Technology won’t save us if we ignore the human element

While technology can shape and develop businesses in new and exciting ways, workplaces are about people.

Steve Coster from Hassell in the Medibank Private building in Melbourne.

The digital age has changed the way we live and work. Rapidly evolving technology has led to a collision between the digital world and human nature.

With the right work environment, technology can drive productivity, efficiency and collaboration among teams wherever they are located.

While technology can shape and develop businesses in new and exciting ways, workplaces are about people. New digital capabilities such as cloud computing, common platforms, web-chat applications, video links, and drone and robotics technology should be used with a clear focus on expanding human achievements, qualities and strengths.

There is a risk people are becoming too dependent on these tools and devices. New digital capabilities can erode human skills such as language, navigation and relationships. It is critical the impact of technology in the workplace is positive and works to enhance our uniquely human capabilities. The focus should always be on the purpose of using the technology rather than simply ensuring every employee has access to a device.

Workplaces are being designed to be more dynamic and less static. It is no longer a case of working here or there, but here and there to engage and optimise people within a workplace. This can present a challenge for employers, with quality leadership needed to deal with increased mobility and staff self-management. Employers should explore the value in allowing staff to choose a workspace that suits them and their tasks.

Ensuring the functionality for digitally connected workforces is critical, but so is creating social places where teams connect and come together to build trust.

The best workplaces help employees get to know each other; the desire for human interaction is inherent. Technology, combined with well-designed workplaces, should encourage and enhance casual and formal interactions. Workspaces must allow better communication and concentration, and for the simple and intuitive movement between the two. Good workplace design can help respond to digital overload and allow greater privacy and focused work through quiet library-type spaces, enclosed rooms and open collaborative spaces.

Medibank Place in Melbourne provides a choice of 26 types of spatial settings, giving employees control over how and where they work.

The future workplace must create experiences that engage us with our digital capacities — to make tailored and displayed information part of our intuitive navigation and to make it meaningful. Interactive digital displays will help people to engage and make sense of data, real-time analysis and gamification of performance information.

The digital workplace also will evolve to augment self-management. Soon enough our technology, via apps on our phone or tablet, will extend through the building and the organisation.

Imagine apps that synch an employee’s health indicator scores with the HR database, highlight personal performance data, and book a personal training session after work in response to diet information, workload and available diary times.

Workplaces need to make the most of both technology and human capabilities.

Effective workplaces always facilitate and foster insight, empathy, understanding, learning and belonging. Workplaces can flourish when technology helps people enhance engagement with others, foster a strong sense of identity and provide the platform for people to realise their potential.

Workplaces need to be rich with identity and expression of the organisation’s culture and values and this will attract and engage the best people to do things only people can do.

Steve Coster is a principal and workplace design specialist at Hassell.