If you’re reading this article from the comfort of your home office, you’re living a reality that, until recent years, was the exception for a small minority of workers. Now, many businesses across several industries facilitate hybrid or remote work in one way or another, making the home office a more common setup for people than it once was. However, while technology is the enabler for remote work, workers are feeling disconnected from their colleagues.
This disconnect may be caused by location, as we find ourselves more physically distanced from our co-workers. Yet, amidst the growing ‘return to the office’ movement and concerns that remote and hybrid working may be detrimental to the workforce, it turns out that the feeling of disconnect between colleagues is being caused by something entirely different.
The hidden barrier to employee connection
Recent research from Workato found that only 26% of UK workers felt it was harder to connect with colleagues virtually, and even fewer said that not being in the office with colleagues hindered their ability to collaborate. The data shows that location has very little impact on our ability to feel connected with co-workers. UK workers feel distant from their colleagues for an entirely different reason; there is simply too much work to get done and not enough time.
The unachievable workload, and how it is managed, is stealing time from UK workers that could be spent connecting and building relationships with colleagues, regardless of whether they are in the same room or in an entirely different location. This lack of connection is having a knock-on-effect on employee engagement, leaving individuals feeling isolated and teams struggling to collaborate.
Administrative tasks are contributing to a significant lack of time for UK workers, particularly tasks that are highly repetitive such as internal emails and note-taking; time that could be better spent connecting with colleagues. The research found that almost half of workers felt they would need an additional 30-60 minutes each day dedicated to team building, to feel closer to colleagues. With limited resources and only a certain number of hours available in the working day, UK businesses are struggling to strike a balance between optimizing time and nurturing employee engagement – a challenge that could have a significant impact on the long-term success of their teams.
The role of automation in team connection
Creating more spare time at work doesn’t mean employees will be working less – they will be working smarter. When organizations look to deploy automation technology, they are not only improving efficiency by shaving huge amounts of time taken up by repetitive tasks but also the impact on the people responsible for those tasks. Automation paves the way for bigger-picture thinking, giving employees the headspace to consider their career goals, think about improvements within the business, and plan for future resourcing challenges or obstacles. By shifting from task-based to value-based working, organizations can instill a mutual feeling of empowerment amongst all levels of an organization, in a united effort to strengthen the business and contribute to its long-term success.
While the benefits of automation are compelling, it’s of no use if workers are not on board with the changes. So, how are workers feeling about automation? The feedback is overwhelmingly positive. UK workers are seeing the productivity benefits of automation tools, and the quality of their work is improving, too. Specifically, with the use of automation tools, more than 4 out of 5 people in the UK believe automation is part of the solution to make time for more complex work, and 85% believe it is part of the solution for improving productivity.
Implementing automation allows companies to invest in human relationships to increase efficiency and productivity amongst workers. The benefits stretch beyond just improving the bottom line; employees in the UK value automation as an essential tool to strengthen their quality of work, create stronger relationships with teammates, and put time aside for connecting with team members on a personal level.
When a business consists of a strong, happy team, it naturally creates a ripple effect that leads to happy customers; a winning solution for everyone.
Building a workplace for connection and collaboration
As organisations continue to explore what the future of work looks like, many have to take into consideration how they will foster an environment that allows UK workers to be creative, collaborative, and connected. Acknowledging automation as a path forward for elevating work, people, and culture is crucial to the success of companies, regardless of industry or size. Leaders have the opportunity now to invest meaningful time, resources, and money into their workers to better promote a sense of belonging.
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