‘I would find a new job immediately’: Worker posts dystopian look at their job’s time-tracking software

A recent college graduate on TikTok, Tim Lee, is sounding the alarm on his employer’s new time-tracking software. He called it “pretty dystopian” in a video that’s now racked up over 400,000 views. This isn’t just about logging hours; this software is seriously invasive, taking screenshots every 10 minutes, monitoring keystrokes, and calculating the exact percentage of time he spends on each work activity.

Lee’s post, shared on October 1, 2025, sparked a huge conversation, with many people sharing his worry about where this culture of productivity tracking and surveillance is leading. Even though Lee admits that he “gets it” from the employer’s perspective, he still shared his personal reaction to the intense monitoring.

“Like, this just doesn’t feel like life to me, you know?” he said. “I feel like there’s gotta be more than this sh*t, for real.” He captioned the video with a direct question to the future of work: “not complaining about time tracking, but gah damn is this where the future of work is headed?”

Will your work get screenshots of your PC?

This kind of micromanagement really hits home for anyone working a laptop job who’s just trying to get things done. The sheer invasiveness of the software, which is essentially watching every move, is what horrified people. The common consensus in the comments was that this kind of micromanagement is a huge red flag and a sign of bad leadership. People were quick to advise Lee to find a new job immediately.

One commenter on TikTok didn’t mince words, saying, “Personally, I would find a new job immediately. Adults do not need to be micromanaged.”

Others pointed out that this focus on the clock instead of actual results shows a fundamental lack of faith in employees. As one user put it, “It’s showing that they don’t trust their employees… and I don’t trust an employer who doesn’t trust their employees.” Another commenter summed up the business problem perfectly: “Companies that focus on minutes instead of output can’t succeed. That’s a huge sign of incompetent leadership.” For people who value their salaried work and expertise, being judged purely on how many minutes they’re “active” on a screen rather than the quality of their output is frustrating, to say the least.

One of the most unsettling suggestions in the comments was that this intense tracking is being used for a more sinister purpose than just making sure employees are at their desks. A TikTok user suggested that companies are using automated software like this to gather data to train AI to replace workers. The idea is that by tracking an employee’s exact “flow,” the company is creating a perfect blueprint for an AI system to take over the job. As they simply stated, “They are tracking your flow to replace with AI.”

This is a chilling thought and adds another layer to why this kind of software feels so “dystopian.” It’s one thing to feel micromanaged, but it’s another to think your every keystroke is being used to write your own replacement.