You may have noticed that the workplace culture has significantly changed in the last few years. This change has a lot to do with the technology we use in our businesses every day.
It’s no secret that technology is advancing at a rapid pace and that to be successful in whatever you do, you need to be up to date with all these tech changes and know how to properly use them in your business.
It’s also true that amidst all these technological changes our work environment has also changed and drastically. Regardless of whether these changes are positive or negative, they are often inevitable.
Technology is simply essential in business, but how exactly is it affecting the environment we work in? Here are some examples of how workplace culture has changed with technology.
1. Technology-enabled remote working
Let’s start with the most obvious change, especially in recent years – remote working. One thing that has completely reshaped the workplace is remote working, and that’s all thanks to technology.
Today, we have all these online tools and platforms that allow us to better communicate and collaborate from the confines of our homes. Mobile and cloud technologies, video conferencing, and all other amazing technologies have given us not only the opportunity to work remotely but also not to be tied to one location.
This is great in terms of not being limited to your area but being able to look for a job anywhere in the world. Just like job-seekers have profited from this type of technology so have employers. Today, companies can hire staff from anywhere in the world as long as they are qualified.
2. Technological impact on workplace communication
If you work in internal communications, you already know what kind of impact the technology has had on the communication among participants in your company.
A company is only as strong as its internal communication. So, if you want to have a unified, easily-adaptable, and above all, resilient workforce that strives toward a common goal, you will need to work on internal communication.
There are several internal communication examples such as peer-to-peer communication, employee-generated or culture communication, to name a few, that if combined with technology can help you create a strong company.
Otherwise, it should be said that thanks to technology, workplace communication has become fast, collaborative, unified, and more deliberate. With online communication tools, teams can work together easily even when they are not physically in the same place.
3. Increased productivity, speed, and efficiency
Business productivity and efficiency have significantly increased thanks to all the technology we have in our hands reach. The workforce is also more productive and more motivated which is once again thanks to technology.
Employees can do several daily tasks more efficiently if they have available different software and devices. They can better optimize their work routine with different tech tools, which means they can focus on important tasks and in that way meet all deadlines.
Managers can track progress, give feedback or provide immediate intervention when needed with different workplace software.
4. Downsides of increased productivity and efficiency
Increased productivity and efficiency thanks to technology can also be a double-edged sword. All these changes and improvements can make employees feel like they are stuck.
Their wages are staying the same no matter how much effort they put in, and they may feel unsure of their future - because with so much technology who can guarantee that they won’t be replaced by it one day?
Everyone can see that with the introduction of technology in pretty much every industry, certain positions are disappearing, whole departments are being downsized to one person, and some professions are simply becoming obsolete.
5. Loss of privacy
Before, a person leaving their workplace marked the end of the workday. Today, that’s no longer the case. We can add yet another negative impact of technology and that’s the loss of privacy.
With all the technology, you can’t escape work even when you’re home. While technology has allowed us easy access to pretty much everything, it’s also crippled us in a way by stripping away our privacy and making our workday never ending.
We must also add that with technology, corporate secrets, and business agendas are also in danger of being exposed, leaked, or hacked.
6. Misuse of technology in the workplace
You can accomplish amazing things using technology but only if you use it accordingly. Unfortunately, when technology is available and accessible so easily it is often misused.
A lot of times employees will use technology at the workplace for personal use during working hours. Once this becomes too frequent it will negatively affect productivity at work.
And even though there are monitoring techniques available, they can also affect productivity in the workplace.
Technology can create endless benefits for your business; it can help you create better and stronger teamwork, increase productivity and efficiency, and speed up a lot of processes. However, with all these benefits we can’t turn a blind eye to the downsides of technology in the workplace.
To create a healthy work culture, we need to be aware of both the positive and negative effects of technology on the work environment, just like we also need to find the best ways to navigate current and new technological advancements.
