Five Revolutionary Changes Technology Is Making in the Workplace
Technological advances are creating an unprecedented move in the workplace–it is beginning to transition from a brick and mortar office to our homes. In 2017 43% of the American workforce performed their job from home part-time. By 2027, studies project that the amount of remote work will continue to rise and the majority of workers will be freelancers. This revolutionary shift results from the new capabilities technology offers to companies:
- Office Space Outsourcing
The need for specific office space is vanishing as enterprising individuals come up with viable alternatives such as virtual office and co-working spaces. Both options offer the core elements of the workplace that create credibility with customers: a receptionist, a mailing address, a desk when needed, and colleagues. Both the virtual office and the co-working spaces lend themselves to the flexible nature of remote work. Instead of the massive fixed overhead costs of an office, a new company only requires an inexpensive monthly subscription to access the same features.
- Cloud-based Collaboration
Companies are moving away from long and hard-to-track email chains and frequent in-person meetings towards real-time collaboration through cloud-based services. These collaborative services allow employees the ability to access and update files at any time, from anywhere. Working in this way creates a more productive work environment as well—instead of needing to attend a meeting and read the follow-up action points, employees can find the shared document on the cloud and reference the most updated version. Some third-party ventures have come up with more intelligent ways to archive and search for them on the cloud, to simplify the process of finding shared files.
- Text-based Communication
The quick communication of text messages is gaining steam in the workplace as apps like Slack become the norm for teams. This shift can create a more productive work environment, as a two-sentence text to a channel of team members can eliminate lengthy phone calls or a long, team email. Going forward, this method of text-based communication can create more transparent organizations as all team members receive the same, simple message.
- Video Conferencing
No need to spend hours on a plane traveling to an important meeting when you can be transported to another location immediately via videoconference. With capabilities like screen and whiteboard sharing, video conferencing can be more effective than an in-person meeting. Companies are also able to reduce their expenses and cut back travel as they increase their utilization of this technology, which creates a greater work-life balance.
- Transit Time Advantage
For those folks who still make the sojourn into the office, the best way to start the day is by jumping on your mobile device on your commute. If you are on public transportation or have a car service, this is an excellent time to handle emails. If you are driving yourself, you can knock out some phone calls as you sit in traffic. Either way, when you walk in the door, you have a good idea of the priorities of your day, and you may have even taken care of a few already.
Technology is paving the way for a flexible, remote workforce that may be predominantly freelancers in the future. Without geographical limitations, workers can access cloud-based communication from subscription-based office space anytime, anywhere in the world. Work will become more productive through text-based apps and video conferencing. People can maximize every commute minute through the utilization of mobile devices. The workplace of the future may not even have walls; it could be a beach!
