.png)
Our relationship with technology has probably changed more in the past 18 months than it has in the past ten years. “Despite the terrible circumstances, the pandemic has given us the push we needed to reframe our relationship with technology, allowing us to fundamentally change the way we live, work and play,” argues Dave Coplin in a thought-piece titled "Technology should free us up to be more human" for The Access Group as part of their Emotionally Charged report series.
Coplin explains: “Millions of workers have finally discovered the opportunities (and some challenges) provided by flexible working, which for the most part gives people more control over both their work and personal lives. The irony for me is that the technology that makes this possible has been with us for almost a decade, we just lacked the ability to fully understand what it could do for us.”
Coplin believes organisations and workers have emerged from the devastation of the pandemic with renewed expectations for the potential that technology can deliver for the world of work. “Through adversity we have discovered how a richer relationship with technology can empower us to have better experiences across all aspects of our lives, and this will continue to shape our expectations and ambitions for the foreseeable future. Employers and brands need to understand this and build this heightened ambition into the plans they have to empower employees and customers,” says Coplin.
“Of course, technology can help us find a balance, but in itself, that’s not really the answer. If we want to help strike the right balance, we all need to work together to make proactive choices about what we do and how we use the technology.
“As employers, we need to be mindful of the culture we create, and how we place expectations on our teams and employees to use the technology. We have to find their perfect balance so they can provide their best value to both the organisation and themselves. Equally, as individuals, we need to be accountable to ourselves about how we use technology to empower us to do better at work, and ultimately better at home. When used well, technology should free us up to enjoy more human experiences,” says Coplin.
But, he stresses technology can’t do it alone: “It requires us to do the right thing in order to make it possible. It’s about how we can harness the potential of technology to deliver better, more human results for all of us.”
Read more about how Technology should free us up to enjoy more human experiences in full, here.
Image credit: Alessandro Biascioli via Getty Images
