Singaporeans love using mobile technology for work

Adopting mobile technology and flexworking in your organisation will not only satisfy your staff's needs for more work-life balance, it can also benefit the business.

According to a global study by The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) sponsored by Aruba, firms rated as pioneers in mobile technology support by their employees saw increases in productivity (16%), creativity (18%), satisfaction (23%), and loyalty (21%), compared to their counterparts that were poorly rated at supporting mobile tech.

The survey also found that such technology has, in fact, made quite a positive impression among staff worldwide today.

It highlighted 42% of firms are using digital collaboration tools that work on mobile to foster collaboration between employees.

These collaboration tools include mobile messaging apps such as Whatsapp which 66% of Singaporeans use for work - the highest in the world.

The increases in productivity and satisfaction were found to be a result of mobile tech being an enabler for employees to work anytime and anywhere with 49% of the 1,865 employees surveyed saying it has greatest impact on their productivity.

Another 38% identified this as having the largest impact on their satisfaction with their employer.

Another reason for an increase in productivity is attributed to the quick access to information mobile technology provides with 42% of staff reporting that this factor has the greatest impact on their productivity levels.

However, only 54% of companies are currently providing access to the company network from any mobile device to support working anywhere in the office or remotely.

Additionally, the survey found that 42% of firms are using digital collaboration tools that work on mobile to foster collaboration between employees. These collaboration tools include mobile messaging apps such as Whatsapp which 31% of organisations globally and 66% of those in Singapore use for work.

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This increase in the ability to collaborate was rated by 38% of respondents as the most important factor affecting creativity while another third of respondents said it has the greatest impact on their loyalty.

“The opportunity and the challenge here is to marry employee demands for remote working with team collaboration,” Chris Kozup, vice president of marketing at Aruba said.

“The rise in mobile collaboration tools presents new ways for businesses to keep teams together and working effectively, even if they are physically apart. It’s clear that companies who are able to do this are in a better place to attract and retain the best employees.”

With collaborative work environments being on the rise, the report also found that 46% of companies now offer employees a hot-desking environment with mobile connectivity at any location. The UK offers the highest level of hot-desking (54%) followed by Australia and Germany (both 53%).

This hot-desking environment was cited by 32% of staff, to be the biggest contributing factor to their creativity while a further 29% declare that workplace flexibility makes the biggest difference to their loyalty.

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