Challenges of the Modern Workplace
The need to enhance employee productivity is an aspect no business should ignore. In the modern workplace, evolving technologies presents a massive opportunity for a more fluid work environment, transforming what productivity looks like, and empowering employees to work smarter.
According to a recent study by Avanade, many business players see potential disadvantages of failure to modernize the workplace. About 80% believe that the lack of upgrading IT systems hurts the long-term growth of an organization. Similarly, more than 85% of IT experts believe that workplace modernization is key to attracting and retaining employees in any organization.
The workplace continues to evolve with modern tools to meet the needs of both employees and employers. But this comes with its share of challenges. Let’s explore some of them.
Challenges of the Modern Workplace
A changing workforce, productivity, money, and reliance on mobile devices are among the major issues practically every employer encounter. The magnitude of these issues depends on how receptive the employer is to change and whether they’re open to new ideas to resolve some of these challenges. Here is a more in-depth look at some key problems present in the modern workplace.
Freelance and remote workers
The existence of mobile devices and Wi-Fi have made it possible for workers to complete tasks outside the traditional office. In the process of growth, companies add independent contractors, freelancers, and full-time workers to their workforce. A report from International Data Corporation (IDC) indicates that mobile workers will account for about three-quarters (72.3%) of the entire U.S. workforce by 2020. This a huge increase so we expect to see more changes on the way.
Working remotely has enormous benefits as it introduces a more flexible schedule for employees. But it poses a significant challenge of managing these employees because of the distance.
Managers realize that managing remote workers requires a new approach. It’s hard to manage workers who aren’t physically on-premises which means they have to take extra time to learn more about each one of them. The main aim of making it work is to ensure there is a cohesive working relationship that keeps both the employers and employees happy.

Workload management
When it comes to service delivery, many people work for a lot of hours. Among the industrialized countries, the U.S. tops in terms of the number of hours worked annually. It’s estimated that an average employee in America works 1800 hours per year -that’s 400 more hours than a Norwegian worker. This can be attributed to the fact that U.S. workers are required to more than employees in other nations. Their heavy workload is likely to contribute to their lousy time management skills.
When an employee has so much on their plate, it becomes hard to confine everything in the normal eight-hour workday. It is even worse for a worker who is settling into a new job and trying to adjust to their new responsibilities.
Adoption of productivity tools that helps in automation of most tasks can help reduce the workload and improve efficiency.
Files management
