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BPM key to minimizing stress that comes with mobility plans

Staff, Appian
October 20, 2014

The bring-your-own-device movement has the potential to empower workers by giving them access to more flexible ways to work. However, it can also leave employees feeling so attached to their phones that they never really get away from their work and feel constantly stressed. Business process management software can enable organizations to establish processes that alleviate the stress while maximizing convenience, helping them manage the difficult BYOD balancing act.

The problem of stress related to BYOD was particularly evident in a recent TEKsystems study. Reporting on the survey, eWeek explained that many organizations have not made significant progress on BYOD in the past year and IT teams are beginning to feel the strain of being constantly attached to work tasks.

BYOD and stress

Of the IT leaders polled during the study, approximately 61 percent said they would rather go back to a past era where their work tasks stayed within work hours and they didn't need to remain attached to smartphones or tablets outside of the office. Just 28 percent of those polled said that BYOD makes their work less stressful, while another 21 percent said they don't feel any difference. The verdict seems clear - few IT workers are experiencing significant process improvements to go alongside their ability to work using the device of their choice, at any time of day.

Jason Hayman, market research manager for TEKsystems, explained that even with the possibility of BYOD, many IT workers still need the flexibility to work on laptops and cannot rely entirely on smartphones and tablets.

"While email is a perfect example of an application ready-made for smartphone or tablet use and makes workers more productive and efficient, at the end of the day [IT workers] still need a laptop to get their bulk of their work done," Hayman told eWeek. "A smartphone can't replace a laptop when it comes to a programmer writing code."

Process management and mobility

Mobile BPM solutions are specifically designed to help ensure smooth process workflows out to end users working on mobile devices. Furthermore, BPM technology emphasizes ensuring process efficiency regardless of which device a person is using, making it extremely beneficial in sectors like IT where users will frequently switch between laptop, smartphone and tablet. BYOD can create stress, but process management tools that automate mundane tasks and can be used to customize and standardize best practices can alleviate this strain and free workers to use mobile devices in the most efficient way possible.