🔎 Unit Overview
In this unit you will explore how modern technology has completely transformed the workplace and how it will impact your future career. You will discover how collaboration and communication tools enable flexible, remote, and mobile working, while evaluating the benefits and drawbacks this 24/7 digital availability brings to both businesses and employees. The topic also covers how technology supports workplace inclusivity and accessibility, the functions of cloud computing, and how to safely navigate personal networks. Finally, you will learn how to maintain your physical and mental well-being and develop a professional online presence to prepare you for the modern digital workforce.
🎯 Learning Objectives
- Examine traditional and modern team working
- Interpret the advantages and disadvantages of 24/7/365 availability
- Compare inclusivity and accessibility within traditional and modern teams
💬 Key Vocabulary
- stakeholders
- inclusivity
- organisations
- workplace
- accessibility
- remote working
📝 Starter Activity – Changes at work
Read through the three case studies below and identify ways in which workplaces have changed over time due to technology.
Be ready to explain to the rest of the class a way in which this has happened for each case study.
Case study 1
Retired office worker Carol
“I commuted to work using public transport, which could be inconvenient, especially in the winter when the days are shorter and the weather could affect the bus and train services. My job involved my taking notes in meetings, writing up the meeting agendas, filing important documents, taking and making telephone calls, plus a variety of other things. I used pen and paper to take meeting notes, and used a typewriter for formal documents and filed them in a filing cabinet in an alphabetical system.”
Case study 2
IT company employee Chen
“I have worked for the same IT company for over 30 years and have seen many changes to the way I work. At first, I was based in an office and had access to a PC that was very slow by today’s standards. We also communicated using a telephone, with the Post Office sending various documents internally or externally. Over time, as technology progressed, I began communicating using mobile technology and email services. I had an office base, but also commuted to different regions to engage with the teams I was then managing. Nowadays, I work from home in a home office using various platforms to communicate and collaborate with my team.”
Case study 3
Freelance animator Ellie:
“I have a home office from where I work on a daily basis. To get work, I have a client base for whom I have worked previously. I also use an online platform where I can apply for jobs. I have all of the equipment needed for this work at home and use an online calendar to help manage my time.”
📖 Traditional Workplaces
| Feature | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Takes time to travel to and from the workplace | The commute to and from the workplace adds time to the working day for individuals. |
| Desks/workstations | People were placed in the same place every day, at a desk with all of their needs accessible on the desk unless it needed filing. |
| Labour-intensive tasks | Tasks completed were labour-intensive, such as filing, checking data/information by eye, manual calculations. |
| Formal workwear | Working in an office requires formal workwear, which could be costly and uncomfortable. |
| Slow communication | Communication using memos or the telephone could be slow, which results in lower productivity. The postal system was used to send receipts, invoices, and important information, which also slowed the transfer of important information. |
| Community effect | People doing the same or similar jobs would feel a sense of joined community and be allies within the workplace. |
| Sociable | People would often live locally to the workplace so after-work drinks were common. |
| 9am to 5pm hours | Fixed hours of work meant that individuals knew where they would be daily. |
📖 Modern workplace
| Feature | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Use of technology allows flexibility for the stakeholder and organisation | Flexibility means that an individual can be allocated a task to work on and be given a deadline for it to be completed. The employee can then choose what working hours they are able to commit to on a daily basis and where they will work from if they are not office-based. Some stakeholders may not be allocated an office base at all and are expected to work remotely. |
| Teams can be local, national, or global | Organisations want workers with the necessary skills for each job role; technology has enabled selection from around the world of the best individuals for their organisation. This means that multinational teams working together are common now. |
| Communication can be immediate | Technology enables immediate communication using conference calls or video conferencing. |
| Data/information is sent digitally and quickly | Data is sent and stored digitally, which reduces the time spent on labour-intensive activities. |
| Increased productivity | The above results in increased productivity; more can be done in a given time scale. |
| Can be isolating | When working remotely, the opportunity to socialise with colleagues is reduced, which can lead to a sense of isolation. |
| Stakeholders can be contacted anytime, anywhere | Having technology to hand when working remotely means that it is much harder to switch off from work, especially when colleagues can contact you at any time and in any place. This is known as 24/7/365 availability. |
📝 Level 1 – The modern workplace: pros and cons
VS
There are many features of the modern workplace.
Use the Level 1 worksheet to identify which of the features you think are an advantage and which are a disadvantage to organisations and employees.
📖 Inclusivity and accessibility
What do these terms mean to you?
“My role is not affected by my disability. The digital world has made everything accessible.”
Amna Raheel, e-commerce specialist
“I’ve never looked for 9-to-5 jobs, because I know they wouldn’t suit my disability. Although employers should be helping with reasonable adjustments, when you’re able to control your hours and tasks, you can manage your workload and disability in a way you might not be able to with an employer. If I need to have a lie-in, I have a lie-in. I also save on commuting time.”
Francis Ryan, freelance journalist
“After a bad experience in the workplace where a company failed to meet my accessibility needs, I decided to become a virtual PA. This went well, but after ten years I realised I was missing out socially. I then founded a company called The Beauty and Blow Dry Studio, which caters specifically to disabled people’s hair and beauty needs.”
Rachel Fox, Entrepreneur
📖 Inclusivity, accessibility, and the role of technology
The use of technology enables individuals (stakeholders) with either a visible or a hidden disability to:
- Manage their time when working remotely
- Access jobs that might otherwise be impossible for them to do
- Communicate and collaborate with colleagues effectively
- Be valued members of workplace teams
📝 Level 2 – IT & Accessibility
Modern technology allows organizations to create inclusive environments for all stakeholders. Read the definitions listed in the worksheet and then complete the task to help three employees overcome traditional workplace barriers using IT solutions.
📝 Level 3 – Quick Quiz
You have ten minutes to complete the quick quiz in the Level 3 worksheet below.
It will assess your learning from this lesson.
🏅 Level Up
🥇 Level 1
- Complete the Level 1 Worksheet indicating the advantages and disadvantages of modern technology in the workplace. Upload the finished sheet to Teams.
🥈 Level 2
- Complete the Level 2 Worksheet explaining how technology can improve inclusion and accessibility and upload the finished sheet to Teams.
🥉 Level 3
- Complete the Level 3 Worksheet by highlighting the answers to the 10 questions. Upload the finished sheet to Teams.
In this lesson, you…
- Identified the differences between past and present workplaces
- Discovered that technology plays a big role in accessibility and inclusivity
Next lesson, you will…
- Examine accessibility features of technology
- Investigate communication and collaboration platforms