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The Impact of Mobile Technology on the Working Environment
For some, work is no longer just somewhere to go to, but something they do, wherever they are. In an increasingly time-pressured business and personal environment, for many the ability to work in what was previously "dead" time is more important both for productivity and work-life balance. To achieve this employees need access to their IT resources outside the office and at home. But even those who are constrained to work at a particular place - like a campus, hospital, factory or industrial complex - find that access to IT and communications at all times of the day and all locations within the workplace is increasingly important.
Key Findings

  • End users are not being brought into wireless and remote access projects sufficiently early
    Fewer than 10% of UK enterprises involve trades unions and other affiliations in decisions to proceed with wireless or remote access projects. This may work in early adopter markets in technology industries and generally non-unionised professional roles, but will hamper deployment of potentially productive mobile technology in many other industries. In addition, few involve end users directly or HR/personnel departments. Personal productivity is reliant on individual buy-in, so earlier involvement of end users would be worthwhile.
  • The broader implications of technology on workplaces are often ignored
    Almost one third of business managers believe an increasing number of employees would benefit from access to IT and business communications while working from home, traveling outside the office, or from a flexible location within their organizations premises. Despite this, IT management and purchasing dictate the approval processes, with one third ignoring the views of business management and around half ignoring the views of facilities or operations management.
  • Smaller businesses see more benefit in workplace change than larger ones
    Almost a half of smaller businesses see a benefit in working from home, enabling commuting time to become working time. This is a way to allow more flexible working as well as increasing the hours worked. Over a third of small businesses expect more employees to be working from home in the future, and about 40% expect more employees to be traveling outside the office with a need to access IT, this is almost double the number expected by large enterprises.
  • Security as always is a key priority
    Data security is the main inhibitor holding businesses back from giving more traveling employees access to IT, being rated as a serious concern by 50% and overshadowing other factors like cost. For home working, security and confidentiality is also a major concern, with almost half rating it as a significant constraint in limiting the number of employees allowed to work from home.
  • The communications infrastructure for traveling employees is no longer a major issue
    While the cost of remote or mobile communications is still a major concern, the lack of an available network or inconsistency is no longer an important issue. Finding the right connector for telephone sockets, modems and power leads has been replaced by finding the right roaming plans or a hotspot provider with a peering arrangement.
  • The changing shape of the workplace and working practices requires a new look at management
    Loss of management control, organisational culture and team cohesion are all seen as important inhibitors to working from home, however reduced staff turnover is thought by almost 80% to be a key benefit, just behind improved productivity. These positive impacts on morale need to be honed and exploited by appropriate management to meet both the objectives of employees and businesses.