Work life has substantially changed and is continuously changing. There are now new ways of working, according to Jabra, the world leading hands-free and innovative audio solutions provider.“With technology transforming and transcending by the minute, it becomes crucial that we ride on these waves of changes in order to keep up. The sooner we acknowledge that these changes are happening, the faster we can adapt our own responses to them and maximize the opportunity for ourselves, our companies and our shareholders,” said Holger Reisinger, Jabra Global Vice President for Business Solutions.
He furthered that Jabra is at a unique position to view these changes in the workplace. “As a global leader in the devices that push this future of work forwards, we work closely with the major technology platform developers. Every day, we talk to the brands that are re-imagining the modern workplace because they buy our headsets and speakerphones. We also brush up against a good number of thought leaders because we make it our business, too, to know what’s going on,” Resinger added. In the course of finding out how to leverage on latest technologies, Reisinger said that they are able to identify three megatrends that define new ways of working:
With the dawn of smart phones, computers, printers and mobile phones are no longer tools that are only available strictly through a company’s IT department. These days, employers have acknowledged that workers have their own smart phones (sometimes more than one or two); and that they will not think twice in using them for work.
“This ‘consumerization of IT’ or, ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) – has dramatically changed not just on what devices you will find in your board room, but the nature of work itself,” explained Reisinger. “Five years ago, it may be a rare occurrence to find a co-worker bringing in his own personal laptop to the work place. Today, it’s not just increasingly common—it’s the norm. Workers no longer have to come to their offices to be productive because their smart phones, laptops and tablets are powerful enough to accomplish office work.”
In a recent 2013 study conducted in the Philippines by VMWare, it shows how BYOD has been picking up and being embraced by workers in the country. According to the study, about 81% of the workers own two or more mobile devices; while 85% of them actually bring these devices to their work place. The study also revealed that BYOD has actually made it more efficient for workers to work out of the office; that they are able to respond faster to change; and have made workers less stressful.
