I've been more productive in the last six months at this new job than the previous three years at my old work-from-home job.
The reason for that is because I'm not questioned for every second I'm away from my desk at my new job. I can take a walk outside for a while to refocus. I can get up and have a casual five-minute conversation about something random with a coworker. Even a 15-minute one occasionally. I can work from home if I want to sometimes as well. And I'll actually want to do the work.
At my old job, we were forced to download software to track our productivity. If you're even a literal second over the allotted 1hr lunch break, a pop up appears asking why you weren't at your desk. If you're idle for more than five minutes (god forbid you have to take a long shit or move your laundry or have to think extra long for a solution on a work task) a pop up appears asking the same thing. Screenshots were taken every five minutes. Didn't matter if it was the slow season, you still got talked to by the boss.
Knowing the tracking software was on my work machine cut my motivation to shreds. I began a serious job hunt the day we downloaded it.
The new job came with a higher level of responsibility that I never had, but also a higher level of independence and zero micromanaging (and a huge pay bump). My motivation is higher than it has been in years and the work-life balance has never been more balanced.
To all the bosses out there thinking about tracking your employees like this, don't. If you suspect there's an issue with productivity, then you need to talk with your employees and actually listen to them. You might not even be paying them enough and they're burning out faster than their paychecks can keep up with.
But if you don't see their worth, someone else will. And they won't be sorry to leave either.