To what extent does new technology impact the workplace in the United States?
Introduction
The workplace continues to evolve. Employers seek workers who combine knowledge, experience, technical know-how and soft skills. The ability to communicate is high on that list. Business schools include communication skills as an important part of the curriculum, because they know that it doesn’t matter how well you perform your task, how smart you are or how highly you place on a class list if you can’t relate to others. More and more companies are recognizing the ability to provide good customer service as a critical differentiator in the marketplace. It often determines which businesses will rise to the top and which ones will sink like stones. Good customer service – great customer service – depends entirely on smart processes that work and people – humans – to implement and move them forward. Technology can only take it so far before customers want, need, demand to speak with a person.
Regardless of which side of the technology fence you fall, its effects can’t be overstated. It’s dramatically changed the way companies do business, making them more efficient and streamlined, and increasing their productivity. Many technologies are designed to enhance collaboration and interaction, and integrate workflows. The effects of technology in the workplace can cause fewer interactions between colleagues, less opportunity for clarification, and flexible hours and options.
Fewer Interactions Between Colleagues
In the latest Workmonitor report (2016), 35 counties around the world were asked a series of questions which consisted of a set of, “pretty direct questions about how they felt about their ability to communicate, and whether or not technology helped or hindered their ability to relate to, and build relationships with, their fellow workers” (Morency). The results of this survey are as follows: Over half of the participants feel as though technology has made the workplace less humane, Over half feel as though technology makes them feel less connected to people in the real world, and over 90% are strong believers that meeting someone face-to-face is the best way. With the results of this report it is clear to see that technology is tearing people apart. With newer technologies many no longer have to report to an office, instead they do their work online at home. Due to the rise in this new work environment, interactions become limited between coworkers. No more grabbing lunch together or small talk in the breakroom, are just examples of how technology is limiting the interactions in the workplace. Interactions are also limited by the use of cellphones. Over 95% of Americans own a mobile device, with the rise in mobile devices over the past 20 years, people become more attached to the screen in front of them.
Less opportunities for clarification
Being with and around people allows for easy conveying of feelings and thought process. It allows us to assess body language, non-verbal and emotional cues, and helps determine appropriate responses. In addition to how the message is sent, many additional factors determine how the message is interpreted by the receiver. All new information we learn is compared with the knowledge we already have. If it confirms what we already know, we will likely receive the new information accurately, though we may pay little attention to it. If it disputes our previous assumptions or interpretation of the situation, we may distort it in our mind so that it is made to fit our world view, or we may dismiss the information as deceptive, misguided, or simply wrong. If the message is ambiguous, the receiver is especially likely to clarify it for herself in a way which corresponds with her expectations. For example, if two people are involved in an escalated conflict, and they each assume that the other is going to be aggressive and hostile, then any ambiguous message will be interpreted as aggressive and hostile, even if it was not intended to be that way at all. Our expectations work as blinders or filters that distort what we see so that it fits our preconceived images of the world.
When people were given eyeglasses which turned the world upside down, they had to suffer through with upside down images for a week or two. But after that, their brains learned to turn the images back over again, so they were seeing things right side up. The same thing happens when we hear something we "know" is wrong. Our brain "fixes" it.
Given our tendency to hear what we expect to hear, it is very easy for people in conflict to misunderstand each other. Communication is already likely to be strained, and people will, most likely, want to hide the truth to some extent. Thus the potential for misperceptions and misunderstandings is high, which can make conflict management or resolution more difficult.
Flexible hours and options
Because many people work from home, there is room for more flexible hours. Instead of needing to be at an office at 9 am, employees can wake up later if they believe they can finish the work. Many organizations are increasingly adopting tele-work practices because of the flexibility it offers employees and work organisation. Tele-work offers employees the ability to request working arrangements that suit their personal lifestyle and responsibilities. For example, we are seeing employees choosing to work from home on certain days of the week or at certain times of the day in order to balance work with family responsibilities. A working from home arrangement has the added bonus of a reduction in time spent commuting.
Even full time employees who do not work from home are able to take advantage of tele-work through the use of portable technological devices that enable them to utilize what would otherwise be downtime (such as waiting in airports, on trains or in taxis) to send emails, update documents and respond to clients or customers. Despite many organisations avoiding the concept of working from home because of views that employees will be less productive, what we are actually seeing is organisations finding that productivity is increasing.
This is attributable to less interruptions and distractions that flow from an office environment and also a greater dedication by the employee as a result of improved job satisfaction and morale.
Social Media
According to TeamLease World of Work Report, an average of 2.35 hours is spent accessing social media at work every day and 13 per cent of the total productivity is lost owing to the social media indulgence alone. Out of the 62% employees who accessed social media during working hours, nearly 83% of them spend significant time browsing Facebook.
Conclusion
The world of computers and information technology has become such an important aspect of our lives, and it's highly doubtful that there will be a return to traditional methods of conducting business. The primary benefit of technology is efficiency. Businesses–from small businesses to large conglomerates–are capable of providing products and services at a faster, more efficient rate which can result in higher profits and more flexible hours for employees. However this comes with a downfall, there is less communications between coworkers, and because of the dead-end in communication there are more misunderstandings in the workplace. Some ways to improve how technology impacts the workplace, would be to limit