{"id":9693,"date":"2021-07-16T12:12:45","date_gmt":"2021-07-16T12:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/traqq.com\/blog\/?p=9693"},"modified":"2024-07-14T20:59:16","modified_gmt":"2024-07-14T20:59:16","slug":"the-importance-of-idle-time-tracking-in-employee-monitoring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traqq.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-idle-time-tracking-in-employee-monitoring\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Idle Time? How to Track and Minimize Lost Hours"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"What<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you’ve ever worked on the clock, then you’ve likely been engaged in activities that qualify as “idle time,” even if you weren’t aware that you were doing it. When you’re not working, idle time typically refers to moments of leisure and relaxation and actually has some positive benefits, such as improved focus and productivity<\/a>. Nonetheless, sometimes what is considered to be idle time is not completely obvious, especially in a business setting. In short, idle time refers to any period when employees or work equipment are not doing anything productive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine a situation when an employee, let’s call her Liza, works remotely on a task that requires special software. But the company manager in charge of it is busy on an important Zoom meeting and doesn’t see Liza’s request in his inbox. Would the time that Liza spends waiting for be considered idle time? If so, how should businesses handle similar situations? Let’s dig a little deeper and try to get a better understanding of what is and isn’t idle time, and then take a look at some useful recommendations on how to handle it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Idle Time?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When we turn to the Cambridge Dictionary for answers, what we find is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Idle time is a period of time when a business does not operate or employees stop working, for example because a machine breaks down or there is no work to do.<\/em>”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Essentially, this means that an employee or a piece of equipment is available to work, but is doing something other than work (or nothing at all). The availability of the employee to work highlights a fundamental difference between idle time and downtime, the latter of which is a period when an employee is not working because their equipment is not properly functioning or broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every organization entails a complex structure with various different processes, and work time can turn into idle time for a variety of reasons, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n