Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, most countries have found themselves in constant lockdown for the past two years. Because of this, a lot of companies, students and employees of all kinds had to get used to the new norm, which is remote working. For most people this change was very difficult, and acclimating is still an issue for most households. This is why companies have created new apps and software that can help ease the everyday lives of home-office workers, by raising productivity, while boosting physical and mental wellbeing.
Here are some of the top apps I would recommend throughout my daily work that could make a huge difference in your work and home life.
Clockify
Clockify is the number one time tracking app for teams who work from home. It can work in three ways. First, Clockify can track your time while working, like a simple timer. The second way to use the app is to add your time after you’re done working, manually. And lastly, you can add “timestamps” into a sheet. The number one reason people prefer using this with their employees is its ability to monitor exact working hours reliably. But other than making monitoring easy for employers, this app is beloved by employees as well.
All teammates can have real-time insight into what others are currently working on. After a project is complete, they can easily generate reliable, in-depth reports with information added automatically, like who worked on what, when, and for how long. These reports can be generated by a push of a button, saving a lot of time and energy to everyone involved.
Secondly, salaries and hourly rates can be added to the app. This opens doors to salary negotiation, and also makes billable time tracking much more reliable and easy. Employees can see their earnings, as they’re calculated automatically based on working hours, and the app also tracks non-billable times. At the end of a term, the app creates a complete report about your employee’s working hours and rates, eliminating errors, misunderstandings, and other issues between employer and employee.
Employers look for ways to make employees accountable for their work. They want to see proof that their employees are performing as expected. On the other hand, employees look for straightforward ways to demonstrate the amount of hard work they’ve invested into the company. Clockify is a win-win, making the lives of both parties much easier.
Asana
Asana is one of the most mainstream apps today. While it was introduced to the masses years ago, the pandemic situation was just the edge this app was waiting for, like today, it’s more or less indispensable. Asana is made to help project management. The software allows you and your team to access list-type boards and track all projects, and individual tasks easily.
The boards look like a simple to-do list, but actually, all tasks on the list can be viewed and managed by the team and the employers. Each project or task can be assigned to a manager, and an employee, and you can also track the progress throughout the entire project. Due dates are also seen, and the app lets you know which projects or tasks are late.
Additionally, you can also add attachments, comments, and more – alongside deadlines – to any item on your list. There’s also a built-in calendar that allows you to track all projects and due dates. Furthermore, each member of your team, including employers and employees, has a personalized board on which they can see only their own projects and assignments.
15Five
15Five helps improve your performance by assisting employers and managers in collecting data and feedback from their offices. Employers can use this data to maintain their high-performing work culture. This software is highly sought-after especially in lockdown when monitoring and managing office culture is becoming harder and harder.
The software works by sending a survey to each employee once a week. These questions focus on team morale and personal productivity. After the survey is completed, managers read through the responses and analyze them. Employers can not only gain insight into employee satisfaction but can pinpoint the exact areas which need improvement and find ways to fix issues. In turn, employees get a direct channel through which they can voice their concerns and opinions.
15Five is the best way to address potential issues and concerns involving work culture. And all of these concerns can be addressed by both employers and employees transparently. But possibly the best part of 15Five is its goal-setting-and-tracking feature. Employers can establish goals and actively track them for each individual company department. Team members will easily access this information, and track their own success along the lines of these pre-set goals.
Krisp
Krisp is a very handy tool when working from home. With Krisp, you can remove background noises from both incoming and outgoing calls. With children running around, through pets, and roommates, to kitchen and cleaning instruments, all sorts of distractions can occur in the home office. These can be very unfortunate especially when in an important meeting. And although people – nowadays more than ever – understand these setbacks, and have grown patient, they’re still best avoided.
With the help of Krisp, you can mute any type of background noise so that you may be able to hear and be heard clearly. A lot of call centers and even influencers use this app to easily filter background noises. But now that this issue is a part of almost everyone’s life, this app is more relevant than ever.
The market is filled with apps and downloadable software focusing on improving your home office experience. And whether you’re a self-employed freelancer, an employee, or the owner of a high-end company, these apps can make or break your work and your home life.
