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In the workplace, tech changes everything
But not as fast as you'd imagine...

By Sylvia Carr

Published: Monday 04 December 2006

New technologies are starting to change the workplace - but their influence will be felt even more in the future, new research shows.

In a recent survey of UK business executives, 61 per cent said technology enables new styles of working - with 63 per cent saying technology is the primary enabler of future styles of working.

However, the desire to take advantage of technologies ranks fourth on the list of what drives companies to change their workplaces - after better productivity, cost reduction and culture.

The technologies which will impact workplaces most in the next five years are wi-fi, VoIP and ultra-mobile PCs, according to the execs.

Flexible working is coming into its own, though still not mainstream. While 91 per cent of organisations allow employees to work at home occasionally, 67 per cent still rely on office attendance.

But of those who depend on workers being in the office, 55 per cent said they thought this would change.

Just over half of respondents believe their workforce will still commute into the office five years from now.

The survey, commissioned by Samsung, was conducted by workplace consultancy Unwired at their recent Worktech06 event. The results are based on responses from 250 board level executives working in IT, real-estate, facilities and general management.