When dealing with technology at work, employees generally want the technology to perform at a standard that will allow them to get things done with little to no issues. This applies whether workers are operating from home or making the trip to their office or other workplace.
Many businesses worldwide continue to adapt to hybrid work models in this post-pandemic world despite several new platforms having been launched and the demands of hybrid working having been established across the past three years. In the process, firms are attempting to cater to employee demands and to meet the required levels of output. In other words, seeking to keep engagement and productivity steady..
Polls of employees reveal that they seek a good work culture and suitable benefits, and also freedom from IT frustrations. For example, they do not want to wait 15 minutes for a work laptop to turn on only to see the outdated Windows 7 show up on the screen. Those working in the office also do not want to have slow Wi-Fi speed, resulting in web pages and applications with slow load times.
A survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Compucom found that nearly 22 percent of respondents in large enterprises always have bad experiences with workplace technology. They average more than 20 frustrating moments weekly. These moments when technology does not cooperate as it should add up to more than 90 minutes lost in productivity each week.
This need not be the case for the technology is out there to make the employee experience seamless no matter where they work. Most surveys find that employees are more engaged and more productive with better technology. For instance, 89 percent of companies with more than 1,000 employees indicate that satisfaction and retention increase if companies invested more in their technology.
One reason why companies are not investing in appropriate technology is cost. It is initially expensive to bring in the proper technology to make the workday easier for employees. However, the longer-term consequences of not investing in technology can become more severe.
More than a quarter of enterprise respondents said the technology they use for work is at least 5 years old. Because of the outdated technology, two-thirds use personal devices, which brings with it risks of cybersecurity threats. Restricting personal devices is a fix to prevent those cyberattacks, but the friction remains between employees and technology.
Another risk factor is that frustrated employees potentially look to other companies that give their employees the tools needed to succeed.
