Retail Staffers Grapple with Workplace Technology

Retail workers are struggling to engage productively with technology at a time when rapid changes to the work environment have made digital service more important than ever, according to new data from Qualtrics (Provo, Utah, and Seattle).

While the pandemic accelerated technology use at work, many companies cobbled together short-term solutions that now need to be updated, consolidated, or standardized.

The result: retail workers are unhappy with the tech tools they’re being given on the job. More specifically, overall, 34% of the poll respondents said the technology their workplace provides exceeds their expectations, but less than a quarter (24%) of retail employees feel that way.

In a similar vein, 54 percent of all employees say they are rarely disrupted by major system changes, but only 49 percent of retail workers say the same.

“Post pandemic, getting the right technology is one of the biggest challenges facing companies as they try to keep their employees productive and engaged,” Qualtrics Chief Workplace Psychologist Benjamin Granger said in a news release. “It can be tempting to try to solve problems by introducing new technologies, but sometimes consolidating platforms to streamline processes is a better solution. Using tech that doesn’t meet their needs or slows their productivity can be frustrating and contribute to employee burnout, so regularly listening to employees who use the tech tools is essential.”

This data is from a recent study of more than 35,000 employees from nine countries. Click here for more on Qualtrics’ survey.