The fixed, office-centric worker of yesteryear is being shunted in favour of 'anywhere workers' - staff that can work on the move, at home, in the office or elsewhere.
That's according to a survey by Siemens Enterprise Communications, who asked for the opinions of 1,000 staff working in the UK. Around 85 per cent said that communication devices, such as smartphones and laptops, that are used for team collaboration are outside company property, reports hrmagazine.co.uk.
Furthermore, 40 per cent of firms have plans to deploy cloud strategies this year, which could have the potential to help workers address work/life balance issues. Cloud computing means that content can be accessed from any device as it is stored in an online space. Therefore, a CEO could access important work documents from home on a tablet instead of travelling to work to use a work computer.
Rob Keenan, head of UK portfolio management and deployment readiness management at Siemens Enterprise Communications, said: "The rise of the anywhere employee has meant the end of the office worker.
"Business tools, such as [unified communications], are reshaping the way organisations collaborate and are helping deliver on the previously-too-difficult promise of enhanced communication. More than ever, work isn't where you go, it's what you do," he added.
Siemens' survey follows comments made by business expert Fred Studer on forbes.com, who suggests that technology is the key for workers to provide 'more flex in [their] lives'.
