How business tech helps corporations and harms employees

The rapid development of business technology has empowered corporate leaders across Australia (and around the world) to improve efficiency in their organisations. On the surface, these changes can be exciting for employees, too.

Digital transformation is often seen as an opportunity for many professionals to escape repetitive to-do lists and put their skills and passions into action — but far too often, company tech is used to satiate employees rather than address the underlying issues that plague corporate culture.

While business tech does have the potential to be valuable for everyone it affects, companies first need to focus on implementing it correctly and ethically. Otherwise, technology can end up being just as harmful as it is helpful.

In this article, we’ll explore the equal importance of company tech and ensuring both businesses and employees can optimise their use of it. We’ll also highlight some examples of improper ways to implement technology, like creating a Band-Aid fix for issues in company culture.

Business Tech Doesn’t Replace Good Culture

When companies experience issues in their corporate culture, it’s easy to implement software that sounds transformative and call it a day. For example, an AI-based platform that screens job applicants can reduce discrimination in the early stages of the hiring process. However advanced these “solutions” may seem, tech doesn’t tackle cure bad work culture.

You must address the behavioural issues in your workforce, like implicit biases that employees display. In the case of our example, professionals from historically underrepresented groups may experience poor treatment once hired, and retaining a diverse workforce may continue to be a struggle for your company.

The damage that irresponsible tech implementation can cause has been illustrated in recent years. When the mining company Rio Tinto destroyed a rich Aboriginal heritage site, it cited flaws in its system and data-sharing processes. Even if accurate, this tragedy could have been avoided with a corporate culture that supported more ethical decision-making and less of a yes-man mentality from employees.

While employees and technologies always change, existing policies and cultural norms persist — even if they’re damaging — until corporate leaders step up to make a shift.

The Pros and Cons of Digitised Project Management

One of the most prevalent uses of tech in modern workflows is in the project management space. For instance, making digital project diagrams helps companies visualise their workflows and optimise productivity across different teams. While this is undoubtedly positive for corporations from a profitability perspective, it can increase strain on workers.

Technology doesn’t support empathy on its own. Without the empathy of organisational leaders, employees can easily be made to work at capacity — minimising breaks and taking on hefty workloads or draining back-to-back tasks — for the sake of profit. Many strict corporations are even implementing employee monitoring software that tracks their online behaviour (down to their keystrokes) to ensure continuous productivity.

When a corporation’s culture doesn’t champion mental health, employees are, in many ways, treated like machines. Output becomes the priority, which may cast employee happiness and team relationships by the wayside.

Technology Isn’t Naturally Ethical

Recognizing that technology isn’t naturally ethical is the first step that corporations need to take to reduce the harm that employees are subjected to. While many technologies can ensure compliance, this only allows companies to achieve the ethical minimum. It’s impossible to advance past this threshold without reinforcement from human beings.

Before technology can enhance ethics, the people using the technology must be trained under an effective corporate code of conduct. Every team member, from corporate leaders to interns, should be trained to uphold their company’s ethical standards and core values in their day-to-day decision-making, rather than solely using technology as a guide.

Bad Technology Can Add to Employee Stress

Poor business tech implementation can also increase the stress levels of employees. In fact, bad technology experiences make Australian workers twice as stressed during their work days. When employees are given out-of-date devices or underperforming software, corporations are often meeting their bare-minimum needs for the sake of keeping overhead low.

Corporate tech must not only support the needs and goals of businesses but also help employees work more intuitively. When employees can easily understand and navigate the devices and platforms they use, they can become more satisfied in their roles while helping corporations meet their goals.

Thoughtful Business Technology Implementation

While the importance of business tech in the modern world can’t be denied, it’s just as important to recognize the effects of technology on employees. Corporations all too often use technology to hide flaws in their culture and just satisfy employee needs, without making broader changes that could improve their workers’ lives.

In order to build more ethical and effective organisations — and avoid bad decisions that escalate and damage reputations — corporate leaders must first consider how they can change the norms in their business. Then, they must be mindful of their approach in selecting and implementing helpful tech.