Dive Brief:

• Workplace mobile device failures are common and cause employee stress and reduced productivity, according to recent survey results from B2M Solutions.
• More than half (51%) of employees surveyed said they experienced at least one mobile device failure a month that interfered with their job performance. And a third of workers said the number of problems they experienced increased during the past 12 to 18 months. Top problems included unreliable network connections, battery failure and application crashes.
• These problems appear to hurt both employees and employers: 66% of workers said they experience anxiety or rising stress levels with device failures and of those affected, 95% said it negatively impacted their productivity. The survey also revealed a disconnect, with IT departments underestimating the impact workers feel from such failures.

Dive Insight:

The findings echo those from another report released earlier this week. Employees' experiences with workplace devices leave much to be desired, Nexthink found. As employers work to craft positive employee experiences, the quality of workplace tech can't be an afterthought.

But when tech fails workers, it's not just productivity and retention that's on the line. Organizations with outdated tech also reportedly have a harder time competing for talent: A 2018 Harvard Business Review Analytic Services report found that 58% of the U.S. business leaders and consultants surveyed said their technology offerings affect candidates' decisions to work for them.

Some employers already have realized this demand. Nearly half of businesses in a recent Randstad survey said they're investing in technology, including AI, to speed and enhance their hiring processes. While the initiatives are partly aimed at freeing up hiring pros, they also serve to demonstrate employers' commitment to efficiency and tech adoption.