5 Emerging Employee Monitoring Trends to Watch in 2022

The COVID pandemic was the main reason behind several new workplace trends in 2020 and 2021, including the increasing popularity of remote work. As a result, implementing modern employee monitoring solutions seemed the best way for companies to monitor remote employees and manage a hybrid workforce. But will the same employee monitoring trends continue in 2022 as well? Or will we see a paradigm shift in how organizations map employee productivity?  

We know that how your employees spend their work hours impacts your team’s work efficiency and the company’s profits. That’s why every employer must be in tune with the latest employee monitoring trends that are affecting the global workforce. 

Here are five employee monitoring trends that will impact 2022.

1. Rise in Remote and Hybrid Working

Even though we had a rise in remote work pre-pandemic, the demand for remote work has risen tremendously during COVID. It has compelled more companies to offer hybrid work options, and the same trend is expected to continue in 2022. 

According to Gartner’s recent work from home study, 51% of the global workforce will be working remotely by the end of 2021. As of current, according to Apollo Technical, about 16% of companies are working remotely on a global scale.

There’s also a positive shift towards the hybrid workplace model, and 30% of American workers already consider themselves hybrid employees. But here’s how employee monitoring fits in to all of this:

• As the number of hybrid and remote workers continues to skyrocket, the need for tracking employee productivity will naturally increase as well.
• Almost one in five businesses are currently using or in the process of deploying employee monitoring technology, and most of them are doing so to collect employee productivity data according to Gartner.  

2. Focus on Employee Wellbeing

The pandemic has given remote employees the feeling of being “always-on”which has had a bit of a negative impact on employee mental health. To change this new normal, Human Resource leaders will increasingly focus on employee experience and wellbeing in the years to come.

HR professionals around the world will be seen using employee monitoring to address broader issues such as job satisfaction and employee wellness in a remote or hybrid workplace setup. 

How will employee monitoring help? 
By using employee monitoring technology, employers can track employees’ productivity and behavioral patterns to alleviate stress, possible anxiety, and/or employee burnout. This ultimately will enhance employee experience.

For example, automatic time tracking will help an HR department know which employees are working overtime and/or burning the midnight oil night after night.

Moreover, as more millennials join the workforce, they’re strongly advocating prioritizing mental health and having a wellness program in their organization. 

3. Shift from Work Hours to Work Output 

Yes, employee monitoring allows for a bigger hybrid workforce. But the next wave of flexibility would be around companies gauging employees by their overall productivity rather than just their work hours.

Companies found 55% of their workforce to be more productive when they could choose the hours of which they worked, according to this Apollo Technology article.  

Instead of simply just “monitoring working hours”, employers are conforming their outlook. They are focusing more on how much a single employee can contribute to the productivity of an organization as a whole.

4. Greater Acceptance of Employee Monitoring

In 2020, Clutch reported that only 10% of employees would trust their employer more if their work was tracked by employee monitoring software. But, if we look at data reported by Gartner, we find that 30% of employees got more comfortable with monitoring (compared to just 10% in 2015) when employers started explaining the reasons for monitoring, including tracking billable client hours or employee engagement.

Additionally, employee monitoring will provide employees with the opportunity to advertise their ability to function independently.

It’s safe to say that if employers continue implementing new employee monitoring solutions, being upfront and transparent with their employees in the process, they will get more comfortable being monitored over time.

5. Individual Talent

Remote employee monitoring will allow employees working from home to no longer be tied to any specific location. 

As a result, states and cities will be seen offering relaxed tax policies to incentivize individuals to relocate to different places, instead of giving tax benefits to large companies.

Not only will this allow remote employees to shift from large, expensive cities, but it will also help smaller cities to create revenue for their community via local business support, purchasing homes, etc.  

Conclusion

It’s very apparent from these trends that employee monitoring will be a crucial aspect in managing remote work and staying competitive in 2022. An employee monitoring solution can easily be overbearing and/or intrusive if employees are uninformed. That being said, employers should be using employee monitoring solutions to ensure employee wellbeing, reduce turnover, and have a strong global workforce. Employee monitoring sees into more than just what your employees are doing on their computer. It can be beneficial, and extremely positive.

There is no question that 2022 will demand a change in the mindsets of both employers and employees. But one thing is certain for sure – remote work  is here to stay!

If you want to learn more about remote employee monitoring, click here!