Government announcements that workplace closures are steadily being lifted does not necessarily mean things will return to a pre-coronavirus normal.
From an employee standpoint, many expect health and safety changes such as social distancing and COVID-19 testing. But industry leaders have a vastly different vision about future workforces. CEOs may consider mitigating health risks by utilizing virus tracing technology or double-down on their remote workforce IT investment.
Carl Fransen, CEO of CTECH Consulting Group in Calgary shares insights into investing in remote workforce IT.
Google and Apple are engaged in a rare collaboration that leverages Bluetooth technology for a COVID-19 contact tracing app. The smartphone app alerts users, health outfits, and employers that they are in close proximity to infected parties. Users could freely opt-in to download and share information with health agencies and employers. Companies with access to the data would, theoretically, gain a health and safety advantage by knowing which employees may be at risk. But glitches and privacy issues have more than a few decision-makers worried.
“The rate of false positives and the rate of paranoia that’s going to be spawned by an application like that is crazy,” Appian CEO Matt Calkins reportedly said. “I prefer a more intelligent approach to this by far — the public stuff is just going to heighten mistrust and fear.”
Problems with Workforce Contact Tracing Apps
One of the long-standing, hot-button issues between employers and employees stems from privacy. In many cases, companies have a right to know about potential health risks in the workspace.
On the surface, companies such as Apple and Google are crafting workplace safety tools many believe are in an organization’s best interest. But apps can present false positives when a worker simply crosses paths with a sick person. Safe distance and protective masks may not necessarily factor into the alert.
Mistakenly sidelining healthy staff members can cause hard feelings and upheaval withing an organization. Disseminating this information and inadvertently branding someone as a coronavirus carrier could also have profound legal implications. An article in The National Law Review called “Examples of COVID-19 Screening, Social Distancing, and Contact Tracing Technologies and Related Legal and Practical Issues” speaks to this issue.
“Should ‘managers’ be viewing dashboards that provide extensive information about many of the organization’s workers? In these uncertain times, an organization may be left with no choice other than to expand the list of individuals who may have access to workers’ personal information,” the article states. “However, when doing so, organizations still need to be mindful of the ADA’s confidentiality requirements, discrimination, as well as state laws protecting against discrimination for lawful off-duty conduct (that may be discovered during the monitoring process).”
Given the difficulty of implementing a workplace health and safety strategy that uses Smartphones, wearables, or heat-sensing kiosks, among others, may result in diminishing returns.
Value of Increase Remote Workforce IT Infrastructure
Organizations that invested in Cloud-based workforce connectivity are reportedly enjoying a solid return. Cost-savings on real estate leases and other expenses are already being reported. Some studies indicate that work-from-home employees save businesses upwards of $11,000 annually and tend to demonstrate improved productivity. Given CEOs have already green-lighted remote workforce IT investment, why bring people back to a brick-and-mortar facility?
For decision-makers who can continue robust productivity with remote team members, there appears to be no rush. A COVID-19 surge could cause industries to fall back to Stay at Home mandates until the FDA approves a vaccine anyway. And the idea of returning to pre-pandemic normal feels, somehow, counterintuitive.
Industries were widely moving toward flexible workplaces. The pandemic merely accelerated that live-work culture shift. It may make better business sense to double-down on IT services investments and embrace the future today. Contact tracing apps and technology may be vital to businesses that require hands-on labor. But for those that can continue to ensure health, safety, and enjoy offsite cost benefits, CEOs may be better served by expanding their remote workforce IT footprint.