2020- In less than six months about 70% of previously physical activities in work environments gone virtual it is necessary for companies to consider evaluating the system, software they use to ensure they are mobile-friendly to accommodate the new routine by the employees as well as increased efficiency.
In 2020 technology has become more and more limitless; thousands of mobile device manufacturers continue to release the many brands, sizes, and functionalities of mobile devices such as the Apple iPhone, Google Android, Samsung Galaxy, among many others. It is imperative to know that as mobile devices adapt and advance in features, the elements that constitute a mobile device will also change.
Although various technological tools have impacted society and how humans Interact, the computer has probably made the most significant contribution to communication and society. Mobile devices, as a type of computing device or mini-computer, have become all the more critical because of their transportability and convergence ability to permit user access to information.
For example, individuals can interact with others via email, text message, audio, video recordings, social networking, phone calls, and video chat using mobile devices. These functions are made possible by various apps and the mobile device’s ability to exercise convergence. This level of communication translates into thousands of online communities populated by digitally connected people.
Individuals can collaborate on areas of common interest, projects, or tasks using apps or software like Google Docs Jostle, slack, or Google+Hangouts, salesforce, and many others. Since mobile devices are communicative tools with collaborative capabilities, people can construct deliverables of interest to them as well. Different organizations use different applications to perform their day to day duties.
Mobile features
The features on mobile devices such as access permission, back and forth communication, and two-way collaboration, these tools have become quite important to society. Consequently, mobile devices are shaping cultures, human behaviors, and communities in the 21st Century. Ensuring access to information, communicating, collaborating, and connecting with others, U.S. cultural expectation regarding any time, anywhere access to information or materials of personal preference. This expectation is driving additional technological advancements and the day-to-day activities of businesses, people, and schools.
Economic difference and its effect
Living in an economically developed society, I have noticed a variance in the number of people who own smart devices than my country-Kenya. At least 76% of adults use smartphones every day to perform some tasks or entertainment. In my organization, most of the employees own Apple devices, a famous brand in the U.S. I use a Samsung phone; however, this does not hinder us from working or accessing work material from our devices as all the company software is compatible with the tools.
Some of the tools I have access to include google hangout, zoom, canvas teacher, salesforce. I enjoy using my work applications on the go because I can deliver anywhere anytime. While I work in a physical office, the pandemic changed the normal; it is also a fact that I, and many other people have taken this period to travel and be with friends and family while working remotely.
Furthermore, work settings will be impacted by employees’ access to mobile devices and the exposure that their children or families will have to these devices. They are increasing the expectation and demand for any time, access to information and a need for work systems to conduct regular employee training to use their mobile devices to perform their daily task.
Only one tap away: M-Work
As previously noted, due to mobile device prevalence, work settings are changing. One of these modifications involves how information is accessed, managed, and created via mobile device organization inclusion. The use of existing technology is feasible because it makes work content and materials available to employees when and where they need it.
M-working encourages workers to identify what they don’t know through personal assessment and questions about specific content or related topics, attend training workshops, or consult their colleagues. M-Working empowers employees to ask questions and find answers to those questions via access to and use of mobile devices and apps.
Why should companies use mobile-friendly software?
There are various reasons why companies should invest in mobile device-friendly software or applications to create a functional and efficient M-Working space.
One of the fundamental reasons concerns employees and their preparedness to function in a communicatively and technologically rich world and requires knowledgeable and digitally literate citizenship. While employees understand the value of technology and demonstrate that value through the mobile devices they own and utilize, further guidance is required. Consequently, employees need assistance, knowledge, and skills to learn how to use mobile devices for social and professional contexts. Employees are ready to use their mobile devices more for work. As a result, employees want technological guidance to improve their work experience overall and provide them experiences transferrable to other aspects of their lives, such as careers.
A second reason that companies should implement m-working spaces concerns the creation of dynamic working environments. The inclusion of mobile devices and apps that permit access to information and interactivity with content can help staff see the connections between a work environment and the broader world. Connecting these different environments helps employees understand how information and knowledge are applicable, transferable, useful, and in various contexts. These activities also develop students’ critical thinking skills, which are necessary to succeed in a complex and highly connected global world through mobile devices and other technological tools.
The ability to capitalize on worker-owned technology is the third reason m-working spaces are adopted. Employees hold high expectations for any time, anywhere access to work information, tasks, news, and leveraging their personal any time devices inside and outside the office. As noted earlier, employee preference for technological tools will exhibit by their ownership of them.
Instead of organizations and companies developing physical labs to enhance work activities, they could implement implement-owned mobile devices to do so, resulting in their ability to reallocate financial and technological resources in blended or remote work situations this year. Some of this rerouting of resources could offset challenges presented to various staff regarding the digital and second-level digital divide.
Another critical reason to consider m-working space development involves office-hours flexibility. Mobile devices permit office hours flexibility regarding applications and device inclusion, along with the ability to relate to multiple working styles.
Create your M-working space
Use these 3 guides:
- Employee ability to capture data and comment on it in real-time (e.g., using video and audio mobile device capabilities to capture phenomena and to interact with others using communication tools available via the device to discuss what was collected); e.g., attend zoom meetings
- The employee created multimedia consisting of data that can be enriched to promote organizational goals, such as salesforce or canvas.
- And the acceleration of feedback opportunities between the employees and managers (e.g., using text messaging,linkedIn, or the lounge to provide information to students about future action or performance on a task).
Work challenges in using M-Work Spaces
Incorporating mobile devices into working settings changes the working environment and challenges how tasks and goals usually have occurred. Many of these changes and challenges emerge due to employee access to information, the ability to communicate and collaborate with the supervisor and colleagues, and the operational planning and training required to create m-working spaces.
Adopting mobile devices into work/office settings is also challenging due to supervisor low digital fluency combined with changing work paradigms regarding the supervisor, staff, etc, and models for working amid these modified roles and expectations.
In addition to the changing roles of supervisor and employee is the newness of mobile technology. The originality of mobile devices, coupled with the rapid technological advancement rate and innovation (especially about mobile devices and apps), will require a supervisor-employee relationship focusing on mobile devices’ different uses in personal and professional environments. Consequently, discovering how to incorporate technology, like mobile devices, into workspaces will necessitate a better relationship involving employees, managers, and stakeholders.
To assist companies with addressing these challenges, the following some steps and measures to consider
- Assess mobile devices and applications when considering tool adoption in the organization
- Support m-working via workspace infrastructure and support considerations
- Develop continuous training workshops for staff that demonstrate the application and incorporation of concepts into everyday work.