How technology affects the work environment

Technology is increasingly becoming an indispensable part of the modern working environment, bringing many benefits to both enterprises and employees, thereby improving the quality and performance of employees and promoting the development of enterprises in general. However, besides the undeniable benefits that technology brings, technology also poses challenges and influences on the working environment that we can not ignore. From using personal computers to connecting via the Internet, technology has changed the way we work and interact with each other. However, does reliance on technology create a positive work environment or bring negative effects? How Technology Affects the Work Environment will provide readers with an overview of how technology affects the work environment and ways to take advantage of the benefits of technology in a sustainable way.

1. Popular technology applications are now applied in enterprises

• CRM – Customer Relationship Management System, BI – Business Intelligence, ERP – Enterprise Resource Management System

On their growing digital transformation journey, enterprises are using a wide range of popular technology applications to enhance performance and optimise business operations. Among them, a customer relationship management (CRM) system plays an important role in enhancing customer interaction and optimising marketing strategy. By using CRM, businesses can track customer information, personalise interactions, and build effective marketing strategies.

In addition, data analytics and Business Intelligence (BI) tools are also being widely applied to help businesses better understand their data and make decisions based on accurate information. The application of BI helps businesses analyse trends, forecast and optimise business processes.

Moreover, enterprise resource management (ERP) systems also play an important role in integrating business processes and effective resource management. By using ERP, businesses can optimise production processes, warehouse management, and finance flexibly and efficiently.

• Chatbot, AI

In addition to the long-standing technologies above, artificial intelligence (AI) plays an increasingly important role in creating new value and opportunities for businesses. AI technology is applied in automating processes, predicting trends, optimising business decisions, and providing personalised experiences to customers.

In addition, chatbots based on natural language processing technologies such as GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) are also becoming a popular tool in providing automated support to customers and employees. Chatbots can interact with humans naturally, help answer questions, process service requests and provide information quickly and efficiently.

Combining AI and GPT Chat in the enterprise not only helps optimise the process but also creates a better experience for customers and employees. This combination helps businesses automate repetitive tasks, provide 24/7 customer service, and enhance business agility.

• Apps that support remote work

Apps that support remote work have contributed to changing the working environment of a large part of office employees. Specifically, through the use of remote working applications such as online meeting platforms such as Google Meet, Teams or Zoom…and by setting up an online document storage server of the enterprise, now employees can provide their services to the company more flexibly, quickly and conveniently while still ensuring efficiency. Especially in the current post-COVID-19 pandemic context, when remote working becomes more popular than ever, flexible working combining remote working and working in the office or working full-time remotely has become a demand for many employees and businesses. Therefore, the application of technology to the working environment in the current era is extremely necessary and indispensable to ensure the normal operation of businesses and the work of employees.

In addition to applications for meetings, online messaging, a type of remote working application that is also very popular and useful is remote desktop control software such as Teamview or Ultraview. These applications allow employees to directly operate on other people’s computers or share their own screens, giving them more flexibility in exchanging work without having to meet colleagues face-to-face at the office.

In short, apps that support remote work have played an important role in creating a flexible, productive, and connected work environment for employees. This online meeting platform not only helps them work efficiently regardless of location and space but also creates convenience and operational cost savings for businesses.

2. The impact of technology on the working environment

• The positive effects of technology on the working environment

Working remotely

Technology has had significant positive effects on the working environment. First, technology enhances flexibility and saves employees time. Thanks to remote working tools and technology applications, employees can work from any location while maintaining high productivity. This not only helps to reduce traffic jams and environmental pollution, time-consuming due to daily commutes but also facilitates employees to balance work and personal life.

For businesses, the effective implementation of remote working also increases the ability to recruit talented personnel to contribute to the development of the company without worrying about geographical issues. Enterprises can also save most of the operating costs for renting a place for employees to work as well as other costs incurred such as electricity, water and management costs… If arranged for employees to work remotely.

Optimising workspace and resources

In addition, technology also helps optimise workspaces and resources more efficiently. Information and data management systems such as CRM/BI/ERP have helped organisations store information scientifically, minimising the use of paper and printed materials, thereby limiting loss and other risks of loss. The use of electronic devices such as computers, printers, and smart office equipment also saves energy and minimises the amount of waste from the office.

Workflow optimisation

Chatbot/AI or GPT Chat can assist in automating repetitive tasks, helping to minimise time and effort for employees. This not only helps increase productivity but also helps reduce stress for employees, thereby creating a more positive work environment. Moreover, thanks to the unique features as well as the ability to access and analyse data quickly and with relative accuracy, employees have been able to minimise time and also have clear bases based on data analysis from Chatbot/AI to optimise decision-making time.

The emergence of Chatbot / AI has supported leaders in planning strategies and business plans quickly. Based on the collection of data from all accessible sources, Chatbot/AI can be present as a powerful assistant for leaders in organising and making choices.

From the positive support for employees in the working process, the increase in productivity is an inevitable result of the application of technology in the working environment. Since then, the relationships between employees’ personal lives and work results have gradually improved and have a strong impact on each other.

• Challenges and negative effects of technology on the work environment

The growing technology has brought many positive changes to the working environment such as enhancing work efficiency, creating more opportunities for collaboration and communication. However, there are also challenges and negative effects that technology brings. Some technologies such as Chat GPT and CRM have created unintended impacts on employees and the work environment.

One of the major challenges that technology brings is the feeling of isolation and pressure for employees.

With the development of Chat GPT and CRM, communication between humans and machines is becoming more and more popular. This can lead to employees feeling a lack of connection and communication with colleagues, causing loneliness and mental pressure, creating an undynamic work environment that leads to employees not committing to long-term contributions to the business.

Security challenges

Protecting critical information from threats from hackers and employees is a major challenge for businesses. A small mistake can lead to the leakage of important information, causing unforeseen losses to the business. Moreover, the use of information technology also sometimes encounters security problems. Computer systems, databases, and software applications can be subject to external attacks, threatening the security of business data. To solve this problem, businesses need to invest in modern security solutions and train employees in information protection. However, the protection of business information comes not only from the use of information technology but also from building an information security culture within the organisation. This requires attention from top management to each employee in the enterprise, actively developing and promulgating policies on the use and security of equipment and information technology applications to avoid the risk of disclosing business secrets.

Above is the general content related to the How Technology Affects the Working Environment that Phuoc and Partners share with readers. If you have any difficulties related to the legal field, please contact us. Phuoc & Partners is a law professional consulting firm established in Vietnam and which currently has nearly 100 members working in offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Danang. Phuoc & Partners is also considered one of the leading law firms with specialised staff in the legal field in Vietnam, whose practice areas are ranked first in the legal market such as Labour and Employment, Taxes, Mergers and Acquisitions as well as Litigation. We are confident to be one of the Law Firms providing the best legal services to clients.