Brave New Work: British workers welcome increased automation in the workplace according to new report
3 in 4 British office workers think the rise in workplace automation will give them more time to do their primary job duties.
LONDON, Sept. 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A report released today by Workfront, the leading provider of cloud-based Enterprise Work Management solutions, found that UK workers are largely optimistic about the impact automation will have in the workplace. 84% agreed with the sentiment that "the use of automation in the workplace will let us think of work in new and innovative ways" and 82% expressed excitement at the chance "to learn new things as the workforce moves toward more automation."
While the overwhelming view on automation was positive, around 2 in 5 (38%) feared that rising automation will place humans and robots in competition for the same jobs in the future.
The results are included in 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. The comprehensive report comes on the back of a survey of 2,000 office workers in the UK.
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% 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% 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% last year to 61% 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% 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%.
Ready to roll. Despite the many changes expected to arrive in the next 5 years, 77% of workers say they feel 'prepared for the workplace of the future.'
To view the full report and to learn more about Workfront, visit: https://resources.workfront.com/project-management-blog/how-email-meetings-automation-are-shaping-the-future-of-work-in-the-uk-2017-2018-state-of-enterprise-work-report.
About Workfront
Workfront is a cloud-based Enterprise Work Management solution that helps marketing, IT and other enterprise teams conquer the chaos of excessive email, redundant status meetings and disconnected tools. Unlike other tools, Workfront Enterprise Work Cloud is a centralized, easy-to-adopt solution for managing and collaborating on all types of work through the entire work lifecycle, which improves team productivity and executive visibility. Workfront is trusted by thousands of global enterprises, like Cars.com, Cisco Systems, Comcast, iProspect, Schneider Electric and Trek. To learn more, visit www.workfront.com or follow us on Twitter @Workfront.
Survey Methodology
The survey was conducted online by Regina Corso Consulting between July 3 and July 12, 2017, among 2,001 U.S. respondents and 2,001 U.K. respondents, all of whom are employed by a company with at least 500 employees, work on a computer, and collaborate with other people on projects.
For a complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Shelbi Gomez at shelbigomez@workfront.com.
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