The 21st Century Workplace, An Idea For Efficiency -By Muhammad Yasin Yahaya

A workplace, according to the dictionary, is promptly defined as a place where an individual or a group of indivualds work e.g, a factory, an office, etc. In modern times, the idea of a proper workplace has been transformed and advanced by technological and mechanical developments, to enhance efficiency and productivity. Although, we need to ask ourselves a universal but tantamount question: what should a workplace look like in the 21st century?

To begin, a workplace in this modern world must provide fair employment practices in hiring, training and compensation, regardless of non-job related characteristics, and encourages practices that meet with the goals of the organization and the needs of its employees.

Due to the fast-growing new media of the world, a workplace for a particular organization should have streamlined technological services for employees. Creating the 21st Century workplace involves way more than swapping typewriters for modem tablets.

Modern offices are becoming more and more streamlined so everything is available for employees online for efficiency and access to information.
A modern workplace should also be innovative, competitive and fair to meet the demands of business today. The 21st Century has been marked by historic changes and breakthrough discoveries such as; Amazon, Google, Apple, etc. It also needs cutting-edge professionals with hard skills that are brought to the level of perfection.

Managers, Directors and Supervisors should value the lives and rights and employees, treat them with fairness and equality as they would treat any other human being. Verbal abuse and harassment is quite common in most 21st Century workplace and as shown by studies, May lead to the phenomenon of “Ghost workers” or Absenteeism of employees in an organization.

Every workplace May be prone to face challenge and obstacles that hinder the steady flow of work. As so, the government should establish commissions and agencies for organizations, be it public or private, so that employees are able to lodge complaints and receive replies and profitable solution to their problems.

At times, sexual harassment occurs in workplace and most times, the employee(s) involved could be afraid to report such unruly conducts to the management for fear of losing their jobs. Employees should be monitored and when strange behaviours are caught or reported, such employee(s) should either be queried, sanctioned or sacked.

Any establishment should have a or a number of properly ventilated or spacious buildings for operations or activities. Employees are entitled to clean, neat environment, free of hazards that may endanger their life or the lives of others. A modern workplace should be sanitary, organized and should permit accessibility to both management and staff.

Friendly or cordial relationship should be encouraged in a standard workplace of an organisation to level up productivity in the economy of such organization. Studies have shown that friendly relationship among employees improves communication and collaboration, again, increasing morale, productivity and effectiveness. It allows for better and quicker decision making as employees can understand, analyse and support each other better and bring together all their skills and knowledge to make accurate decisions.

Stressful relationships at home relationship at home or at work can negatively impact on workplace productivity, creating more stress on the job, which then further increases unhappiness at home and therefore damages productivity at work.
Establishments should also provide Health Insurances for employees as well, in the event  that something would happen to them at work, they would be adequately compensated.
When discussing about 21st Century workplaces, one must not forget the impacts of socio-psychological aspects of living. Psychological findings have shown that rewards or awards for a job well done. This would not only elicit more effort from employees toward the organization’s successes but it would also increase loyalty and adherence to rules and regulations of such organization. Therefore, it would be civil to encarcate the idea of giving awards and organizing ceremonial parties in which employees are awarded for their hard work and relentless effort, in order to see the organization move forward. It helps psychologically to re-inform them that their efforts are not wasted and are duly noticed and appreciated. In the long run, this would make them want to do more.
So, a modern workplace, in short, should be a place where employees can work and be safer and contented doing so. Organizations and establishments today need to understand and apply all they possibly can, to ensure that their productivity reaches an all-level high.

Muhammad Yasin Yahaya is an advocate of good governance, social justice, writer, sociologist and a student of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna state Nigeria.
Email; muhammadyasin3890@gmail.com