As gas prices go up, commutes seem to get longer and companies are looking to cut cost, teleworking becomes a more viable option for both employers and employees.
A recent survey from Skype, Future of Workplaces, revealed around 62% of the companies surveyed already allows employees to work remotely. Of these companies, 34% of their workforce occasionally works remotely, and of that 34%, remote employees say they spend around 40% of their work hours at home.
As the walls of traditional cubicles are torn down, teleworkers are changing the use of formal communication with new technology.
“In large part, social networking, simple collaboration and sharing tools, cloud-based storage services and touch-based tablets have entered the workplace in a bottom-up way, meaning that individuals started using these technologies for personal reasons, then insisted on using them for work as well.”
So what does all this mean for seemingly office mainstays? Data shows that email and landline use, the dominant communication tools for the past two decades, will begin steadily declining with the overwhelming use of texting, mobile phones, social networks, video communications and instant messaging/chat.
How has technology affected your working habits or protocol? Do you think the use of social media and video conferencing decreases or increases workplace camaraderie? And do you think the new technology is a necessary tool or trending distraction?
For Skype’s full report, visit Future of Workplaces.
http://livingworkplace.skype.com/assets/pdf/Future_of_Workplaces-GigaOmPRO.pdf
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