Last year, we published an article referring to the Top 5 inventions that changed the workplace, today I wanted to talk about the future of technology in the workplace and what this might mean for us.
It would appear with institutions such as Google HQ, Apple and internet sites such as Kickstarter, a website designed for people to display their innovations and have them funded by the general public, people are wondering what will be thought of next and how, as a business, can you keep up?
The Importance of Social Media
Not only is it important for businesses to maintain social networking sites and blog posts for fresh content and possibly a click through, more and more employers are analysing their candidates on social media such as Facebook and Twitter before evaluating if they will offer them a position. With this in mind a recent study has shown that 36% of young people are willing to let their potential employer view their profile pages if it means they will be able to secure a job out of it.
Including social media in your workplace strategy is extremely important if you are just starting up your own business – it can build you a platform for networking with others and allow you to transmit your work or business to a large audience without a tremendous amount of effort.
Technological Movements
It has been predicted that by the year 2020, those currently aged 18-32 will make up half of the global workforce, carrying with them a range of attitudes towards technology.
Having said this, in July of this year, three students from the prestigious MIT University in America built a 3D printer that can produce edible ice cream in any shape – so now we can print ice cream? Whatever next…
Well, there has also been the introduction of 3D-printed shoe collection, which has been suggested could bring manufacturing waste down to near zero – watch the video of one of the shoes being printed here.
What’s more, smart phones and tablets are constantly being updated and released almost every year, each time with something that has made it more technologically savvy than the last, which are becomingly increasingly used in the workplace in order to carry out video conferencing, presentations and emailing.
The Future
It is vital to acknowledge that young people are the future, and their innovations and ideas may help to progress your business. On the other hand, Google, Facebook and Twitter have, for the first time, released diversity figures regarding their employment, which read hugely uneven with women only filling 17%, 15% and 10% of job roles at each institution respectively.
Surely statistics outlining that girls outperform boys continually in education from key stage 2 up to degree level should lead us to encourage females to pursue roles in the technology industry in order to benefit our organisations?
Although here at The Workplace Depot we don’t sell 3D printers, we do sell just about everything else that your business might need! Visit our website here.
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