Imagine that you're on the work streak of your life. You're crushing your to-do list and doing what feels like a week's worth of work in a single hour. You're sitting tall in your chair and confident that no one could possibly match the quality and speed of your work during this moment. And then your businesses' internet goes down.
Even small annoyances and interruptions can shift our mood and make it hard to do our best work. There are going to be annoyances and interruptions in every workplace, but no area of a business has the potential to create as many distractions as a malfunctioning (or non-existent) IT system and department. And a single distraction, no matter how large or small, can disrupt your work and the work and morale of your employees.
When work is disrupted, morale, defined as "the confidence, enthusiasm, and discipline of a person or group at a particular time," takes a severe hit. And when the confidence, enthusiasm, and discipline of your team decreases, so does the quantity and quality of their work.
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Imagine, for example, that your company's wi-fi system has been going in and out for the past week. Customer service calls have taken longer than usual because your employees can't access the information they need to and your customers are getting upset with your employees. Although it's not their fault that the internet keeps going down and that your customers are getting upset, your IT team is getting increasingly frustrated with the situation since customers are blaming them for this inconvenience. Instead of empowering them to do their best work, the bad Wi-Fi is making their job harder and having a negative impact on their ability to work effectively and efficiently.
In addition to hurting the morale of your team, an outdated or overloaded system will also steal time and attention away from your employees, which could leave other areas of your business without the help they need. Since not all companies have an employee or several employees who oversee IT, someone with a different job function is pulled away from their work when tech issues arise. This employee, now not doing what they were hired to do, will become more stressed and less satisfied with their job, meaning their overall performance could decline as well.
IT impacts every aspect of your business, and it's one of the most important investments you'll make in your business. If you're cutting corners and looking for the least expensive option instead of the best technology for your company, you're hindering your ability to get the most out of your other expense areas—like your employees.
Businesses that use IT to their advantage can provide better service to their customers and a better and faster-moving work environment for their employees. Give your business and employees an IT system that can move your business forward, not hold them back.
Take 5 minutes to see how your IT might be hurting your team's morale.
