What Is Idle Time?

Idle time is a period during which certain resources are not in active use in a business. While the concept is used with equipment and machinery as well, it more commonly refers to the idle time of employees. From an employee productivity perspective, idle time involves inactivity during scheduled work hours.

What are the effects of idle time on team performance?

In moderation, idle time won’t have any negative effects on your team’s productivity. An example of this is taking an appropriate amount of breaks that help your staff maintain a healthy work-life balance.

However, an excess amount of idle time will reduce your team’s output measurably. This highlights the importance of tracking idle time to detect excessive amounts of it.

How to track idle time in your organization?

One of the best ways to track idle time is with a high-quality time tracker like WebWork. The app can detect when your employees take breaks, helping you ensure they work an adequate amount throughout the day. WebWork will show which employees tracked less time in a given day than they were supposed to in its attendance tracking report.