Workplace Technology Trends in 2022 and Beyond

The post-pandemic workplace in 2022 and beyond will be riding the wave of rapid digital transformation that has been happening over the past two years. Organisations across all industries are prioritising investments in digitalisation and this will continue accelerating over the next 12 to 18 months. Digital transformation has become a necessity, as a result of rising employee expectations and increasing competition to innovate. This will continue playing a crucial role in creating business success, which is increasingly being defined not just by financial profits but also the employee experience.

With organisations relying more heavily on innovative digital infrastructure, IT occupations are rising in demand along with more worker mobility. Moving forward, businesses are looking at human-centred technology initiatives to gain a competitive edge; differentiating themselves by their ability to create the ideal employee experience. Transformation strategies will focus on creating better work environments to increase engagement and productivity.

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Here are five workplace technology trends to watch out for in 2022:

‍Higher Expectations from Workplace Technology

PWC’s research reveals that over 60% of employees spend more time getting technology to work than they’d like. In 2022, organisations will be working on fixing this.

Compared to the consumer devices and apps we use in our daily lives, enterprise solutions have always lagged far behind in terms of performance and usability. Clunky systems and complicated software will no longer be acceptable at work. User expectations for workplace technology have risen and it will be expected to meet consumer technology standards.

Sustainable Hybrid Work Models

This year, 60% of organisations will shift to a hybrid model but a third will fail in their first attempt. Companies that succeed in implementing effective and sustainable hybrid work models will be able to leverage this to recruit and retain the best talent.

Flexible hours and locations have become a key aspect of competitive market demands. According to a Gartner survey, workers reported that flexible work hours were the main reason for their increased productivity. Employees now expect a choice of working in the office, fully remote or a combination of both.

Organisations need to ensure that their technological capabilities can support this by being secure, accessible and efficient.

Improving Collaboration Technology with a Best-of-Breed Approach

With remote work creating increasingly dispersed teams, collaboration tools will be at the forefront in 2022 and beyond. These include project management software, content management systems, file sharing, online communication platforms, asynchronous tools and more.

Organisations are moving away from single suite collaboration experiences and looking to utilise best-of-breed applications to increase employee efficiency. They will be leveraging features and components from different solutions, focusing on optimising performance for each area.

Collaboration technology will be supporting more creative and engaging ways of working online, such as using Virtual Reality (VR) headsets to enter virtual rooms with colleagues and using different tools to brainstorm. They will also be rolling out new features to improve existing capabilities, support tighter integration via APIs and become an integral part of daily work. Workplaces will be increasingly relying on collaboration tools to enhance connection and build team relationships.

More Artificial Intelligence and Automation

More businesses will be using Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), automation and prediction engines. These intelligent technologies will play a key role in all aspects of the business – from customer and employee engagement to driving productivity and operational efficiencies.

Automation will become deeply woven into the organisational structure.

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According to the Harvard Business Review, up to 65% of current managerial tasks have the potential to be automated by 2025.

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This begins with automating repetitive tasks and workflows such as scheduling, approving expense reports and monitoring task completion. The next generation of automation technology will be able to perform more complex tasks like providing performance feedback and building new peer-to-peer connections.

Ubiquitous Computing

Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella says that we are entering an era of ubiquitous computing and ambient intelligence. Indeed, with the proliferation of smart devices and AI assistants in our daily lives, these will also enter our work lives, creating more streamlined and simplified experiences in the workplace.

More buildings and workplaces are going to harness ubiquitous computing and smart features to enhance user experience, creating more efficient and comfortable work environments. This is not just to streamline processes and reduce administration. Employees will also start having more personalised digital workplaces based on their habits and preferences. AI will be in the background helping them find information more intuitively across multiple platforms. As younger generations enter the workforce, this will increasingly become an expectation in the workplace.

As we enter 2022, organisations are strategically using workplace technology to boost revenue and improve the employee experience. Gain a competitive advantage by learning how to create a workplace of the future for your business today.