Abstract: An automatic work monitoring system may be implemented in an instant messaging application so that employee hours can automatically be tracked and associated with projects. The work monitoring system can determine that an activity is associated with a project based on context of the activity and an employee's work profile. The work monitoring system can determine the amount of time spent on the activity and record the amount of time in a daily work record. The work monitoring system can also update the employee's presence information to indicate that the employee is working on the project to update the employee's instant messaging contacts about the employees work activity.