Technologies that transformed the workplace forever

We live in interesting times; with each passing moment, technology grows in both capability and complexity. Almost everyone owns a cell phone, and you’d be very hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t heard of Google. Try to imagine a major company that doesn’t use the Internet and you quickly realize how fundamental it is in our thinking. Below we’ve compiled a list of five technologies which have already completely changed the workplace forever.

• Email

It’d be impossible to create a list like this without mentioning email. Before the internet, if you wanted to send someone a message you had to write an actual letter, which would then be physically delivered to the recipient. These days we send multiple messages to family and friends on the other side of the planet within a split second. Never before in human history has it been easier to connect and communicate. These days almost everything is scheduled via email, and the fact that email allows you to send the same message to multiple recipients at once has changed the way that both employers and employees communicate and exchange information.

• Social Media

It’s amazing to think about just how many people spend their time mindlessly scrolling through never-ending timelines of images and text. A manager can now see what one of his/her employees is like outside of work by simply “following” them on Instagram or sending a “friend request” on Facebook. This has created a wealth of social workplace problems never encountered before. Both a blessing and a curse, the use of social media remains a relatively effective way for companies to promote themselves, but due to the lack of genuine privacy, all employees must be conscious and careful of what they say and share on any of their own personal accounts.   

• Patreon

While many technologies have changed the way that we experience the workplace, Patreon has changed what we mean when we say ‘workplace’. Today more than ever, individuals are taking the freelance route, and Patreon provides the first truly solid foundation for anyone who wants to be their own boss. Here’s how it works: A content creator (or anyone with something to offer the world) creates a Patreon account. Regular internet users can then choose to donate money to that creator. Generally speaking, the more money you donate, the more bonuses the creator will give you. Thanks to technologies like Patreon, many more people can afford to abandon the notion of a workplace entirely.

VOIP – Telecommunications

The biggest problem in most companies is a lack of communication. When we don’t communicate we make assumptions, and then mistakes. This lack of interaction has long been a topic of worry for many employers since, as companies grow, it becomes increasingly difficult to be aware of what each employee has to say. These days many take it for granted that they have a telephone on their desk – a telephone which lets them call anyone in the company. This Private Automatic Branch Exchange (PABX) is a massive internal communication network focused on improving the flow of important information. Along with PABX, companies like uThetha Telecoms provide VOIP services, which covers a company with a blanket of internet-based communication. While email does let us send messages to one another, VOIP services go a step further and allow us to exchange ideas, queries, and answers in real-time.

GPS (Global Positioning System)

Let’s not beat around the electronic bush: GPS is amazing. As you read this, there are satellites orbiting the planet which can track your cellphone’s location. These days we often take things like Google Maps for granted, but for the longest time if you had a meeting at a company but didn’t know where it was, there were no satellites in the sky to help you, you had to use a map. For the most part, GPS has taken a lot of the anxiety out of commuting. This freedom of navigation has allowed millions of employees (especially in sales) to reach their destinations and appointments more effectively. This means more clients, more marketing, and, most importantly, more sales.   

In many ways, technology makes life easier, but in other ways it poses a major challenge. We don’t know where technology will take us, and many fear that human workers will eventually become altogether obsolete. This could be great, or it could be terrible. The one thing we shouldn’t do is take technology for granted, and since it is such an integral part of our lives, it only makes sense that we enjoy it.