What Does the Modern Workplace Look Like?

While it has removed some barriers to collaboration, the structure of the modern workplace has actually created some obstacles as well.

A modern workplace might not even be an office, as more and more people work from home, coffee shops, or on the road. Employees need to find a way to collaborate with each other; that might mean using apps or solutions that aren’t approved by IT. Yet, budgets aren’t growing enough for IT to control the upsurge in unauthorised apps and solutions.

Additionally, there’s more information available than ever before; humans are generating data at a breakneck pace. Can that information be trusted? More to the point, can you make the right business decisions based on that data?

The Five Challenges of the Modern Workplace

From the scenario outlined above, you can see there are five challenges that the modern workplace poses:

• Greater complexity
• Security concerns
• A lack of control
• A shortage of resources
• Not enough clarity

Greater Complexity

One of the issues facing the modern workplace is a greater degree of complexity. What does that mean, exactly? There are two sides to complexity: a technological side and a people side.

On the technological side, we’re using a wider variety of software than before. That means that we have to find a way to enable all the different software solutions we use to communicate with one another. On the people side, managers must contend with a mobile, and in many cases, remote workforce. It’s more difficult to monitor people and ensure that they’re productive when the workforce is distributed.

Security Concerns

Another problem that the modern workplace has created is security concerns. Because technology is evolving faster than the enterprise can keep up, employees are using apps that aren’t approved by IT to collaborate with coworkers.

These apps aren’t built with security in mind. In fact, they can present an enormous risk to your firm. Because there are so many of them, IT can’t keep track of them all, which brings us to the third problem in the modern workplace: a lack of control.

A Lack of Control

The sheer number of unauthorised apps means that IT can’t control the security risk for the company. When IT personnel can’t control what apps employees are using, they get frustrated. They can’t do their jobs properly, and they’ll become disengaged and demoralised. Low morale and engagement costs you money because they negatively affect productivity.

A Shortage of Resources

Yet another problem in the modern workplace is a shortage of resources. This is especially challenging against a backdrop of increased complexity, security concerns, and a lack of control over what employees are doing with IT assets.

It’s an even greater problem when you consider that budgets are not going to magically increase. In fact, everyone will have to do more with less. That makes it more difficult to manage, especially with the ever-growing numbers of remote employees.