Connected Work: Redesigning for Success

As the Future of Work agenda is accelerated within organisations, it is crucial to redesign work processes and structures that fosters genuine connections and fuels productivity across geographically dispersed teams to ensure success.

The Evolution of Work: Embracing Connected Work

The way we work has undergone a significant transformation, previously, work was often done in a centralised office environment. With the increase of the collaborative tools available, high-speed internet and enhanced mobile applications, it is now possible for many people to work from anywhere in the world. This has led to the emergence of connected work environments, where employees can collaborate and communicate with each other regardless of their physical location. Furthermore, the lower rates of office occupancy also reflects a continued preference and learned behaviours towards less office-based and flexible mode of working (Source: PwC).

Several factors have contributed to the rise of connected work:

• The increasing availability of high-speed internet and mobile devices
• The growth of digital workplace technologies and collaboration tools
• The growing popularity of remote and flexible work arrangements
• The increasing demand for collaboration and knowledge sharing

The Benefits of Connected Work

Implementing the right collaborative tools with employee engagement in mind is crucial for success when designing for a connected workforce.

Connected work offers several benefits for both employees and employers. For employees,  connected work can provide greater flexibility and productivity, work-life balance, and opportunities for professional development. Without workplace distractions, remote workers have been reported to be 35-40% more productive than their in-office counterparts (Source: Flexjobs).

For employers, connected work can lead to increased productivity, cost-saving and tremendous innovative benefits with companies that promote collaboration at work having five times better performance rates than those that do not (Source: Zippia).

Some of the specific benefits of connected work include:

• Increased mobility and productivity: Employees who work in connected environments are often more productive than those who work in traditional office settings. This is because they have the flexibility to work when and where they are most productive, and they have access to the latest technologies and resources.
• Improved innovation: Connected work environments can foster innovation by encouraging collaboration and knowledge sharing. Employees from different departments and locations can come together to share ideas and solve problems.
• Reduced costs: Connected work can help to reduce costs by eliminating the need for office space and travel. There are estimates that companies can save up to $11,000 per year for each employee who works remotely half of the time (Source: Global Work Analytics).

The Challenges of Connected Work

While connected work offers several benefits, it also presents some challenges. These challenges include:

• Data security: Connected work environments require a high level of data security. Companies need to take steps to protect employee data from unauthorised access with 69% of organisations considering remote workers to be a greater security risk (Source: Servcorp Blog).
• Communication gaps: It can be difficult to maintain effective communication in a connected work environment. Employees may be working in different time zones or using different communication tools. There have been improving trends in communication gaps with only 13% of employees rating this as their greatest struggle, down from 20.5% in 2021 (Source: Buffer).
• Potential burnout: Work-from-home phenomenon has blurred the definitions between work-life balance verse work-life integration. Connected work can lead to burnout if employees are not careful. They need to set boundaries between work and personal time, and they need to take breaks throughout the day. Research commissioned by the Centre for Future Work and the Australian Institute has shown average Australian works 6.1 hours of unpaid overtime each week, which equates to $125 billion dollars of lost income per year at an economy-wide level (Source: Centre for Future Work).

Understanding basic human needs – the need for a sense of belonging

Behavioural economics is the study of how human behaviour is influenced by psychological, social, and cognitive factors. One of the most fundamental theories, Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow, A. H. 1943) includes a sense of belonging as a major need that motivates behaviours. By understanding behavioural economics can help companies be better informed when redesigning and implementing effective connected work strategies.

Strong social connections in a workplace and one that fosters meaningful work, helps build a successful workforce. It has been shown that understanding how to motivate employees to collaborate and share ideas, and how to overcome the challenges of communication in a connected work environment, results in a 17% increase in employee performance (Source: Journal of Organisational Behaviour).

Maintaining a human-centred approach and keeping your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) strategy in mind when redesigning your organisation’s roadmap is essential to a successful and sustainable hybrid workforce. While it is important to choose the right tools and platforms for collaboration and how to use these tools to promote effective communication, taking a humanistic approach is just crucial – maintaining authenticity and empathy, being adaptive and flexible.

Overall, connected work is a complex concept that can deliver great outcomes for both employees and employers as long the fundamentals of facilitating belonging and meaning are kept at the heart of your strategy when redesigning for the future of work.

Building Connection Through Culture

At BI WORLDWIDE, we understand that connection is essential for a successful workplace. That's why we focus on helping our clients create cultures of connection that benefit both their employees and their businesses.

We do this by providing our clients with a variety of services, including:

• Employee engagement solutions: We help our clients assess their current employee engagement levels and develop strategies to improve them.
• Event management and incentive experiences: We create vibrant and diverse occasions, both virtual and in-person, to look forward to and bring people together for one-of-a-kind meaningful experiences.
• Employee feedback surveys: We develop and administer employee feedback surveys that help our clients get input from their employees on how to improve the workplace.

By helping our clients create cultures of connection, we help them to achieve their business goals. Employees who feel connected to their workplace are more likely to be engaged, productive, and satisfied. This can lead to increased innovation, improved customer service, and up to 21% higher profitability (Source: Gallup).

With a competitive talent landscape, pressures to control costs, employee well-being being top of mind, and artificial intelligence and automation on the rise, the agenda for the Future of Work will no doubt continuously evolve. The most challenging aspect of the hybrid strategy is adjusting your current culture to be supportive of your employees.

If you are interested in learning more about how we can help you create a culture of connection in your workplace, please contact us. We would be happy to discuss your specific needs and develop a plan to help you achieve your goals and foster a high-performing and engaged workforce – no matter how dispersed.