Infotech work: More lifestyle, less place
More and more, employees — particularly those working with information technologies — say they don’t need to be tethered to the office to do their jobs. But many also acknowledge they are careless about limiting non-employees’ access to their computers and other devices while working remotely.
A new study, “The Cisco Connected World Report,” found that 60 per cent of workers and IT professionals around the globe don’t believe they actually have to be in the office to be productive. In some regions, even larger proportions of employees expressed that view: 93 per cent in India, 81 per cent in China and 76 per cent in Brazil.
The study, commissioned by Cisco and conducted by InsightExpress, surveyed 2,600 people in 13 countries.
Some 45 per cent of those surveyed said they already work remotely between two and three hours a day. An equal proportion, however, said they didn’t believe their companies had the right technologies and policies in place to support a truly mobile workforce. They identified security as the biggest concern (57 per cent) in that regard.
And no wonder. Of the employees polled, 58 per cent said they had let non-employees use their workplace devices unsupervised. A full 17 per cent admitted to leaving devices unattended in public.
“Employee mobility is a fact of life, and the business advantages are clear across many industries,” said Dave Evans, futurist and chief technologist for Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group. “While the ‘Cisco Connected World Report’ does identify real challenges for businesses, it also spotlights an opportunity for IT to enhance its relationship with employees and its role as an advisor and educator. Simply put, this report serves as a call to action for IT organizations. Work is not a place anymore. It’s a lifestyle, and the IT profession’s role is only going to get more strategic as it tries to help businesses stay agile and increase productivity.”
In fact, more employees are interested in the lifestyle possibilities of their work than in the financial potential.A full 66 per cent of those surveyed said they would rather be able to work from anywhere with less pay than have a higher-paying job without such flexibility. The greatest percentage saying that — 78 per cent — was found in Spain, despite that country’s severe economic difficulties over s the past couple of years.
“The ‘Cisco Connected World Report’ gives further insight into the future of the workplace and it is clear from the research findings that the desire among employees to be more mobile and flexible in their work lifestyles is extremely strong throughout the world — as strong as salary,” said Marie Hattar, vice president of Borderless Networks for Cisco. “It is also evident that organisations need to embrace a borderless IT infrastructure to capture competitive advantage and increase employee satisfaction. The employee desire to be productive anytime, anywhere, using any device provides an opportunity to embrace the agility and flexibility provided through a Borderless Network Architecture.”
