Time tracking · 5 min read

# Employee Tracking 2.0: The Future of Workforce Management

Updated on: January 6, 2026 Created on: November 22, 2017 · Written by: Timely Team

![Employee Tracking 2.0: The Future of Workforce Management](/cdn/639875ce95d30fa631994cf3_6257f2528a399571248b045c_624c49e7c75476501cb34c01_6230a22db2a2fd433b3051ef_622f69e00c9cf2f8c43c7376_61228994e9da05020fd8e347_5e0f0e9d473c76e74a8fe2c7_ethical-track-employ.webp)

This is a really important question to feel comfortable answering. Kudos for looking into it – you clearly actually care about your team.

First off, why you want to track employee hours?

## Nothing evil. I just want to monitor employee productivity.

Great! And time tracking tools totally let you do that. We designed Timely so you check your team’s capacity and make sure everyone has a fair workload. You can get a whole view of the team, so you can redistribute work effectively and boost productivity.

![Main-people-dashboard@2x](/cdn/695d5db52954234208a72e71_639875ce95d30f6175994cf4_6257f2528a3995728d8afd49_5e0f0e9cdf6433bb311f34bc_Main-people-dashboard_2x.jpeg)

## We also have remote workers – it would good to know when they check in.

We get this. Almost 50% of our business works remotely and we really couldn’t function without time tracking. It helps us integrate different workflows, build mutual accountability and keep everyone on-track.

## Can I actually see what my employees are working on though?

Of course. You can see their daily timesheets, which are created in real-time as they work, and see how many hours they worked on specific tasks.

![User-workload2x](/cdn/695d5db52954234208a72e6d_639875c6d9d4a1170cf9340f_6257f2528a3995eeac8afd81_5dc18bfb9a31ab461b73259b_user-dashboard_2x.jpeg)

## Yeah, and then I can see what websites they use!

Ok, swaying a bit towards evil. We’re not into that kind of employee monitoring – it’s the kind of behaviour that gives time tracking a bad name.

## What, so your time tracking tool doesn’t track that data?

It does, but it’s completely private – only your employees can see it. It helps calculate their timesheet, which you can see once they approved it.

![Private-timeline-timely](/cdn/695d5db52954234208a72e69_6391cd041c66ce91e8bd1580_62b9a0f44210c28eb40f5155_5e0f0e9c473c7689d98fe2c6_Private-timeline-timely.png)

## I really don’t want my employees to think I’m spying on them.

Neither do we, it can kill company culture. Business time tracking will never work without respect for privacy, which is why data sharing in Timely is built around a model of consent. Plus, if you picked the right people for the job, you should be able to trust their motivations and that they’ll do a good, honest job.

## They are a good bunch ☺️

Sweet. Want to give it a try?

## Sure, but I’m really looking for a free time tracking app.

No problem – you can trial Timely for free for 14 days.

As a rule, don’t buy software if you’re still working out what you need – especially when your team needs to confirm they’re comfortable using it. Try

Keep in mind that the more powerful time tracking apps will require a fee though; we can’t make game-changing business software for nothing! 😎

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