The modern workplace is under watch like never before. Around 80% of businesses monitor their workforce in some way. At the same time, more than half of the workers in the UK say they would consider quitting if they are monitored.
This tension defines the state of employee monitoring in 2025.
Employers view monitoring as a tool to drive productivity and prevent time theft. Employees, on the other hand, often see it as a signal of distrust.
The statistics show both the push and pull: the business case for monitoring and the human cost of implementing it without transparency.
Key Takeaways:
- Employee monitoring is now mainstream: 80% of businesses monitor their workforce, with the market projected to reach $7.27-$23.99 billion by 2029-2032.
- Employee acceptance varies widely: Only 30-40% are genuinely comfortable with monitoring, but 92% accept it when it improves their performance or wellbeing.
- Global penetration: 76% of North American companies and 64% globally now use monitoring tools
- Payroll management: Companies can lose up to 7% of gross payroll due to time-tracking issues – monitoring prevents this.
- Mental health impact: 56% of monitored employees feel stressed vs. 40% of non-monitored workers. But informing employees about the importance and value of monitoring will reduce this resistance to employee monitoring tools.
- Productivity gains: Productivity rises 7% when employees know monitoring exists – awareness drives focus and accountability.
- Companies using Flowace report average productivity boosts of 51%, with case studies showing 20-23% improvements. Book your free Flowace trial today and discover how responsible monitoring can transform your workplace.
How Big Is the Role of Employee Monitoring in Today’s Workspace?
Employee monitoring isn’t new. But in the last few years, it has grown faster than ever.
The Business Research Company estimates the employee monitoring software market will reach US$7.27 billion by 2029 at a compounded annual CAGR of 16.9%.
Another report from Introspective Market Research projects an even steeper trajectory: from US$4.73 billion in 2024 to US$23.99 billion by 2032 (CAGR 22.5 %).
What pushed this growth? The COVID-19 remote work boom. When teams suddenly went remote, many managers felt like they were flying blind. To keep visibility, they turned to monitoring tools.
By the end of the pandemic shift,
- 70% of organizations adopted some form of monitoring software
- In the U.S., 68% of workers report experiencing at least one form of electronic monitoring.
- As of early 2025, 76% of North American companies use monitoring tools, with global adoption around 64%.
This shows a clear trend. Today, most companies track employees in some way. Sometimes it’s a simple time clock. Other times it’s advanced employee monitoring software.
However, the statistics also reveal concerns about over‑surveillance and its impact on trust.
How Much Can Employers See? The Truth About Workplace Surveillance
Modern employee monitoring tools can collect an astonishing amount of information about what workers do on their devices.
Many employees are surprised (and sometimes disturbed) by how deep this surveillance can go. Some organizations even track salaried employees to prevent malicious activities. Keystrokes to screenshots to GPS location, today’s “workforce analytics” platforms leave few stones unturned.
A UK analysis found that:
- Location (GPS) tracking increased by 44.85%
- Video/camera monitoring rose by 42.42%
- Document scanning (file actions) up by 25.97%
- Attendance tracking / idle time monitoring grew by 20.06%
Another survey proves that:
- Over 73% of employers monitor remote or hybrid workers
- 75% of employers monitor employees in physical offices
- 69% use video surveillance monitoring
- 58.3% implement biometric access controls
These figures come from a mix of industry surveys, news investigations, and platform-based data.
A Quick Peek into the Top Employee Monitoring Statistics of 2025
The following table summarises the most telling workforce monitoring stats. These numbers set the context for decision‑makers looking to adopt an employee monitoring solution:
| Statistics | Insights | Why it Matters |
| 80%+ of companies monitor employees | Monitoring is now standard practice. | Businesses that avoid it risk missed hours and compliance issues. |
| 43% of workers know their online activity is tracked | Nearly half of employees are aware of digital surveillance. | Transparency is critical to maintain trust. |
| 96% of monitoring tools include time-tracking | Time tracking is the core feature of monitoring. | Accurate logs prevent time theft and billing errors. |
| 1 in 3 employees don’t believe they’re monitored; 15% don’t know it’s possible | Many underestimate monitoring. | Clear communication avoids confusion and distrust. |
| Productivity rises 7% when employees know monitoring exists | Awareness can drive focus. | Monitoring works best when framed as accountability. |
| 52% of employees use tactics to avoid tracking | Over half try to bypass systems. | Intrusive monitoring backfires; balanced tools reduce resistance. |
| 63% would consider quitting over tracking; 28% strongly agree | Heavy surveillance increases attrition risk. | Respectful monitoring helps retain talent. |
Employee monitoring clearly provides business value, but it also creates some employee challenges. The key is to balance employee monitoring with employee trust.
Tools like Flowace make this possible by combining automated time tracking tools, productivity insights, and privacy-friendly features.
Flowace Case Study: Zobble’s 23% Productivity Boost with Monitoring
Zobble, an e-learning company with 100+ employees. In 2020, Zobble shifted to work-from-home during the pandemic and struggled with declining productivity and little visibility into how time was spent.
They tried a manual time tracker (Time Doctor) but found it cumbersome and expensive, with limited data retention. Zobble needed a better solution and turned to Flowace’s automated monitoring tool.
The results were dramatic:
- 23% productivity boost within 3 months of using Flowace.
- Revenue leakage nearly eliminated by preventing lost billable hours.
- Transparent work system established across the team.
- Key features used: silent automatic tracking and on-demand screenshots.
- Increased confidence for management that work was being done efficiently.
- Reduced manual effort; employees no longer had to log time manually.
- Accurate data for optimization, helping management streamline operations.
What are the Most Popular Monitoring Methods?
Today’s employee monitoring spans everything from digital activity to physical movements.
The most prevalent methods are time tracking, activity monitoring, and app/web usage logs. Security-related monitoring, like emails, files, location tracking, and other time tracking methods are also significant.
While no single company uses all these methods, many use a combination.
1. 96% Use Time Tracking Tools
96% of organizations use time-tracking software to log employee work hours, activity, and idle time. Automatic trackers prevent time theft and ensure accurate billable hours.
2. 86% Monitor Real-Time Activity
86% of employers monitor real-time activity on company devices, tracking apps, websites, keystrokes, and even live screen feeds to ensure focus.
Companies use real-time monitoring to make sure staff stay on task and aren’t engaging in inappropriate behavior.
3. 53% Capture Screens & Screenshots
53% of managers capture employee screens or take periodic screenshots, especially with remote and virtual teams. You can snap a screenshot every 5 or 10 minutes to verify the person is working on work-related material.
Screen monitoring provides concrete proof of work.
4. ~50% Track Keyboard & Mouse Usage
Around 44% of monitoring tools include keystroke logging, and nearly half track mouse clicks/movements to measure activity. 43% also monitor file access for productivity and security.
In Flowace, you can also monitor “activity level,” which quantifies how active an employee is at their computer.
5. 23% Monitor Employee Emails
About 25% of organizations scan employee emails, while 94% in regulated industries review them for compliance, phishing, or data leaks.
6. 73% Record Calls & Meetings
73% of organizations record calls (customer service, sales, finance). It is used for call audits, quality check and compliance. Video meetings are also increasingly logged, adding performance pressure.
This includes call center monitoring and even internal Zoom/Teams meetings in some cases. Companies record calls for training, quality assurance, and compliance purposes.
7. 37% Enforce Live Video Surveillance
37% of remote firms require employees to stay on live video for 4+ hours daily, while over 80% of major companies still use CCTV.
8. 30% Log Chats & Messages
30% of companies store and review chat logs from tools like Slack or Teams, flagging policy violations or toxic language.
The purpose is to prevent inappropriate communications (e.g. harassment or sharing confidential info) and ensure company policies are followed in chats. Some software can flag toxic language or alert if someone uses inappropriate language.
9. 66% Track Website Visits
66% of employers track websites and browsing history, even in incognito mode. 62% log web activity to block risky sites and reduce personal browsing, often scoring productivity by site usage.
Flowace goes a step further and categorizes sites as “productive” or “unproductive”, providing a productivity score based on your web activity.
10. 53% Monitor App Usage
53% of companies track employee software use, while 28% monitor detailed app usage time. This helps optimize tools and detect shadow IT.
Tools like Flowace automatically log internet usage, active applications and categorize them. Employees generally accept some app tracking for work purposes, but it should not extent to their personal apps.
11. 27% Track File Access & Transfers
27% of firms monitor file access and transfers, logging who opens or copies files. It’s key for security and compliance, catching unusual activity like late-night mass data downloads.
12. 80% Use Badge & Physical Tracking
80% of companies use badge swipes, biometrics, or GPS to track attendance and movements. While traditional, new wearables and sensors are pushing boundaries of workplace surveillance.
13. 43% Monitor Mobile Device
Many organizations use MDM on company-issued or BYOD devices, logging app use, GPS, and browsing. 43% of companies are deploying AI-powered mobile monitoring systems to manage productivity.
The aim is to prevent data leaks via mobile and protect against threats (like an employee downloading malware on a work phone).
| Monitoring Method | % of Companies | Key Insight |
| Time Tracking Tools | 96% | The backbone of monitoring; ensures accurate hours and prevents time theft. |
| Real-Time Activity Monitoring | 86% | Tracks clicks, apps, and movements in real time. |
| Screen Monitoring & Screenshots | 53% | Common in remote teams; provides proof of work |
| Keyboard & Mouse Tracking | ~50% | Measures activity levels; prevents major privacy risks. |
| Email Monitoring | 23% | Used for compliance and data leak prevention |
| Call Recording | 73% | Standard in service industries; valuable for QA |
| Video Surveillance | 37% | Especially used in remote work |
| Chat & Messaging Logs | 30% | Ensures policy compliance |
| Website Visit Tracking | 66% | Prevents distractions
|
| App Usage Tracking | 53% | Optimizes software ROI |
| File Access Monitoring | 27% | Key for data security; alerts unusual access and insider threats. |
| Badge & Physical Tracking | 80% | Long-established for attendance and security; expanding via biometrics. |
| Mobile Device Monitoring | 43% | Common with field staff |
Why Do Companies Use These Monitoring Methods?
So why do businesses monitor employees in all these ways? Most businesses implement monitoring tools to achieve a few core objectives:
Productivity and Cost Control:
- 79 % of employers monitor employees to understand how they spend their time
- 65 % want to confirm employees work a full day
- 50 % aim to prevent personal use of company equipment
Accurate productivity monitoring software and statistics allow managers to rebalance workloads, reduce time theft, and optimise resource planning.
Preventing Security Threats and Data Leaks:
Threats and Data Leaks: Monitoring is crucial for protecting company data and IP. In a 2024 report, 71% of organizations said they worry about insider security threats.
Gartner predicts that half of all medium and large enterprises will adopt formal insider threat programs by 2025, up from 10% in 2023
Ensuring Compliance with Policies and Laws:
28% of risk and compliance professionals said their organization experienced a data privacy/cybersecurity breach in the past three years.
Employee monitoring laws like GDPR or HIPAA laws require certain data handling procedures. Monitoring can verify that employees aren’t violating those.
Additionally, drawing up employee monitoring policy protects both company assets and employee rights.
Reducing Time Theft and Idle Time:
Time theft costs U.S. employers over $11 billion annually in lost productivity and wages. Flowace steps in as a smarter solution here.
Trusted by 35,000+ users worldwide, Flowace provides automatic, real-time tracking that logs employee idle time, active work hours, and task focus. It removes the hassle of manual clock-ins and builds accountability without micromanagement.
Optimizing Project Management & Workflow:
Employee monitoring data often integrates with project management. For example, tools like Flowace can show how long tasks take, which apps were used for each project, etc.
IT Asset and License Management:
Companies also track software usage to manage IT resources. Monitoring which applications are used (and how often) helps identify unused licenses or unauthorized software.
Preventing Moonlighting and Policy Violations:
Nearly 1 in 6 remote workers were holding multiple jobs without employers’ knowledge.
When productivity dipped, Anchal Chopra, director at Hiring Squad, used Flowace to reveal hidden moonlighting activities. On review, two employees were confirmed to be moonlighting during office hours.
The result? Moonlighting was stopped, HR made informed decisions, accountability was restored, and overall productivity improved across teams
Accurate Payroll and Billable Hours:
Businesses can lose up to 7% of gross payroll due to time-tracking issues, including time theft and manual entry errors. Monitoring software automates timesheets and differentiates billable vs. non-billable time. This reduces errors and missed billables.
Expert Insights: The HR & Employee Perspective
Monitoring is controversial because it touches on privacy and autonomy. But organizations that are engaged with their employees have 59% less employee turnover.
- 16% of organizations use technology to track progress and engagement among their employees
- Professional services firms worldwide have an employee billable utilization of just over 69%, with monitoring helping optimize this rate
- Employee monitoring shows 58% reduction in payroll processing errors
A Canadian report on Employee monitoring application revel that it:
- Improve productivity (47%),
- verify work hours (25%),
- track workload (13%).
At the same time few employees believe that:
- Its too privacy-invasive: 28.6%
- Undermines trust between management and employees: 25.1%
- Law is unclear: 16.2%
- Not expected to meaningfully increase productivity”: 13.2%
A majority of employees (70.7%) say they’d be more likely to use employee monitoring tools if they relied on measures other than keystroke logging or video surveillance.
Employee Monitoring: What are Its Effect on Workplace Productivity?
Overall, the productivity impact of monitoring can be summarized by a paradox:
In a survey, 68% of managers said productivity-tracking software improved employee performance. Yet 72% of employees in the same survey said it either had no effect or made performance worse.
What actually sustains productivity is clear visibility without extra admin work and employee-friendly transparency.
For long term success, invest in employee productivity tools and reliable platforms like Flowace. Low-friction platform like Flowace see improvements that last:
- At Gravitas Legal, switching from manual timesheets to Flowace’s automated capture saved ~37 minutes per day per lawyer.
- At Digite, automatic tracking plus transparent dashboards drove an ~20.91% productivity increase with 100% work transparency, which proved especially helpful for WFH teams.
The Psychological and Ethical Impacts of Workplace Surveillance
Monitoring technologies intersect with ethics and psychology.
The Secure Data Recovery survey found that over one‑third of workers believe surveillance negatively affects mental health and 71 % of UK employees deem it unethical.
Additional key findings include:
- Job satisfaction: 3 in 4 workers (75 %) say surveillance decreases job satisfaction. When employees feel mistrusted, morale suffers.
- Transparency gaps: Only 30% of U.S. employees are formally informed of monitoring, compared with regulatory requirements in the UK. Lack of disclosure breeds resentment.
- Coping mechanisms: Zippia notes that employees aware of being monitored may engage in counterproductive behaviours, such as taking unnecessary breaks or intentionally slowing work.
Excessive monitoring can also encourage undesirable behaviours like:
- Time‑theft workarounds: Without clarity on monitoring methods, workers might use mouse jigglers and fake online status or manipulate logs. Flowace mitigates this by offering silent tracking/stealth monitoring and combining multiple data points (app usage, activity logs) to reduce gaming.
- 55% of employees believe excessive monitoring harms workplace culture, while many cite increased turnover tied to overly intrusive oversight. Flowace addresses this concern with its Privacy Mode toggle, a feature that lets employees pause tracking during personal breaks.
Employee Monitoring vs Trust: Finding the Middle Ground
Finding the middle ground involves a combination of policy, culture, and technology features. Companies that succeed in balancing monitoring and trust often do so by involving employees in the conversation.
They explain the why behind monitoring – e.g. “We had issues with billing inaccuracies, so we’re introducing automatic time tracking to make sure everyone gets properly credited for their work and our clients are billed correctly.”
They ask for feedback and tweak settings if something is truly bothering staff. Maybe they find out that tracking Slack messages is overkill and dial that back, focusing instead on just time and app usage.
Finally, a key part of middle-ground solutions is accountability with compassion. Monitoring should never be used to publicly shame or single out employees. That’s why things like leaderboards of “lowest productivity” can be toxic. They create fear and resentment instead of motivation.
Flowace is built for this middle ground. Its dashboards are designed for self-improvement giving employees private insights into their own productivity while providing managers with the clarity they need to guide teams fairly.
The Future of Employee Monitoring: AI, Predictive Analytics & Transparency
Market forecasts show that monitoring will continue expanding. Several trends will shape the next decade:
- AI-Driven Insights: Modern monitoring software is beginning to incorporate artificial intelligence to sift through the mountains of data collected. AI can detect subtle changes in behavior that humans might miss.
- Privacy-by-Design: With stricter regulations like GDPR, monitoring tools must embed privacy features. Flowace meets this need through privacy mode, role-based access, and transparent reporting.
- Outcome-Based Monitoring: The focus is shifting from counting keystrokes to measuring results. It will be based on completed tasks, goals met, and healthy work-life balance instead of constant surveillance.
- Total Workforce Analytics Dashboards: The future of monitoring lies in unified dashboards that combine multiple data points into clear metrics like a “productivity score” or “focus score.” Flowace is already ahead of this curve with its intuitive analytics dashboard, which consolidates app usage, task completion, idle time, user activity and work patterns into easy-to-read scores and visual reports.
- Hybrid Work Support: As hybrid work continues, solutions must handle remote, office, and field environments. Flowace covers all with desktop, browser, and mobile tracking across major platforms.
- Transparent Culture: Future monitoring will emphasize openness, with employees also accessing their productivity data. Flowace fosters trust by providing dashboards for both managers and team members.
Final Thoughts
The real key is responsible, transparent, and outcome-focused monitoring, backed by employee monitoring best practices that keep things fair.
Flowace embodies this philosophy. Its automated AI‑powered time tracking, silent monitoring, privacy mode, productivity ratings and comprehensive dashboards offer a balanced approach. On average Flowace show a 51% boost in employee productivity.
Flowace makes monitoring smarter, not stricter. Book your free demo today and experience the difference.
