Almost half of employers collecting remote employees' working hours

Employees' working hours at home are being collected by almost half of enterprises, and more employers are likely to follow suit, according to a new report.

Kinly's Trusted Connections 2024 report surveyed 425 enterprise-level AV professionals in the United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, and the Nordics to explore the communication, technology, and economic landscape across verticals where AV solutions play a critical role.

According to the report, 44% of the respondents said they're already collecting data about remote workers' hours that can be used to inform "more effective hybrid working policies and practices."

The findings come amid a recent growing trend among workplaces that shows as remote work becomes popular, so do monitoring tools to maintain productivity levels in the workforce.

Kinly's findings suggest that more employers will likely jump on this trend, as 65% of enterprises are already encouraging their employees to install Internet of Things (IoT) tech into their homes, which 64% of enterprises are already implementing in their offices to understand employees' working habits.

According to the report, 33% of enterprises are also investing in analytics platforms for remote devices to monitor workers at home.

The report, however, assured that such tools won't be tracking employees' working hours, such as long lunch breaks, among others.

"Instead, at-home analytics are helping to protect employee health and wellbeing and alert them to poor working practices," the report read.

These systems can be used to warn staff when they've been at their desks for too long, or if they are under poor air quality or lighting, it added.

Office return still the endgame

Despite further investment in remote work-related technologies, 63% of AV professionals said their organisations still want their employees back in the office year.

The report, however, found that 65% have yet to fully optimise their office spaces for effective hybrid working.

To prepare for this, 64% of enterprises have installed IoT tech in their offices to understand working habits, while 29% have invested in in-office analytics to manage such data.

Another 38% of enterprises are also now collecting some form of office occupancy data, which examines how and when employees are working.

Some 32% are collecting human wellbeing data, which includes tiredness tracking, with 37% more employers planning to collect such information in the future.

Amid the adoption of such technology in workplaces in office or at home, the report warned that employers need to be "transparent with employees" and respect their privacy.

"Strike that balance correctly, and in-office analytics will enable the design of engaging and sustainable workspaces, decisions about office opening hours, and when heating and lighting is needed," the report said.