Three Trends Have Changed the Work Environment

The IT fallacy

In recent years, three trends have changed the work environment, making work non-stop without time for taking a breather. They are downsizing, globalization and the need for speed.

Talking about downsizing, it should be said that it is resulted is cramping more work into fewer people. So the environment is becoming pressure-cooker because everyone should “do more with less”, that is with less time and budget. Globalization also requires lower cost structure because of global competition, that’s why companies have to keep budgets and headcounts lower. As a result of this fierce competition companies are forced to do everything faster and speedy.

Problems arisen from this three-trend mix requires solution, and most managers find it in investment in IT equipment and services that will boost productivity and profits. But it is the IT fallacy to be too optimistic about IT as a solution for all problems, because there are several important drawbacks and problems related to IT that should be taken into account.

The first problem is that IT development in company requires huge initial investment in training and “system integration” because systems and processes that the technology is meant to automate should be overhauled. And if there is no more speed and output per employee, people will be just forced to work longer hours.

The second problem is spending more time on work and tasks that are extra and irrelevant in accordance to main job duties. For example, although using Power Point enables employees to produce professional presentations without graphic artists, most of them spend too much time making slide presentations leaving less time available for more important aspects of the job.

In conclusion, it should be said that in spite of being a very productivity tool, IT force people to cope with more pressure, tight deadlines and non-stop work in all spheres and activities.