What 1,000 Field Workers Told Us
Why privacy-concerned workers prefer GPS tracking, and what that means for your business
⬇ Download ReportFor many employers, GPS tracking comes with a familiar set of fears.
For years, business owners have acted on these assumptions. They avoid GPS systems that could save them thousands in disputed hours, delay implementing tools that could protect workers from false claims, or roll out tracking so quietly that it creates the very distrust they were trying to prevent.
But what if those assumptions don't match reality?
The goal was simple: put widely held beliefs to the test and examine whether resistance is driven by the technology itself—or by how it's implemented.
The gap between what employers fear and what workers experience is significant. While many employers brace for backlash, most workers report being comfortable with GPS tracking during work hours. In many cases, workers view GPS not as surveillance but as protection: a way to document hours accurately, resolve disputes fairly, and reduce reliance on subjective judgment.
The results reveal not just what workers think—but why those beliefs matter for hiring, retention, and day-to-day operations.
Fear of employee backlash keeps business owners from implementing systems that could protect their operations and workforce. But when we asked employees directly how they feel about GPS tracking, the results challenged those fears.
When respondents were asked, "On a scale of 1–5, how comfortable are you with GPS tracking during work hours?" responses were overwhelmingly positive.
Comfort levels only tell part of the story. We also asked workers what they think about GPS tracking, not just how comfortable they are with it.
Most workers see GPS tracking as a practical part of the job, especially in field-based roles where location and time matter.
Across industries, GPS tracking is widely accepted when it clearly serves a purpose: protecting workers, providing reliable records, and promoting fairness. Employees understand that accurate, objective data benefits everyone, protecting them from false accusations, ensuring they're credited for work completed, and creating a level playing field across teams.
Most workers can separate the feelings they have about GPS tracking to see value in why it exists. Even when they have mixed feelings, many still understand its purpose and appreciate the protection it provides.
The baseline acceptance is already there. The real question isn't about whether workers will accept GPS tracking, it's whether the way it's rolled out and managed reinforces trust or slowly chips away at it.
Industries with complex work, higher liability, or frequent customer disputes show the strongest acceptance. Workers in these fields understand that GPS provides protection that manual timesheets or manager observations simply can't deliver.
The pattern is clear: GPS is valued most where verification matters most.
How GPS tracking is explained and rolled out has a dramatic impact on how workers feel about it.
When companies take the time to thoroughly explain their GPS tracking policy and how location data will be used, 84.9% of employees feel comfortable or very comfortable with tracking.
When the explanation is brief or vague, comfort drops to 69.6%.
When employees found out about GPS tracking after it was already in use, comfort fell further to just 52.2%.
That's a 32.7-point drop driven entirely by communication and timing.
32.7-point drop
driven entirely by communication and timing
Employees feel more discomfort with GPS tracking when policies and procedures are not thoroughly introduced or explained in detail.
Among workers who don't fully understand why GPS tracking is being used, 57.1% report neutral comfort (uncertainty, not hostility), while 28.6% report feeling uncomfortable. Only 14.3% are very comfortable.
This reinforces a key insight: Workers are more uneasy about not knowing what GPS means than about GPS existing.
When asked to select their single biggest concern about GPS tracking, the most common response was:
Being Tracked Outside Work Hours
Privacy Invasion
Data Misuse
Data Access & Security
Employer Trust
The top concern isn't whether GPS exists, it's when tracking stops. Workers need clear boundaries about work time versus personal time.
Even among workers whose top fear is being tracked outside of work hours, 75% are still comfortable with GPS during work hours, with only 7% reporting discomfort.
This shows that workers can hold concerns while still accepting the system when boundaries are clear.
When workers are approached with the idea of GPS tracking, privacy concerns naturally surface:
These sound like objections that would kill acceptance. But when we asked survey respondents how comfortable they are with GPS tracking despite having privacy concerns, the results were surprising:
88.4% of workers who are extremely concerned about privacy are still comfortable with GPS tracking.
This statistic is counterintuitive.
Major privacy concerns should equal rejection of GPS tracking, shouldn't they? However, that isn't what we found to be true.
Most employees push back against GPS tracking for three reasons:
Access to personal GPS data is one of the strongest predictors of comfort in our entire study.
The gap between full transparency and uncertainty is 38.9 percentage points—nearly as large as the communication gap.
What stands out is that uncertainty is more harmful than restriction. Workers who know they cannot access GPS data report higher comfort levels (59.0%) than those who are unsure whether access exists at all (48.9%).
The takeaway is straightforward: clarity functions as a form of control. Even when the answer is "no," workers are more comfortable when expectations are explicit rather than left ambiguous.
"This study shows that trust isn't about whether GPS exists. It's about whether expectations are clear. When employees understand when tracking happens, who can see the data, and how it's used, the tension drops. Transparency changes the conversation."
Among workers who are extremely concerned about privacy:
By comparison, among workers who say they are not concerned about privacy at all, 88.6% are still comfortable with GPS tracking, nearly identical to their privacy-concerned peers. Yet only 59.0% prefer employers that use GPS.
This contrast reveals the privacy paradox. The workers who care most about privacy are often the same ones who see GPS tracking as protection against unfair treatment. Their concern isn't with the technology itself, but with how it's implemented, governed, and used day to day.
Again, having a clear GPS tracking policy in place as well as conducting an extensive onboarding training, increases the likelihood of your employees accepting GPS tracking technology in the workplace.
When asked how important it is to access their own GPS data:
This isn't a "nice to have." Workers view data access as a fundamental fairness issue.
One-way visibility, where management can see data but workers can't, erodes trust.
Employers worry that requiring employees to use GPS tracking will put them at a competitive disadvantage when recruiting. While some employees may shy away from GPS tracking, the majority of employees surveyed showed strong indicators that they preferred working for an employer that uses the technology, even more so if the worker had encountered previous disputes during employment.
79.3% of field workers have direct or indirect experience with conflicts where GPS data could have mattered.
Disputes aren't rare edge cases. In our survey:
79.3% of field workers have experienced workplace conflict. That includes 54.8% who've been directly involved in disputes—often more than once—and another 24.5% who've seen coworkers go through it.
Only 20.7% have never dealt with this kind of issue. Fewer than one in five workers have avoided disputes where GPS records could have made a difference.
GPS provides irrefutable records that manual systems simply can't match.
When it comes to disagreements about:
For employees who encountered multiple disputes, 74.6% of workers preferred GPS-enabled employers.
Why? Resolving disputes requires data and records, no matter which side of the problem you're on. GPS tracking provides irrefutable time and mileage records that manual tracking alone can't provide.
Workers who've dealt with pay disagreements, time disputes, or mileage conflicts don't just accept GPS tracking. After experiencing how disputes play out without clear records, many actively seek employers who use it.
Percentage who prefer an employer with GPS tracking:
Workers who've dealt with pay disagreements, time disputes, or mileage conflicts don't just accept GPS tracking. They actively seek employers who use it.
When we asked employees, "Do you trust GPS tracking data more or less than manager observations or customer reports?", employees who experienced multiple disputes reported they trust GPS data more than human judgment.
Overall trust breakdown:
Workers trust GPS data nearly three times more than manager or customer observations.
The pattern is hard to miss. Industries with high dispute rates are also the most accepting of GPS tracking. In environments where conflicts are routine and costly, workers don't see GPS as intrusive — they see it as a safeguard for fair treatment.
This report is based on a 2025 survey conducted by Timeero of 1,000 U.S.-based field and mobile employees between the ages of 18-65+. All respondents were currently employed by a company that uses GPS tracking as part of their work processes.
This survey measured employees' attitudes toward GPS tracking in the workplace. Participants were asked to rate their overall comfort with GPS tracking during work hours. Subsequent questions explored privacy concerns, how GPS tracking was introduced and communicated, access to location data, perceived fairness, and the role GPS plays in solving workplace disputes.
To identify meaningful patterns, responses were cross-analyzed across industries, dispute experience, privacy concern levels, and implementation practices. This approach allowed us to isolate which factors most strongly influence employee comfort, trust, and acceptance of GPS tracking technology.
Timeero is a field workforce visibility platform designed for businesses with mobile and field-based teams. Using GPS-enabled technology, Timeero delivers accurate, verifiable records of hours worked, locations visited, and miles driven—helping organizations improve operational efficiency and productivity.
By replacing manual recordkeeping with automated time and mileage tracking, Timeero provides detailed, GPS-backed reports that reduce guesswork and subjectivity. This added clarity helps businesses minimize disputes, increase transparency across field operations, and protect both employers and workers from false or conflicting claims.
Today, Timeero is used by organizations across construction, field services, healthcare, delivery, property management, and other mobile industries to strengthen accountability while maintaining employee trust.
See how Timeero makes GPS tracking transparent, trusted, and fair. Try it free for 14 days with no credit card required.
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