Enterprise Strategy Group Launches New Digital Work Study Exploring Employees' Perceptions of Technology and Work

USA - English

• USA - English

MILFORD, Mass., Dec. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), a leading IT analyst, research, and strategy firm, today released new research examining the way people work today and the changing role that technology plays in their work and personal lives.

Based on a survey of more than 1,000 North American full-time employees, the 2019 Digital Work Survey confirms the criticality of technologies such as mobile devices, cloud applications, and collaboration tools to the daily work patterns of all types of employees, regardless of role, seniority, age, or industry. In particular, the report found that as new technologies become more central to workers' day-to-day productivity, employers risk alienating current or prospective employees if they fail to provide a contemporary technology experience for those workers. One in four workers (25%) report that a negative technology experience would impact their decision to leave a job or refuse to accept a new job; a figure that jumps to 30% of workers age 35 and under and 43% of senior managers.

"In today's competitive labor market, many employers are rightly focused on improving the overall employee experience, inclusive of the technology resources provided to workers," said John McKnight, Executive Vice President of Research and Analyst Services at ESG. "Today's workers expect that their employer will provide them with modern applications and devices that help them do their job with a high degree of productivity. For example, we found that younger workers (35 and under) were 6.5 times more likely to be very satisfied with their current job when they had a positive view of their workplace technology. Conversely, just 7% of these younger employees reported being very satisfied when their workplace technology was viewed as subpar. Employers looking to attract and retain these workers and top talent of all ages need to ensure they are delivering the modern tools that today's workers demand."

While employees are increasingly insisting on modern technology, ESG's research also found that many of these workers lack the training required to keep sensitive information safe from a growing range of cybersecurity threats. While more than half of workers (60%) say they are required by their employer to undergo some form of cybersecurity training program, this largely depends on the size and industry sector of that organization. Many workers still don't receive any training whatsoever.

"ESG is excited to publish this new research to help organizations of all types and sizes gain a better understanding of employee technology habits and how they can create unexpected, yet preventable, security vulnerabilities," said Mark Bowker, Senior Analyst at ESG. "Employees are demanding remote work policies, bring-your-own-device programs, and broader use of mobile devices and applications. To remain competitive, employers must enable this modern technology experience while implementing the appropriate endpoint management and security controls, plus associated employee training, needed to protect the organization and its users from security threats."

ESG's 2019 Digital Work Survey will help both users and suppliers of workplace technology understand the changing requirements of the modern workforce. The full report encompasses topics such as employee work patterns, collaboration, devices, applications, and cybersecurity, and includes insights from employees across a range of industries, company sizes, functional groups, seniority levels, and worker types. Key areas of interest from the research include:

Artificial Intelligence

• Most employees are optimistic about artificial intelligence (AI), but concerns around job loss persist. The majority of respondents (52%) are "excited" or "cautiously optimistic" about the technology and feel the benefits will outweigh any downsides, but 23% expressed concern about what AI might mean for their job as automation takes over manual tasks.

Collaboration

• Real-time collaboration is table stakes. 46% of workers often need to collaborate with colleagues on a shared document in real time, while 49% feel the frequency with which they collaborate with colleagues has increased over the last 12-36 months.

Cybersecurity

• Organizations need proper tools and procedures in place to prevent a breach. One in five workers (20%) say they have experienced a cyberattack. Phishing is the most common attack experienced by respondents (57%) followed by malware (39%) and ransomware (17%).
• Employees exhibit risky behavior without proper training. 63% of respondents report using the same password for more than one work device and/or application.
• Remote and mobile workers are particularly at risk. Respondents who work in a coffee shop on a weekly basis, potentially on an insecure Wi-Fi connection, are twice as likely as other workers to report that they have experienced a cybersecurity attack that targeted and/or infected their work applications or devices (38% versus 19%, respectively).

Work-life Balance

• The average worker puts in close to an "extra shift" at home every week. Respondents report an average of six hours of additional work done outside of the office, outside of normal working hours, per week. This increases to an average of nine hours for senior managers.
• A quarter (25%) of employees frequently answer work email while on vacation, with 71% having done it at some point.
• Flexibility is expected for work devices. 54% of workers expect to be able to use the same device (phone, laptop, tablet, etc.) for both business and personal tasks.

For more takeaways from the research or to download the report, please visit ESG's website.

About ESG
Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) is an integrated technology analyst, research and strategy firm providing market intelligence and actionable insight to the global technology community. ESG is increasingly recognized as one of the world's leading and most influential independent analyst firms.

SOURCE Enterprise Strategy Group