The tremendous developments of science and technology in recent times have caused paradigm shifts not only in the ways organisations operate, but also every aspect of the workplace and the workforce.
In the era of high speed internet, online meeting platforms, intra and inter office communications and mobile devices, employees are adopting remote jobs and the mobile working arrangements.
What is mobile working?
Mobile working is a method where working does not tie an employee to any physical location. It is the ability that enables a professional to complete his/her responsibilities from anywhere at any time using their mobile devices.
The rapidly growing technological landscape is the single most important factor in context of mobile working. Over the last decade or so, technological advancements in social, mobile, digital and cloud have not only resulted in many disruptive innovations and products, but they have also ushered in new ways of working and doing business. Digital technology supplemented by high speed internet and the abundance of sophisticated smart mobile devices are primarily responsible for mobile working.
Benefits of Mobile Working
In the context of mobile working, it is important to understand some of the key benefits that can be thought of.
BYOD, Mobility and Flexibility
Most organisations today operate in a global and increasingly complex business environment. This means, not only have business processes become more complex, but employees across levels and grades are also facing business environments and challenges that they have never faced before. Employees need to be mobile and travel ready, work out of different business locations and be part of or manage teams that are dispersed across the globe. In this context, providing flexibility to employees is a priority for all organisations. Moreover, unless required for a particular role or otherwise, gone are the days when employees need to sit at one place and use immobile desktop computers. Laptops have been the primary choice of computing device over the last many years now. However, the new genre of smart mobile devices are fast outnumbering laptops. Everyone has started preferring smart mobile devices that are not short of computing power but are easy to carry and operate. In fact, the concept of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) has become popular amongst professionals and organisations these days. Not only does it reduce IT overheads and costs for an organisation, but gives the employee to use a device of their choice and within the remits of organisational rules and regulations. Mobile working is about using smart devices from any location for doing work – hence, the biggest benefits that this provides is clearly BYOD, mobility and flexible working options. Both for an organisation and employees, mobile working is a win-win proposition and practice.
Increased productivity and creativity
It is really a no-brainer that happy and satisfied employees will always be more productive. There is enough and more evidence that this increased productivity of employees positively impacts an organisation’s overall performance. As suggested by a study done by Cisco, mobile working “brings with it a huge potential to improve workforce productivity, improve staff motivation, flexibility and retention”[1]. Surely, if employees have the option to use their own devices, have flexible working conditions and can work even when they are mobile, there is no room for complaints anymore!
Saving on the cost of infrastructure
Setting up office space and maintaining the same in urban areas can be very expensive. Therefore, the potential of reducing the cost of office space driving many companies to encourage mobile working strategies. In this context, an organisation needs to provide employees options to work remote without impacting productivity. Mobile working is definitely a solution to this where technology can indeed enable an employee to easily work from a remote location and collaborate seamlessly with colleagues across the world.
Better health of employees
Mobile working help a company reduce absenteeism of its employees. It helps employees to maintain a better work/life balance improving their overall health. A poor work/life balance can affect an employee’s commitment towards work which might result into stress, high absenteeism and poor productivity.
Attracting and retaining valuable employees
Companies always looks for ways to retain their valuable employees as well as attracting a wider pool of employees. The option of mobile working has a positive impact on employees and also keep them motivated. In a recent study, statistics from the USA show that companies should consider mobile working for the following reasons:
While mobile working has all these benefits which should attract organisations to embrace it, not many organisations have warmed up to mobile working yet. Why? Find out more in our next article.