Thursday 7 April 2016

Social revolution: Are mobile technologies blurring work-home lines?

Mobile technologies and the social revolution 

Is mobile technology changing workplace behaviour?

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This important question, is human kind facing a social revolution through mobile technologies, is one that is now being asked across the world. And no wonder... 

- According to workplace researchers (Kraft, 2006) mobile technologies are seen as a catalyst for changing the social rules governing our workplaces, and blurring previously clear demarcations between work and home.

- Since 2007, the accepted view is that “computing doesn't belong just in cyberspace”, it happens in the real world, anywhere and at any time (Grossman, 2007).

John Sundberg, a key founder of Kinetic Data, wrote in March 2015 that the impact of new technologies on our social and work environments is so fundamental that we are looking at a new era.

Are we looking at a culture change?

Image courtesy of www.centives.net

Some of us remember the introduction of the iPhone in 2007. I'm not sure I paid a huge amount of attention at the time as I didn't realise the real potential of this mobile device.

What this relatively small device represented was the first “handheld, walk-around computer” (Grossman, 2007).

It has created the opportunity for what is now described as globalised “mass connectivity” that has “enabled human generated data, and now machine generated data, to flood through our global networks…” (Livingstone, 2015) and transform our work and home lives.

The “cultural change wrought by the internet has been profound.” (Williams, 2015, p. 12). 

Social revolution and disruptive technology

Workplace researchers now assert that mobile, online communications is transforming (or even disrupting), how humans think, communicate and socialise with one another (Hinduja & Patchin, 2013; Oliver & Candappa, 2003; Wang, Iannotti, Luk, 2010; Williams & Guerra, 2007; Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004). 

And the funny thing is, we don't even realise, unless we read something and thing about it, that  this change is happening to us and our social environment and culture.

If you read studies by workplace cyberbullying researchers (some are definitly worth the read! take a look at my thesis : - )), you will learn that the lines between the physical and virtual worlds are now so blurred (Monks & Coyne, 2011) that workplace participants (employers and employees) feel permanently connected to work irrespective of the time of day. 

Technology is both enhancing, and transforming, our private and workplace behaviour (Tidwell & Walther, 2002) on both a conscious and subconscious level. 

This feeling of being constantly accessible to one another, and being accessible 24/7 to work through mobile technologies, is being viewed as a catalyst for changing the social rules governing our workplaces and undermining previously clear work - private life demarcations (Kraft, 2006).

It is important to realise that this transformation has human social psychology implications, particularly around accepted social norms, as the new technology increasingly enables people to instantaneously broadcast thoughtless or malicious online comments that can quickly escalate with dire consequences (Cross, Shaw, Hearn, Epstein, Monks, Lester, & Thomas, 2009; Li, 2007). 

Workplace implications 

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The UK's Business Computing World recently released an article that stated  "every once in a while, a [technological] development so fundamental and profound ...that it reorients the profession."

This changing environment has arguably developed new or refreshed roles and responsibilities for employers who have a duty of care to provide employees with a safe working environment (West, Foster, Levin, Edmison, & Robibera, 2014). This is concerning since the potential for online harassment and bullying in the workplace is growing along with the influx of mobile technologies.

In March 2015, John Sundberg, a key founder of Kinetic Data, wrote that the impact of new technologies on our social and work environments is so fundamental that we are looking at a new era, with mobile access overtaking desktop usage, and a new generation (millenials) who have grown up with mobile technologies are now entering the workforce expecting workplace software and applications to be easy to use, social, and mobile.

Sunderber suggests workplaces consider the four practical steps to adapt to the "wave of change crashing over IT and business operations" today:

  Redesign processes from the internal customer perspective. - See more at: http://www.businesscomputingworld.co.uk/evolution-or-revolution-where-is-technology-at-today/#sthash.i2EIHCco.dpuf
1. Redesign processes from the internal customer perspective.

2. Implement new delivery models such as enterprise request management (ERM) for service requests and schedule-based (like Apple Genius Bars) service delivery. 

3. Adapt to revolutionary developments using gradual change. 

4. Recognise the need for business change, not just adaptation by IT.

Dr Lawrence has a BA SSc and PhD in organisational social psychology and works with individuals and organisations as a consultant, speaker and trainer. She uses her social science expertise to enhance interactions between organisations and the people who lead and work in them by fostering new insights for diagnosing organisational problems, and build new capabilities and culture.



Redesign processes from the internal customer perspective. Rather than designing processes for the convenience of service-delivery groups, begin with the objective of a “delighted customer” then work backward. Automate processes and strip out redundant steps and manual efforts wherever feasible along the way, to optimise efficiency and accuracy.
2. Implement new delivery models such as enterprise request management (ERM) for service requests and schedule-based (like Apple Genius Bars) service delivery. Both approaches improve the service experience, particularly for mobile and remote workers.
3. Adapt to revolutionary developments using gradual change. Despite the rapid scope and pace of changes in user expectations, big-bang “rip and replace” responses are not always the best approach; not only is replacement of core management and control systems enormously costly, it also inevitably means unforeseen delays and business disruption. Instead, utilise agile service request management and “lightweight” business process automation (BPA) to design, test, modify, deploy, measure and optimise new processes gradually, starting with the most common or painful and incrementally increasing the portfolio of services offered over time.
4. Recognise the need for business change, not just adaptation by IT. Increasing expectations for consumer-like technology and experiences impact departments and functions across organisations, not only IT groups. IT is in ideally positioned, however, to assist other functional groups in adapting to evolving employee expectations, for example by extending the concept of IT service catalogs across the enterprise, to HR, facilities, finance, and other shared services groups. The tools deployed should empower business process owners anywhere in the organisation to design and optimise their own task workflow processes, with minimal technical assistance needed.
It’s clear is IT groups need to shed the image of being “defensive, late, overpriced, uninformed and unhelpful.” IT leaders and their teams must adapt to these changes, and others, while continuing to provide the business with “guide rails” in areas like cloud computing and BYOD (for security and cost reasons). And the emphasis needs to be on collaboration rather than control. Evolution or revolution—where do you think technology is at today?
- See more at: http://www.businesscomputingworld.co.uk/evolution-or-revolution-where-is-technology-at-today/#sthash.i2EIHCco.dpuf

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