An international study on the expectations and behaviour of workers in accessing information anywhere, anytime, with any device revealed a disconnection between IT policies and workers, especially as employees strive to work in a more mobile fashion and use numerous devices, social media and new forms of communication such as video.
The second set of results of the Cisco Connected World Report showed that while technology trends alter the way businesses communicate and operate, more than two-thirds of workers surveyed believed their companies’ IT policies could be improved, and at least two of every five said they break those policies to meet their needs.
The announcement builds on the initial findings released in October, which examined the desire of workers to access corporate networks, applications and information anywhere at any time with virtually any device. With this desire as a backdrop, the latest findings reveal how real-life consumer trends like social media, video and increasing numbers of devices in the workplace are causing many employees around the world to question the relevance of corporate IT policies and to break them with more regularity.
The study, which involved surveys of 2,600 workers and IT professionals in 13 countries, revealed that while most companies have IT policies (82 per cent), about one in four employees (24 per cent) are unaware that such policies exist. An additional 23 per cent reported that their companies do not have IT policies on acceptable device usage. When combined, almost half of the workers in the study (47 per cent) either do not have an IT policy on device usage or do not know that one exists.
Among workers aware of IT policy, about two out of three (64 per cent) feel policies could be updated to reflect real-world needs and work styles, such as finding an acceptable medium between device usage, social media, mobility and work flexibility.
Of those employees who admit to breaking IT policies, about two out of every five (41 per cent) say it’s because they need restricted programs and applications to get the job done – they’re simply trying to be more productive and efficient.
Social media use is restricted to varying degrees around the world and per company. Although half (51 per cent) of the employees surveyed worldwide believe social media, while not work-related, contributes to work-life balance, two out of five (41 per cent) said they are restricted from using Facebook at their job, and one of three (35 per cent) is restricted from using Twitter at work or with work devices.
Two out of every three employees (64 per cent) believe their IT teams and companies should loosen up and allow social media use during work hours with work devices, citing work-life balance as a key reason, particularly because many of them can work in a mobile, distributed fashion and put in longer hours as a result.
The majority of employees (66 per cent) believe they should be able to connect freely with any device – and access the applications and information that they need around the clock. Policy or no policy, many employees will simply do it, raising the question about how effective a policy is and how IT can update, enforce and ensure better compliance.
Not all employees who wish to use video communications in the workplace are able to do so today. About two in five employees (41 per cent) said they cannot use video as a communications tool at work, with more than half of employees in the United States (53 per cent), the United Kingdom (55 per cent), Germany (55 per cent) and France (60 per cent) not having the capability of using video for workplace communications.
Cisco said this research points to an issue among many businesses worldwide: the need to re-evaluate and update IT policies to align with the growing reality of a workforce that is demanding more enablement to be connected anywhere, anytime, with any device and any information in their work and personal lives.