How Technology is Changing the Workplace
How does technology change our everyday lives? In short, technology has pressed the
fast-forward button on society. Everything today occurs at warp-speed by the
click of a button; from communication to way-finding; from finances to information-gathering.
Think about the way you use technology every day and how this has changed your
life.
This article written on 'Neosperience' discusses ten ways technology has changed our
economy, as well as the way in which we communicate with each other and how we
form relationships in the workplace, in particular, it covers aspects of our
new economy.
Before the advancement of technology, we were forced to
communicate face-to-face. However, now there are mediums that place barriers
between personal interactions. We can talk with people from around the world;
technology has eliminated time and space.
We even carry on conversations with strangers. Ultimately, technology
has also impacted the way we go about our business interactions. Networking has
become more comfortable through platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook, whereby
people can view your recent work experience and harness an understanding of
your character without even meeting you. Technology and this new economy impact
the way businesses run. The new economy
is flexible and constantly undergoing change. Meanwhile, employees within this
new economy are more mobile, disposable, and have a greater sense of freedom within
the workplace.
The article raises an important question that I want to
address, “Do you really need to spend eight hours a day in the office to be
productive?”. Technology has created this new economy by changing the way we
communicate and, therefore, how we work. Workers can now work from home, or
from anywhere in the world. Work gets done faster and more efficiently.
Therefore, are 8-hour work days still relevant? What would we do without
technology, and what would be at risk?
I agree that technology has drastically changed how we work and communicate, especially in regard to the development of virtual reality. With this technology, people no longer need to be physically present in the workplace, as they can go for days without actually stepping foot in an office simply by using virtual applications.
ReplyDeleteOne application that has been talked about in other courses is Second Life, which is a visual world that allows users to make an avatar, and can then interact with other avatars in shared spaces. Many companies and their employees have adopted these methods to conduct meetings, so that they can still do business and work as a team but from the comfort of their own couch. Like you had pointed out, people can also join in from all over the world at different hours of the day to participate, which I think is a beneficial feature that this virtual/technological workplace offers.
Given this, I do think that the presence of technology in the workplace can be beneficial since it allows more people to be involved in projects, but it can also take away from the value of in-person communication and collaboration. It also shows that technology has the ability to completely change the structure of a company and how its employees operate.
In response to your questions, I do think however that an 8 hour work day is still relevant, since this kind of technology cannot be used all the time. There is still value in companies and their employees having a real life presence, and I don't think work could really get done effectively without that. On the other hand, without this technology being available, I think that collaboration and teamwork would be more restricted, since people who are not able to always be present would not be able to contribute. Technology thus has the ability to expanding the potential of employees and the ways they can be involved with the operations of a company, since people can join in from anywhere in the world.
I strongly agree that technology really has changed our world and there are times where I am not sure if it is for the better. I say this because we have become so immersed in the conveniences that technologies provide for us. Wether we use them as our alarm clocks, our daily schedule planners, means of communication or to check the weather, technologies allow us to complete various tasks with just a click of a button.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the workplace, I think that technologies can be useful in several situations such has long distance communication and (as noted in the article) research, but I also think that they have minimized the amount of personal interactions that occur, even between employees working in the same building. In fact, it really is interesting to think about all of the connections that I have made from sitting in my own home, recognizing how different life would be if I had to create my network solely based on face to face interactions. Reflecting on the thought of having no access to the internet, I do not think that my network would be as big as it is now.
Your question is very interesting and I agree with Sarah that an 8 hour work day is still relevant because not everyone has access to the internet or advanced technologies. Additionally, not all businesses have shifted into the modern-technical workplace and therefore are still following older procedures to run their businesses. Although, I think that in the future, more and more companies will start to upgrade their systems and technologies, transforming them into workplaces that can not thrive without the internet.
I think that the 8-hour workday is still realistic for some professions, but not all, especially if you own your own business. I think that a lot of entrepreneurs, especially young people, like the flexibility that owning a business can often afford. For example, I recently interviewed an alumni that is a self-employed digital marketing consultant. She doesn't allocate 8 hours a day to her job, but instead might spend 3-4 hours working in the morning and then attend a networking event in the evening for a couple hours. She likes that she's not tied down to a 9-5, doesn't have to commute, can work when she's feeling inspired and take a break when she's feeling burnt out, and can work from virtually anywhere in the world. That being said, and more to your point, if she didn't have technology, she wouldn't be able to do any of that!
ReplyDeleteI agree that technology has changed the way we work and the 8 hour work day now has blurred lines, but I actually see this as a negative thing and puts your personal life in danger. With the ability to take your work home, or not having to go into the office for every thing, it risks you never knowing when to stop. If there is no such thing as an 8 hour work day, then who decides when you can stop and have done enough work for the day. Call me old fashion but I like the idea of an 8 hour work day because I know I have put in the proper amount of work in the proper amount of time.
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