Effects of Technology on workers



Effects of technology on workersAssignment 2 JoAnne LorenteStudent No.4872263Submitted in partial fulfillment of The requirements for ADED 4F34Work in learning organizations Bachelor of Education/Certificate in Adult Education ProgramCentre for Adult Education and Community Outreach Faculty of Education, Brock UniversitySt. Catharines, Ontario Facilitator Name: Sheila Mcintosh B.Ed. M.A. October 21, 2012 This paper will explore the pros and cons of technology on workers. In assignment 1 OrganizationX was introduced and is faced with having to implement new software and hardware technology for their computer system. They have 6 weeks to do this task for all 70 workers employed there. In addition to this new learning they must work their normal shifts to honour their current contracts. The end result is an increased workload as employees have to learn the new system while managing the current workload. In the workplace there is not only computer technology but landline phones with voicemail and hand held smart phones with voicemail, email and text capacities as well as faxes. All of these devices generate work that must be completed. The achievement of incorporating new technology is important because the company cannot compete with its current technology. There is an opportunity here for OrganizationX to be able to compete on a broader market and increase its profits by doing so. There is also a problem that workload may affect its workers in a negative way not only now while they are learning but by increasing their workload on an ongoing basis given the increased sophistication of the software and hardware being installed. In assignment 1 my research question was introduced as, what are the positive and negative effects of technology on the workforce? In this paper I will set out to prove the thesis that technology does have both positive and negative effects on workers both personally and professionally,The importance of technology to business and economyProductivity depends on the employee, the employer and the industry in which they work. Firm survival and productivity depend on computers. Information and communication technology (ICT) has assisted Canadian companies to reach not only those markets within Canada but those outside of Canada (Moshiri & Simpson, 2011). Business in Canada has to address a population of 32 million people scattered in urban and remote regions across 10 million square kilometers (Moshiri et. al. 2011 p. 1603). Canada ranks in the top five by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in different ICT indices, and spend about 6% of its gross domestic product on ICT, which is about 2% of the world’s ICT spending (World Information Technology and Service Alliance (WITSA) as cited by Moshiri & Simpson 2011, p 1603). “Globalization is technology driven” (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007 p.11) and globalization has made the world “one big shopping mall”. (Merriam et.al. p.12) This is the context in which OrganizationX has to work, being a small Canadian company in the software industry trying to survive in a national and international market. Technology allows the world to be the market as opposed to a smaller market that may have only been able to be reached by phone or travel in the past. With the capacity to reach and see people on computer devices it is less necessary to travel which puts small business on a more level playing field and saves the cost associated with travel which is substantial. This justifies the investment in ICT. ICT devices can also increase the amount each employee may be able to accomplish as it allows for more efficient methods of keeping track of work and allows for more than one task to be done at one time. Canada has been slower to adopt computer based information technology in comparison to the United States and this has produced a productivity gap between the two (Alexopoulos & Cohen, 2012). If Canadian companies are to be competitive they will have to keep up with the sophistication of technology and the ease of communication that this can bring. Positive Effects of Technology in the WorkplaceIt has already been mentioned that with the influence of globalization it is imperative that business adopt more sophisticated computer technology. (Merriam et.al.2007, Moshiri & Simpson, 2011, Alexopoulos & Cohen, 2012) A more knowledgeable workforce is required to operate and understand more sophisticated equipment. It follows then that the worker benefits from technology because in order to keep up with the increasing sophistication the employee must keep up their skill. Having opportunity to upgrade skill is a benefit for the employees of OrganizationX. There is a team building that can go on in learning as a group as well that this organization may benefit from. When employees don’t challenge themselves to learn they can become stagnant and set in their ways and this can cause further workplace stress whenever change is proposed (Williams 2003, Harris & Marett 2011). OrganizationX, if they have not already done so must adopt the learning principles of a learning organization. A learning organization for the purpose of discussion in this paper will be defined according to the five learning principles described in the “Fifth Discipline”. The principles are: Personal mastery, which involves expanding personal capacity developing goals and purpose. Mental models which involves looking at how we think about the world, which unless we continually reflect and improve can inhibit what we can accomplish. Shared vision which means doing for the common good and not just individual accomplishment.Team learning which means that the whole organization can learn from each other and grow. Systems thinking, which helps individuals see their interrelationships and how they shape behaviour and help all to act more in tune with the larger processes of the natural and economic world. (Senge, Ross, Kleiner, Roberts, & Smith, 1994 p.6) To achieve the learning goals needed to implement this new technology OrganizationX will benefit not just from the learning required to implement but also from these five learning principles being engrained in the ongoing learning that will be required for this small company to grow. The relevance this has to incorporating technology in the organization is that staff will now have to see the broader market as their client. This may incorporate examining their mental models, looking at a shared vision and systems thinking. The effect of learning this technology then will improve their personal growth and should if implemented well, give them better job satisfaction when they see how they and their business improves. It may also bring higher pay as more skilled employment is usually associated with higher pay (Brody & Rubin Beth A., 2011 p.172). New technology may also provide more flexibility in that there may be more ability to work from home if the employee wishes or if children are sick etc. Assuming the group will be learning from each other as well as any learning material they are given in written or e-learning format, this team will be developing more efficient skills and a greater trust in each other. In summary the positives of incorporating technology into the workplace for OrganizationX are:Making work less labour intensive and efficient which should help the employee in accomplishing work related goals of productivity in less timeBy increasing the bottom line of the company and increasing skills they may also increase their pay and feel more engaged to keep their skills upBy improving profits it may also provide more job security and perhaps the possibility of bonuses which can improve motivation.It may decrease the amount of travel required to communicate with clients which can be hard on families and dangerous in bad weather It could reduce the amount of paper trail that employees have to keep track of due to more efficient methods of sending and receiving information It can promote a stronger sense of team since communication can happen with more ease and in more locations as well as the mentoring of helping each other through the learning process Negative Effects of Technology on WorkersIt would seem that from an economic perspective technology is in no way negative to the realm of business and economics as a whole. To the worker are some benefits but do they outweigh the negatives that can also result from technology. In this section of this paper we will explore the negative effects of technology on workers. Workload Stress The need for more knowledgeable workers in the IT field is supported throughout the literature as well as the need to for individuals in the workplace to have more sophisticated computer skills. (Habtu, 2003, Merriam, et.al. 2007, Moshiri & Simpson, 2011, Alexopoulos & Cohen, 2012, Chung & Khan 2012,) That being said, computers and other ICT devices have been incorporated into work to reach more of the outside world but also in some cases making employers able to reach their staff and require more work from them after working hours. This workplace overload is a major source of workplace stress (Druxbury and Higgins as cited by Williams, 2003, Rajabzadeh, Nejadirani, Soroodian, & Kermani, 2011). The information that is received is not always relevant and the worker must then sift through what they need for the work and discard what they do not (Rajabzadeh et.al.2011). This in itself can be very time consuming. “Information overload has been found to be a major cause of workplace stress in 60% of managers” (Rajabzadeh et. al. 2011 p.353). Stress in the workplace can lead to absenteeism. The Canadian Policy Research Networks (as cited by Williams, 2003) estimated that stress related absences cost employers about 3.5 billion each year. The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine reports “health costs are 50% greater for workers who report high levels of stress” (Williams, 2003 p.1). Cruikshank (2008) explored workload and participants indicated their workload had increased with the use of technology and made it necessary for them to work faster. One participant went as far as to say that” unless you are really disciplined you are never really unplugged” (Cruikshank, 2008, p.53).Effects of InactivityAs we sit on computers working longer and often into our home hours as well, we run a greater risk of developing chronic diseases. Unless we are disciplined, we could end up sitting all day and all evening too. Lack of self-reported occupational or leisure time activity was cited as a major contributing cause of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and stroke (Blair & Brodney, 1999 p.646). All of these diseases can severely impair or even cause death and so the inactivity of technology based work should not be overlooked in the workplace. Job LossAccording to data collected by Cooke (2003) the IT sector has experienced a loss of jobs. According to Cooke’s data in 2000-2002 there were over 600,000 jobs lost in the U.S. He goes on to say that the “outsourcing of jobs in this industry to foreign sources that pay far less than the U.S. means it is unlikely that these jobs will return” ( as cited by Chung & Khan, 2012, p.372). Job loss has been a reality not only in the IT industry but in workplaces in every sector. To keep employment, skills have to be constantly upgraded and each employee has to keep pace with higher expectations (Vicente-Lorente & Zurlinga-Vicente, 2012 ). The competitive nature of not only obtaining a job but keeping one is a reality for the workforce today. Job loss not only affects the individual but the family and economy too. 17.6% of children in Canada are living in poverty (Cruikshank, 2008, p.51). There has been what Cruikshank terms as a “polarized society” created because there is high end high paying jobs and low end low paying jobs and nothing in-between. Those that do hold decent paying jobs do require some form of computer skills and are required to increase the skills as the job requires. Even in low paying jobs as in the service industry, food orders, cash registers, booking departments, etc. all work on computer based technology. Those who have jobs want to keep them even if they may not be truly happy with them. Job insecurity was cited as a fear for workers and also as a reason for “workers not standing up for themselves” (Cruikshank, 2008, p.56). It would seem then that the incorporation of technology and the increased speed at which work comes in and out of the workplace has created a set of problems that have not been adequately addressed. Psychological Effects of Technology in the workplaceEarlier discussion in this paper explored the effects of higher information volume and how this has contributed to higher stress levels. There are other psychological effects of not being able to turn off work and not being able to be “unplugged”. The effect of technological demands of work flowing into family life has caused negative effects as well. Work-family life (WFL) is influenced when technology based work spills over into the home environment. When this happens interpersonal interactions are decreased both at home and at work because of the time spent reading and prioritizing information as well as the tasks of responding to the work (Harris & Marett, 2011). The pressure that this places on a family and subsequently on the worker increases anxiety and also makes workers more at risk for depression as well (Williams, 2003). These disorders can lead to insomnia and sleep deprivation which is just another problem that can then spill into how well a worker can manage the pressures of their workload. Downsizing that has occurred in part from the incorporation of technology can contribute to the psychological/emotional commitment of workers as well. If they feel that they are not valued then their motivation and commitment to the organization becomes at risk .In addition to this, there are some who believe that the blur between home and personal time has actually created and “immediacy” type of behaviour, as there is an expectation that a response comes immediately after and email is sent (Brody & Rubin, 2011, p.171). Human Rights Perspective of Technology on WorkersWe have touched on some human rights issues in this paper that were related to technologies influences on job loss and in some cases child poverty. There was also reference made in Jane Cruikshank’s (2008) article regarding the “polarization” that has occurred as there are only good paying high skilled jobs and low paying low skill jobs left (p.51). There are some however that would go as far as to say that technology has created a fourth world set of countries. Those countries that cannot invest in technology because they are too poor to do so and therefore have developed a black market economy in drug trafficking, illegal arms, smuggling money and laundering and commerce in women and children or human organ for transplant (Walters, 1999, p.147). Walters suggests that with the technological influx and the changes it has made to the economy there was not the development of policies to protect the rights of those in poor countries where to make a living at all your are at the mercy of those who have power. It would follow that there are many negatives that technology can bring to workers. If OrganizationX wants technology incorporated and only wants the benefits and not the negatives there will clearly need to be some clear guidelines for implementation, an examination of the culture of the organization and the power it gives its employees to balance work and home life, perhaps some new methods of tracking the obstacles and successes of implementation so that revision can occur as needed, some reassurance from the employer that jobs will not be lost and opportunities to learn new skills will be supported. Conclusion The thesis that was to be proven in this paper was “technology has both positive and negative effects on workers”. It would seem from the literature review presented that the positives stem from increasing markets therefore increasing profits. This in turn could improve job security for its employees, improve their self mastery skills by having to learn and keep up skills, increase team building by the need to help each other learn, allow less labour intensive methods of managing work and decrease the need to travel to communicate with clients., There was also the possibility of enabling more flexibility in where the work is completed. Adversely there were also many negatives that were presented such as; increased chronic disease due to inactivity, job stress due to too much demand and job instability, increase problems with home relationships related to increased work demands, fear of job loss just to name a few. Brody and Rubin, (2011) suggest that older workers tend to value loyalty more than younger workers and that loyalty is higher in companies that give workers more control over their workplace (p.186). That being said, since OrganizationX has 50% of its staff over 50 there is an opportunity for them to utilize what may already be a strong loyalty, motivation and commitment to create jointly new clear policies that workers have helped to develop. Walters (1999) discussed the responsibility of business to invest in the worker so that there is not just a benefit to business but to society as well (p.250). Policies clearly defining hours of work, overtime, production targets and expectations can go a long way in decreasing stress. Providing an exercise room or gym memberships to encourage staff to remain active even during work hours would enhance a feeling that the organization cares about their health. Hosting family events that promote the importance of family time would create a culture of balance. The 2001 Canadian Mental Health Survey (as cited by Williams, 2003) found that when reasonable demands are placed on workers they work better (p.9). OrganizationX is a relatively small company so it has the ability to redesign jobs if necessary to accommodate new demands. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (as cited by Williams, 2003) believes that jobs should be reasonably demanding, with at least a minimum of variety in job tasks, that employees should be able to learn on the job, and that the job should allow some decision making(p.9). If stress does become an issue the employer could invest in some sort of employee assistance program (EAP) but also ensure an open communication to speak to the manager about any stresses that might be building before they become a problem. Rosolen, (2002) criticized E.A.P. stating they only deal with the “symptom” and not the “cause” (as cited by Williams, 2003, p.9). Management in OrganizationX will have to watch and monitor the climate and coping of its staff to ensure they address early signs and symptoms of stress and promote a culture of balance. This paper explored literature related to positive and negative effects on workers. It is clear that if employers want to, they can enable their staff to decrease if not eliminate some of the stresses technology can bring. The environment and culture of the workplace can either promote negative stress or impede it. As a society we all are responsible for ensuring that technology does not take over our lives. Morally we must ensure that human rights are protected and that while communication technology allows for a broader reach, we do not lose the human face of communication and team support that the human touch can provide. We choose how we incorporate technology into our lives and also who we work for. Smart employers that recognize the cost of poor implementation and the effects of long standing unreasonable work demands on staff that might otherwise be very productive will do well to ensure a solid structure that clearly spells out work expectations and rewards those with good work life balance habits. ReferencesAlexopoulos, M., & Cohen, J. (2012, Spring). The effects of computer technologies on the Canadian economy:. International Productivity Monitor, (23), 17-30.Blair, S. N., & Brodney, S. (1999). Effects of physical inactivity and obesity on morbidity and mortality:: Current evidence and research issues. Medicine and Science In Sports and Exercise, 646-662.Brody, C., & Rubin Beth A. (2011). Generational differences in the effects of insecurity, restructured workplace temporalities, and technoloy on organizational loyalty. Sociological Spectrum, 31, 163-192.Chung, H. M., & Khan, M.B. (2012). The effects of outsourcing of information technology on employment of computer professional in the United States. International Journal of Management, 29(3), 371-382.Cruikshank, J. (2008). Lifelong learning and the new economy:: Limitations of market model. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 27(1), 51-69.Habtu, R. (2003). Information technology workers. Retrieved Oct.10 2012 from , K. J., & Marett, K. (2011). Technology-related pressure and work-Family conflict:: Main effects and an examination of moderating variables. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 41(9), 2077-2103.Merriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Moshiri, S., & Simpson, W. (2011). Information technology and the changing workplace in Canada:: Firm-level evidence. Industrail and corporate change, 20(6), 1601-1636.Rajabzadeh, A., Nejadirani, F., Soroodian, R., & Kermani, R. A. (2011). Inforamtional. Ausralian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 12(5), 353-359.Senge, P., Ross, R., Kleiner, A., Roberts, C., & Smith, B. (1994). The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization. New York: Doubleday.Vicente-Lorente, J., & Zurlinga-Vicente, J. A. (2012). Effects of process and product-oriented innovations on employee downsizing. International Journal of Manpower, 33(4), 383-401.Walters, G. J. (1999). Information Technoloogy, work and human development:: A human rights perspective. Canadian Journal of Development Studies, 20(2), 225-253.Williams, C. (2003). Sources of workplace stress. Perspectives on Labour and income, 4(6), 1-11. ................
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