Mobile Communications Technologies Play a Transforming Role in Global Banking and Financial Services

The pervasive spread of mobile communications devices across the banking and financial sectors has been more than just a convenience. It has played a major part in improving productivity, and is also shaping attitudes toward things such as work-life balance and employer of choice, as revealed in new findings from the Kelly Services® Global Workforce Index.

Introduction

Employees in the global banking, accounting, and financial services industries have been among the most prolific users of new mobile communications devices—smartphones, PDAs, and laptops.

These devices have changed the way work is done, enabling finance to become the preeminent global business, using financial data and information from markets around the world.

It has also given rise to major changes in the way people work and attitudes about the balance between work and social life.

Mobile communications have injected a new dynamic into workplace relations that has contributed to a sharp jump in personal productivity and is also fueling a shift in behavior.

The latest findings of the Kelly Global Workforce Index show that across the banking and financial services industries, mobile communications technology is producing far-reaching change.

The survey obtained the views of nearly 100,000 people in 34 countries including more than 7,000 in the finance, accounting, and banking sectors across North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region.

What the Survey Found

The main findings of the survey show:

• 67% of respondents say it is “extremely important,” and 31% say it is “somewhat important,” that they have a good balance between work and personal life.
• 57% of respondents say that they are happy with their current work-life balance.
• 61% say the impact of mobile technologies on their work productivity has been “much better” and 25% say it has been “slightly better.”
• 34% say the introduction of mobile communications has resulted in them working longer hours.
• 75% say the ability to remain in constant communication with work is a positive development.
• In deciding where to work, 45% say a policy of telecommuting or working from home would be “greatly attractive” and 42% say it would be “somewhat attractive.”

Establishing a Balance Between Work and Personal Life

There is an increasing focus among HR specialists on the issue of employee work-life balance and the factors that contribute to a positive outcome. The interest in the issue flows from the desire to optimize the benefits of a flexible work regime in order to meet the needs of employees who are juggling both work and non-work responsibilities.

Employees who are content with their work-life balance are likely to have better morale on-the-job and be more productive and engaged in their employment. The availability of personal communications technologies that are able to be integrated with work clearly contributes to workers’ views about the optimum work-life balance.

When asked about the importance of work-life balance in their job, a total of 67% say it is “extremely important” and 30% say it is “somewhat important.” Only 2% of respondents say it is not important at all.

When viewed at a generational level, it is clear that the younger Gen Y (age 18 – 29) and Gen X (age 30 – 47) place a higher priority on a sound work-life balance than baby boomers (age 48 – 65). A total of 68% of Gen Y and Gen X say a good balance between work and social life is “extremely important” compared with 60% for baby boomers.

These findings tend to reinforce the anecdotal evidence suggesting that the younger generation of workers places greater importance on social networks and lifestyle and less focus on career.

But how do employees rate their current work-life balance?

According to the survey, 57% of all respondents say they are happy with their work-life balance, while 35% are not happy.

At the generational level, it is the older cohort of workers who are somewhat more content in their positions than younger generations.

Clearly, not all those who seek the ideal work-life balance are able to achieve it. Although well over half of the respondents are content, there is evidence that the sector as a whole is on the right path to meeting the needs of many of its employees.

The Impact of Technology on Productivity and Working Hours

Mobile communications devices have made big differences to the personal and professional lives of many people. They have increased accessibility and mobility and enabled people to perform some work functions outside of work and out of normal hours.

But what do employees themselves say about the impact of these devices on productivity and working hours?

It appears that the impact on productivity has been very significant, with 61% saying that productivity is “much better” and 25% saying it is “slightly better.” While 3% say productivity is worse, 11% say it makes no difference.

The productivity dividend that has been generated from the widespread adoption of mobile communications technologies represents one of the biggest transformations of workplace practice in modern times. As is evident from the survey findings, not only has there been a leap in personal efficiency, but people are much more able to adopt flexible working arrangements.

When viewed from a generational perspective, Gen Y and Gen X appear to have derived a slightly greater productivity outcome than the baby boomers, but all age groups have seen their workplace efficiency improve markedly.

However, there is a discernable productivity trend when seen from an international perspective. The productivity benefits vary markedly across the globe with many developing economies deriving greater productivity benefits than more developed economies.

While there has been an unquestioned boost to personal productivity, another outcome has been an increase in the average number of hours worked.

Approximately 34% of those questioned say they are now working longer hours because of the introduction of mobile communications. This represents one of the more interesting elements of the whole communications revolution; while it has increased workplace flexibility, it seems to have blurred the line between work and personal life.

For many people, it is now accepted that they will work while away from the office or factory and either “on the road,” traveling or at home—whether that be checking messages, making or receiving calls, or completing assignments.

It also seems that in the finance and banking sectors, the added workload is falling most heavily on Gen X workers, with 36% working longer hours, compared with 34% for Gen Y and 31% for baby boomers.

This is surely one of the remarkable achievements of the communications revolution; it has fueled a major attitude change among employees who are working both harder and longer, but without apparent resentment at the extra workload involved.

It is not really surprising that people should end up working longer as a result of these new capabilities. But it is contrary to the prediction that new technology would liberate us from work and provide more time for leisure.

Because the new technology has blended so seamlessly into our daily lives, there is little resistance to the idea that work and personal lives become more entangled. The once clear delineation between work and home is fading.

There seems little doubt that the corporate sector has been a clear winner from this. Few recent innovations have brought such significant productivity improvements for organizations. Typically, efforts to ramp up productivity entail staff cuts or wider cost cutting which often result in acrimonious disputes between labor and management.

Yet here, we see a major boost to organizational productivity, positively embraced by the workforce and without the rancor which might have once poisoned labor relations.

When asked about general attitudes toward the spread of mobile communications technology, the response is overwhelmingly favorable. Almost universally, respondents say that the ability to work outside the office but be in constant communication with work is a positive development.

Not only do employees value the benefits of the “virtual” office, but the availability of such an option has become a key consideration for many in deciding where to work.

A total of 45% say that in deciding where to work, a policy of telecommuting, working from home, or working remotely would be “greatly” attractive. A further 42% say it would be “somewhat” attractive.

It would appear that there is scope for organizations to position themselves as “employers of choice” by developing a structure that provides for flexibility in the way that employees engage with work and perform their tasks.

Clearly, flexibility is an attractive feature for many employees, and organizations that use the tools to make it available will benefit from a higher quality pool of talent.

Conclusion

The emergence of mobile communications devices and their adoption across the community is reshaping fundamental aspects of workplace behavior.

Many employees no longer construct a rigid divide between work and personal life; they use smartphones, laptops, and other mobile tools to maintain activity among personal and business networks.

This allows an increasingly seamless integration of work and social life, and importantly, the ability to remain engaged with work at remote locations, around the clock.

The productivity benefits have slipped almost unnoticed into everyday workplace activity, but they do appear to be substantial. There is no illusion on the part of employees that these productivity benefits have been without cost. Many concede that they are now working longer hours.

Yet despite this, the vast majority welcome the new way of working and believe it is a positive development. They even judge prospective employment opportunities, in part, on the capacity to work remotely using mobile communications.

The advent of this capability across the workplace has brought a largely unforeseen wave of efficiency to individuals and organizations and with it, a new, enhanced level of engagement between the individual and his or her employer.