How tech can make workers happier

Are you frustrated by the long chain of e-mail messages in your inbox each morning? Do you wish you could talk with your co-workers in person rather than over Skype? It’s not just you. Many employees lament that new technologies have eradicated a lot of the face-to-face work of the business world. But Natalie Burg, writing for Unify, says that new tech does not have to make a workplace less people-friendly.

Using it right

The key, Burg writes, is for companies to use technology properly. Too many companies basically use tech such as e-mail and video conferencing as a way to pile more work on their employees. This can leave employees feeling drained by the end of the day. But Burg writes that there is a way for companies to employ tech properly: They just need to use new technology to make their employees’ lives less complicated.

Evolving workplace

Burg writes of a more suitable way, though. Companies can use communications technology to make their workers’ lives easier, and not as a way to replace all face-to-face communication. Think about employees who regularly work with peers located several time zones away. These employees can now communicate – through e-mail or instant messaging – with their fellow workers from the comfort of their own homes, without needing to stay late at the office for a phone conversation.

Productive employees

As Burg writes, employees who are more content are usually more productive, as well. Employees today don’t necessarily need to be tied to a desk all day. They’d preferably rely on mobile tech to do the work they do on the road, at whatever schedule fits them best. It makes sense for companies to find ways to make their workforces more mobile. If their workforces are more content, you can bet this will show up in their bottom line.