, these tools only gather basic data, giving these leaders less confidence around productivity measurement
• 📈 Larger companies invest more in productivity tracking tools like time tracking and project management software. Leaders from these companies showed most confidence in measuring their team’s productivity
• 🕝 Companies using granular tools like time tracking software were significantly more confident in measuring high-value activities in their teams

Toggl's Chief Revenue Officer, Andrew Wray, says tracking tasks, projects, and deliverables can only tell leaders so much.

“Thousands of companies are navigating non-traditional environments, and leaders are clearly struggling to balance employee wellbeing without sacrificing productivity. Most productivity tools lack the meaningful data leaders need to understand what employees are really working on. 

Leaders, especially those in charge of revenue, must be hyper-focused on productivity and how it ties back to direct business results this year. And it’ll take more than monitoring if employees are at their desks.

Linking your team’s time to tasks and projects is the only way to really measure their productivity — this is what leaders must do to win this year.”

Hitting revenue goals this year is going to take a mindset shift for the majority of leaders. Tying time tracking data to high-value activities unlocks the information leaders need to see how their team's time is being spent — and how it impacts revenue. 

The takeaway?

Using the right tools to measure productivity is a damn good start. 

Thanks for reading 🕜 On The Clock — see ya in two weeks 👋

Kimberlee

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