Majority of workers are optimistic that automation will enhance their work life balance

UK workers are largely optimistic about the impact automation will have in the workplace, with three in four believing it will give them more time to concentrate on their primary job duties and work more flexibly, claims new research. Workfront’s annual State of Enterprise Work report, which aims to capture not only how work is being done and what challenges office workers see in the present, but also how they see current workplace trends playing out in the near future reveals that 84 percent agreed with the sentiment that “the use of automation in the workplace will let us think of work in new and innovative ways.” 82 percent expressed excitement at the chance “to learn new things as the workforce moves toward more automation;” and while the overwhelming view on automation was positive, around 2 in 5 (38 percent) feared that rising automation will place humans and robots in competition for the same jobs in the future.

Alex Shootman, President and CEO of Workfront commented: “Popular culture may depict automation in dystopian terms, but the reality is that the majority of workers are optimistic about automation because they understand how it helps them focus on high-value tasks at work.

“British workers are currently spending only 40 percent of their time on their primary duties because email and status meetings take up the bulk of their working week. Implementing solutions like Workfront, that facilitate collaboration and provide complete visibility, means teams no longer have to spend precious time in excessive status meetings or sorting through emails, which ultimately gives them back time to be more productive.”

Other key findings from Workfront’s 2017 State of Enterprise Work report included:

• Flexibility is on the rise  More and more companies are seeing the benefits of allowing their team members to work outside the office and outside standard business hours. Four in five office workers now have the ability to use flexitime. 63 percent also believe the traditional office hours will cease to exist in the future.
• Emails are still a pain The percentage of workers blaming excessive emails for getting in the way of their work rose from 52 percent last year to 61 percent this year with UK workers having an average of 134 unopened emails in their inboxes at any given time.
• No thinking outside the box. 48 percent of UK workers find the term ‘think outside the box’ to be the most overused office buzzword. In a distant second was ‘Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it’ at 21 percent.
• Ready to roll. Despite the many changes expected to arrive in the next 5 years, 77 percent of workers say they feel ‘prepared for the workplace of the future.’

Click here to view the full report