Not even considering how the digital realm has affected our personal lives, let’s talk about how it’s affected our workplace. Things have really changed since technology came into the picture. Here are our four top ways technology has changed the way you work.
Your reality is now virtual.
Virtual reality technology took the world by storm because it became something no one ever thought it would be—affordable. You can thank Samsung and Google for that. For this reason, virtual reality will probably have a major influence on how we do business, from training employees and traveling the world to product demonstrations and new customer experiences.
If you want a quick and affordable way to turn your business into something exciting, virtual reality is the way to go. And if you don’t do it, your competition most likely will. So stay ahead and harness technology!
Work anywhere, anytime.
Mobile technology is here to stay, anyone can see that. It’s having a drastic impact on how we interact with the workplace as well. In fact, the future of “the office” is no office at all. These days, office workers don’t enjoy being shackled to a desk. They probably never enjoyed it, but without the freedom of technology, they didn’t have much of a choice. That paper project lived and slept at the office, not on Dropbox.
Today, enhanced mobility creates a more flexible work environment, boosts productivity, and leads to new opportunities. Maybe Tim from accounting hits his stride at 6AM, while Susan from records really gets going around 4PM. Now they can both maximize their preferred working hours, instead of being corralled into an 8-5 day.
So if you’re a business owner, how do you prepare for this digital freedom? Think outside the traditional 8-5, Monday through Friday desk job. Instead, it may behoove you to think, Whatever works!
Time to wear it.
Wearables are quickly infiltrating their way into the business world. Like any new technological innovation, we’re already experiencing wearables in many different ways. Once the foundation of wearables took root, they’re now everywhere. Think the iWatch and FitBit craze.
Moving forward, expect to see wearables used in more innovative ways like monitoring the stress levels of workers in high-risk occupations such as construction and manufacturing. Or used for medical research on patients who may experience environmental sickness. The opportunities are endless, and the more ways we can get technology to work for us, the better.
Take it to the Cloud.
If you’ve embraced the non-traditional office experience and expect your staff to work from anywhere (and effectively!) then you also need to embrace the full capacity of Cloud computing. Eliminating data management stress and reducing employee frustrations, the Cloud is a cost-efficient, mobile-friendly place to be. We’ve already seen extensions and improvements of Cloud computing—like Fog Computing—which means the Cloud isn’t going anywhere but up.
So make sure your company is set up properly with a reliable Cloud solution and watch the productivity of your staff really take off.