The changing nature of the working world

February 16, 2016

Work is no longer a place. With the rise of flexitime, remote working and working from home, the nature of work is changing – becoming more flexible and more collaborative.

As Internet infrastructure and availability becomes faster, more secure and more reliable it is becoming increasingly easier for people to connect with their jobs and work from virtually anywhere in the world. This is changing not only the nature of work, but how we think about the very concept of work itself.

 

With this in mind we thought we’d take a look at the top trends that are changing the working world:

 

Flexibility

Work is no longer about clocking in for the 9 to 5. Rather than being about showing up, work is increasingly about results. As an upshot of this, ‘flexitime’ is a concept that was introduced to help people get around having to waste time sitting in rush hour traffic. Extended office hours mean that some employees can start early in the morning and leave early, while others arrive late but stay until late into the evening.

Flexitime has an added advantage for companies who have clients across multiple times zones as extended office hours mean that clients have more opportunity to have their issues dealt with in a timely manner. If staff are available earlier and later in the day, then the drag in turnaround time is reduced for overseas clients as they don’t have to wait until the next day for someone to respond to their queries. As we increasingly participate in a global economy with a 24-hour time zone this change is becoming essential business practice.

 

Not only that, flexitime benefits employees as well, as they are able to structure their work day to better suit their lifestyles, plus they waste less potentially productive time sitting in traffic.

 

 

Mobility

It is no longer a requirement that employees need a physical space to store computer equipment and files. (Remember filing cabinets?) Nowadays all company data can be stored on a portable laptop or on servers in the Cloud. This means that employees can work from virtually anywhere in the world provided they have a reliable Internet connection.

Companies are also benefitting as they no longer have to find the best person for the job within a fixed location. Now required skills and expertise can be outsourced virtually to people anywhere in the world. This also enables people to choose where they live based on their own personal requirements rather than needing to be in proximity to an office.

 

 

Collaboration

Freelancers or ‘solopreneurs’ are on the rise globally as more people realise that instead of working for one company they can contract their skills to different projects as desired and have more control over how they work, who they work with and what they work on.

The rise of co-working spaces also allows people with different backgrounds to collaborate on different projects as they are required. Voice over IP (VOIP) connections like Skype and virtual conference calls allow people to meet and discuss ideas and projects virtually from anywhere in the world.  Meanwhile enterprise collaboration tools like Slack allow workers to manage projects, share files and give feedback and inputs collaboratively and without the need to be permanently based in the same location. Even office spaces are becoming more about being a place to connect and collaborate on projects and less of the isolating ‘cubicle farms’ of the past. These changes are becoming so widely used and accepted that there is even a new term for people and companies who embrace these trends called ‘digital nomad’. Take a look at this video on how digital nomads work and live:

 

 

With all these trends being adopted by more and more companies it is clear that physical roads become less important as online virtual ‘roads’ and infrastructure are adopted by people and business. This is why RSAWEB is committed to supplying the very best in Internet connectivity products to businesses throughout South Africa. If your business is following the path of the digital nomad’s, then you can be sure that RSAWEB has a connectivity solution to meet all your requirements.

 

For mobile employees, RSAWEB’s Mobile Data allows you to manage and monitor all of your employees’ mobile connectivity needs. With companywide pooled data you never have to worry about employees getting capped as data can be shared and reallocated to those employees who need more. Our fast and simple online management tools mean you are always in control. Now you are even able to choose between MTN and Vodacom as service providers or use both according to your employee’s preferences.

RSAWEB also offers a Mobile Broadband product for freelancers and small businesses that need to stay connected while on the go!

 

Contact us today on 087 470 0000 or [email protected] to find out more about how mobile connectivity can benefit your business.