The American philosopher Henry David Thoreau said:
“It is not enough to be busy. The question is: what are we busy about?”
And if anything, this statement resonates with business owners the most — how you spend your company time defines the organization’s profits, work efficiency, and more.
That’s why it’s important to practice effective time and project management.
Modern time tracking and employee monitoring software are our saviors there. And the latest time tracking statistics can offer you insights into how they work and how you can use them efficiently.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the top ten time tracking statistics for business owners and why they’re important.
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Top 10 time tracking statistics for business owners
Time tracking is a proven way to increase productivity and work efficiency.
So it makes sense as a business owner to know the latest time tracking trends and features that work for everyone in the industry.
Here are the top 10 time tracking statistics to know.
1. Automated time tracking
According to a recent Deloitte study, over 30% of professionals say that manual time entry and data adjustments are two of the most time-consuming processes.
But the good news is, automated time tracking can eliminate lost productivity and recapture more than $666,400 in yearly wages. (Acumen Data Systems, 2020)
This is where time tracking software like Time Doctor can help you!
Time Doctor is a powerful employee performance management system used by major companies like Verizon, as well as small businesses, to boost employee productivity across the board.
It offers a manual and automatic time tracking feature.
In the manual mode, you can start/stop tracking your time every time you clock in or out or take a break. Managers can customize the idle-time pop-up feature, so employees can get notified if they’re inactive while tracking time.
If you prefer the automatic time tracking feature, Time Doctor will track your work every time you start your desktops. However, note that it doesn’t interfere with your work; instead helps you focus on your important tasks.
Employees simply have to start tracking their time once they clock in for work. They can also use a mobile app for Android to track on the go. Project managers can then access their team’s time data and use payroll tools to compensate their employees.
2. Time theft
A 2020 Connecteam study estimates that over 75% of the businesses in the US are affected by time theft. And it can take up as much as 7% of your gross annual payroll. (Workpuls, 2020)
Time theft is when employees round up their hours at work or get paid for work they didn’t actually do. Buddy punching is when your coworker clocks in from your card in your absence.
Both time theft and buddy punching are common practices for companies that use traditional paper timesheets and clock-in tools.
The good news is, you can minimize time theft in your company with modern time tracking and employee attendance software.
Managers can easily ensure maximum work output by encouraging work transparency within teams. They can monitor user activity to ensure that no one utilizes work time for personal use.
3. Productive and unproductive time
Studies show that the average employee is productive for only 2 hours and 30 minutes per day (Vouchercloud, 2020). Another Workpuls survey found that employees spend up to four hours a week on unproductive tasks.
So where does the free time go?
Well, a lot of time is spent checking personal emails, social media, browsing websites, or taking lunch or snack breaks.
Here are some more statistics on how employees spend their day:
- Most employees are only productive for 2.8 hours a day. (RescueTime, 2019)
- About 34% of employees waste 2-5 hours a week on calls and meetings that achieve nothing. (Korn Ferry, 2019)
- US employees spend about 28% of their day reading emails and texting/receiving messages. (Harvard Business Review, 2019)
- Over 82% of managers are concerned that remote working may reduce employee productivity and focus. (Owl Labs, 2019)
This is one such situation where a time tracking tool like Time Doctor can help.
Time Doctor offers detailed insights into how your employees spend their time. You can see their daily activity and when they’re the most productive during the day.
4. Procrastination and time management
Unproductivity isn’t the only villain; procrastination is when employees delay skilled-based work while spending maximum time on menial work tasks.
44% of employees interrupt themselves once during their work schedule. To top off, it takes 23 minutes and 15 seconds for employees to re-focus on the task at hand. (Inc, 2020)
For employees who tend to procrastinate a lot, proper time management techniques can help. But even then, 40% of employees don’t return to their original tasks and lose focus.
In these cases, productivity tracking and project management tools can go a long way.
For example, tracking the time spent on each task and project can make the employees more self-aware and responsible for their time.
Tools like Time Doctor allow managers to set distraction alerts and productivity ratings for each app and website. If a user is absent or spends too much time on non-work-related sites, they get a pop-up notification.
5. Time taken by work-related activities
Once your employees overcome procrastination, there are other work activities they need to manage.
Not all work tasks require skills or focus. And it’s important to balance these with activities that yield profits for your team.
Here’s a rough idea of how much time a typical employee spends on menial work activities:
- A 2019 HBR study claims that employees spend 28% of their work hours answering or reading emails or browsing social media.
- While about 15% of an organization’s collective time is spent in meetings, more than $37 billion are spent on unproductive meetings.
- Another survey found that employees spend about 2-5 hours a day attending calls or meetings, achieving nothing productive.
Fortunately, you can easily avoid this with time tracking tools.
When you track the amount of time spent on different tasks under each project, it becomes easier to eliminate any time-consuming activities.
6. The cost of not tracking time
Sure, time tracking and project management software cost you money.
But have you considered the cost of not tracking your company time?
According to a study conducted in 2020, the US economy loses over 50 million hours per day due to non-recorded unproductive activities. This can be avoided with time tracking and employee monitoring software.
These software encourage employee accountability and help you manage your time. Employees get a clear picture of their time spent on each task, helping them balance skilled tasks with other work. This also prompts them to spend less time on distractions like social media.
What’s more, you can also eliminate practices like time theft and buddy punching.
7. Remote work and GPS tracking
Research indicates that 41.8% of the American workforce is working remotely since the pandemic. The same study predicts that by 2025, America will have more than 36.2 million remote workers.
With the rising numbers of remote employees, it makes sense to adopt technologies like a GPS tracking solution. Among other things, it ensures accountability, safety, productivity, work efficiency, and mileage tracking. (QuickBooks, 2019)
In fact, research indicates that the GPS time tracking software industry will grow up to $2.9 Billion by 2023.
8. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Violation compliance
The FLSA ensures that workers in the US are treated and compensated fairly without being overburdened beyond 40 hours/week workdays. Violation of these standards may result in fines up to $10,000.
The US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recovered over $1.4 billion in unpaid wages from 2017 to 2021.
But companies and employees continue to work beyond their work schedules. 33% of employees agreed to work on the weekends on average, while more than 48% work well beyond work hours. These are all major FLSA violations.
So what do you do?
This is where an employee monitoring and time tracking app will come in handy.
You can set work shifts for your employees. If anyone works beyond their work hours, both the managers and employees get notified.
Work shifts are also useful for remote staff since 22% of employees find it difficult to unplug from their jobs due to fluid work schedules. (Buffer, 2021)
9. Payroll management
Payroll can be a complicated process. As your company grows, it can be tricky to keep track of every employee’s paycheck.
Moreover, delayed or incorrect payroll can severely demotivate your employees.
A study found that, on average, 49% of US employees will leave a job if they experience issues with their paycheck more than once.
The same study also found that companies that use time tracking software with payroll features are 44% less likely to commit paycheck errors.
10. Time tracking challenges
Time tracking is still pretty new for some businesses, and there are certain challenges you can expect when first starting with this technology.
For example, over one-third of time tracking systems are still outdated. 38% of employees still use traditional paper timesheets and punch cards in the US. (Wagepoint, 2019)
Of those surveyed, employees admitted that they needed to correct their employee timesheet 80% of the time. (Workpuls, 2019)
Employees are also found to have privacy concerns when starting out with these software, especially about features like GPS tracking.
A 2019 QuickBooks survey reveals that 4% of employees believed that GPS time trackers might invade their privacy. Additionally, 20% of employees would take legal action if they were monitored outside of work hours.
However, with proper communication and successful software implementation, your team leaders and team members should understand why project time tracking is important.
For instance, Time Doctor has a strict privacy policy and data security laws in place to ensure maximum employee security. All your data is strictly confidential and with this ISO-certified company.
Keeping that in mind, what are the benefits of time tracking statistics?
Let’s find out.
Why are time tracking statistics important?
Time tracking and time management statistics give you an idea of how you can maximize your work efficiency.
With the help of hundreds of studies across industry sectors, you can analyze how your organization can improve and what you as an employer need to work on. Employees can also get insights into their own work patterns and workflows.
By observing these statistics, companies can eliminate negative behaviors while encouraging habits that bring in profits.
Closing thoughts
The bottom line is that the time tracking software industry is fast evolving.
And with the changing work trends and technologies, it’s important to keep pace with the latest statistics in your industry. This data will also help you optimize your workflows and make any necessary changes based on employee engagement and behavior.
Time Doctor can help you with employee productivity management. With its detailed reports and an array of features, you can ensure maximum work efficiency and productivity.
Sign up for a free trial today to start tracking your time!
