The Future of Technology in the Workplace

future the

OF WORKPLACE TECHNOLOGY

Decades of traditional workplace culture is about to be overturned, as technology paves the way for improved practices to take over. The pandemic forced businesses to accelerate their investment in collaboration technology, freeing them from inefficient processes and unproductive meetings. This change in technological needs will facilitate transforming offices into collaboration hubs that enable hybrid work in healthy workspaces.

The driving force for change in the workplace will be the desire for hybrid working in a postpandemic world, a desire that will come from both the employees and employers. Most employees don’t want to return to how offices used to be either, only 12% want to return to the office full time1, with 72% of employees craving a hybrid remote-office model moving forward2 . Hybrid Working will Force Change.

Face-to-face interactions remain an integral part of every-day business, they can help in building relationships and help solve problems. With a blend of the workforce working from home and in the office, hybrid working will continually drive the technological advances in the workspace, offices will aspire to have the latest technology that helps their employees collaborate and truly feel like they are working together, regardless of where their desks are.

Zoom Rooms and MTRs allow face-to-face communications when you aren’t together, they also allow interactive whiteboarding and content sharing. With hybrid meetings becoming a part of everyday work life, Meeting Spaces Must Upgrade to include cameras, speakers, microphones, and content sharing devices as a minimum.

It is not enough for meeting rooms to feature this technology; the devices have to work together and be easy to use. Whereas before, hybrid meetings were ad-hoc, they are soon to become a part of every-day work life. Technology needs to be streamlined and facilitate professional meetings and be accessible to the entire workforce, not just those who are technologically inclined.

Even meeting rooms that already feature VC technology will likely be reviewed, the bare minimum of video input that only features one person in the room and microphones that only capture the closest speaker is no longer tolerable.

Offices will change outside of meeting rooms too, trust has been built over the past year, with managers no longer feeling the need to physically see their employees to believe they are doing their work. This, alongside a split of the workforce in the office, will help evolve the modern workplace. Whereas pre-pandemic teams generally sat together at their assigned seats, staff will now be free to work where they want.

Whilst employees may want flexibility in where they work, they also want organisation. Technology solutions like room booking and desk booking will help staff plan their work life. Desk booking enables users to reserve a workspace as and when they need it. Similarly to room booking systems, monitors on the desk show the status of the workspace and sensors under the desk help understand if the desk is in use or not.

Goodbye Desk Ownership, Hello Healthy Workspaces

Certain aspects of office working during the pandemic have been whole-heartedly adopted by employers and staff. The vigilant outlook on healthy workspaces has transformed from desk yoga and office plants to an interest and analysis of the working environment.

“The post-pandemic workforce will inevitably return to the office more health-conscious “

Jenny Hicks, Head of Technology for Midwich Group.

Temperature stands at entrances and regular sanitation stations have become a part of office routine and likely won’t go anywhere. The data collected from people counts and occupancy sensors, as well as environmental sensors for air quality and temperature, allow staff to make informed decisions about where they work and when. When staff do return to the office, whether it be permanently or hybrid working, they will feel comfortable in their decision to do so, with data to back up their decisions.

Employees have experienced the benefits of remote working and can see the advantages of hybrid working; however, longevity of remote working can only be facilitated by Agile Working Technology Levelling Up. Laptops give staff mobility, however, single-screen set-ups with touchpads may not be the most ideal working conditions. Furthermore, embedded cameras and microphones can often make meetings look unprofessional with bad lighting and narrow-angle video.

Collaboration will be the priority when businesses upgrade their kit, with a need for larger monitors at home with touch facilities, along with better quality cameras and microphones.

It is important to remember that whilst hybrid work will drive change in the workplace, especially in meeting spaces, transformations in the workplace won’t be limited to meeting spaces. The workplace mentality is going to shift to empower the workforce to work how they want to work.

Jenny Hicks

HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY

Jenny is positioned as Head of Technology for The Midwich Group working closely with all the group companies across the globe, providing trends analysis and exploring new technology ventures. With 12 years of industry expertise,

Jenny also represents the Group across the Globe as a thought leader, key note speaker and industry panellist.

1 - https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20201023-coronavirus-how-will-thepandemic-change-the-way-we-work 2 - https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20201023-coronavirus-how-will-thepandemic-change-the-way-we-work 3 - https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/survey-flexible-work-moms/