Technology is progressing at an incredibly rapid rate. While most are aware of the seemingly incessant technological development, they are unaware of the critical risks that these modern developments pose. Current discussions regarding technological growth tend to assert that advancements leads to the destruction and loss of jobs as well as the idea that technological advancements lead to unsatisfied and underperforming employees as they are not equipped with the skills, knowledge, or training necessary to excel in such a rapidly changing workforce. While new and innovative technology may very well lead to the commonly discussed issues mentioned above, a significant risk has yet to be adequately explored and defined. This risk, posed by technological growth, is a decrease or lack of employee engagement. Technology, arguably, greatly affects employee engagement. This, in turn, negatively impacts manager-employee relations as employee engagement becomes an emotional and psychological matter. Organizations cannot properly function if manager-employee relations prove to be dysfunctional. With that being said, a lack of employee engagement tends to stem from a lack of trust, the feeling of lost support, and low self-esteem, all of which seem to be byproducts of ever-changing technology and the pressure that these advances place on employees.
It’s a well-known fact that trust is the foundation to all relationships; this includes the relationship between managers and employees. Trust is essential for the workplace to be fully functional and collaborative. With trust comes more voluntary contributions and hard work from employees, thus boosting and fueling employee engagement. We can all agree that building trust requires time and patience, but there are a few tips for companies and organizations to get started. Research by Hunt (2017) offers several ways to help boost employee engagement, starting with trust. The importance of building trust is emphasized, and the following steps are proposed. First, invigorate your employees, give them a sense of purpose and reason behind why they are there and are valuable. Let them know what their contributions mean to the workplace. Immerse yourself (as a manager), let your employees know how involved you are as well. This promotes accountability and shows you can be trusted. In addition, it is useful to create an environment that includes everyone, welcomes participation and seeks out various opinions and ideas. This lets employees know that their voices are heard and that their opinion matters. It makes them feel fully a part of the team and a part of the workplace. The steps mentioned previously can, arguably, drastically affect a business’s opportunity and likelihood to succeed. This success is attributed to built trust and the positive relations between managers and employees resulting from it.
With the rise of technology and its introduction to the workplace, past research focused on examining the impact of the addition of technology on labor behavior and performance in a business workplace. Specifically looking into the engagement of both managers and employees in a tech-workplace, research by Arakawa and Greenburg (2007) identifies the great influence managers have on the well-being of those employed and the significant impact of well-being on employee performance. Managers have the ability to structure a workplace that has recently incorporated unfamiliar technology strategies by broadening employee awareness and encouraging original, exploratory thoughts. This can influence the building of an individual’s physical, intellectual and social performance behaviors (Arakawa and Greenberg, 2007). It is suggested that this can be done by fully understanding the implications of unfamiliar additions to the workplace, like technology. In addition, top-performing managers perform most efficiently when they prioritize the individual needs of their employees. Arakawa and Greenberg (2007), mentioned previously, use previous research to navigate a specific investigation where they observe the influence that managers have on team productivity and employee engagement in an IT Corporation where technology evolves rapidly. The individuals behind this specific investigation hypothesized that manager coordination positively correlates with the engagement of employees and their productivity levels. From this investigation, researchers claim a significant correlation between manager-to-employee engagement and project performance when observed within a technology-influenced workplace. Interestingly, employee and manager optimism are said to be the driving forces of a significant association between employee engagement and productivity performance. With more research, organizations and individuals can better understand the reasoning for workplace behavior and, therefore, adjust regulations and proceedings in order to perform better.
There are many factors that lead to having an effective and efficient workplace, and many of them relate directly to employee self-esteem. Having a boss who cares, and employees who understand that they are trusted and are a respected part of the team, leads to higher self-esteem. Having an employee with low self-esteem can put a negative shroud on the work environment. Low self-esteem can lead to depression, low motivation and low performance at work. Seeing as technology can play a part in employee depression, low motivation and low performance, it is recommended that managers use available technology to implement appropriate reward systems. Advancements in technology make it is easier to give praise and reward the employees that are doing their work to the best of their abilities. Hamlin (2019) suggests that, in a business scenario, having a reward system in place can boost motivation by nearly eighty percent and having technology that can track performance and give feedback helps both the employer and the employees. There are many systems that have evolved through advances in technology that allows the employees to give feedback to leadership on how to make them happier and, therefore more productive, while also enjoying and thriving in their working environment.
In conclusion, we can see just how much of an impact that technology has in a workplace. The variable that is regularly affected through advancing technology in a workplace is the relationship between employees and managers. We have discussed the different ways in which engagement is affected in the relationship in terms of trust, self-esteem and productivity. These are vitally important to the function of a company because if these principles are not given the proper attention, or bogged down by the addition of technology, then it can have a drastic effect on the overall health, and success of a business. With the addition of rising technology in the workplace, managers need to do their best to be able to put time and energy into making sure the employee engagement is at top notch, and to use the technology in a way that will not hinder the aspects of engagement that are key to a successful business.
Authors:
Tess Biscup
Taryn Shaw
Carrie Xiao
Josh McBain
Luke Lovelady
References
Abel-Hunt, J. (2017). 7 ways to boost employee engagement in the digital era. Chief Learning Officer. 1-2. Retrieved February 24, 2020, from
https://www.chieflearningofficer.com/2017/03/02/7-ways-boost-employee-engagement-digital-era/
Arakawa, D., & Greenberg, M. (2007). Optimistic managers and their influence on productivity and employee engagement in a technology organisation: Implications for coaching psychologists. International Coaching Psychology Review, 2(1), 78-89.
Hamlin, K. (2019, March 20). The role of a reward in employee motivation. Retrieved February 24. 2020, from
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/role-reward-employee-motivation-18814.html