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Australian positivity towards tech for work halved in year two of the pandemic

  • Just a third of workers found tech empowering at the end of 2021 compared to almost two thirds in 2020
  • Tech-enabled remote or flexible working is still desired by half of Australians – while virtual collaboration tools and video conferencing have suffered the biggest fall in popularity
  • Attitudes towards tech for leisure are increasingly neutral amid calls for faster, easier, and more accessible services

Sydney, Australia, 24th May 2022

New consumer research from Infosys (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, has found that two years of pandemic-induced reliance on technology for work has altered our relationship with digital apps and services.

When asked what they’d like to see the back of respondents stated they were tired of “Zoom video calls” and “being contactable 24/7”. In turn appetite for virtual collaboration tools and video conferencing has dropped, despite the use of technology to enable remote and flexible working being the popular application of digital services.

A year prior, in November 2020 Infosys’ CX to HX report revealed that tech was bringing Australians more joy, flexibility, and empowerment than ever before. This time around respondents spoke of “a love-hate relationship” with using tech for work, reflecting in part on the ease of it, but also referring to it as “exhausting” and “depressing”.

This follows reports of employee tracking software having become the ‘new normal’, while Google data suggests our virtual working lives are here to stay with foot traffic into offices yet to return to pre-pandemic levels as of April 2022.

Andrew Groth, Executive Vice President Region Head, Australia & New Zealand commented; “as employers continue to evolve and advocate for digital tools, they need to keep in mind the mental strain people are experiencing with uncapped screen time. Digital Fatigue means less clarity and creativity, resulting in a reduced capability to innovate and explore new ideas.”

Interestingly the study also revealed New Zealanders experienced a much smaller drop in positive sentiment – from 57% in ’20 to 41% in ’21 – suggesting that Australia being home to Melbourne, the world’s most locked down city, may have greatly impacted local sentiment.

Matt Kain, WONGDOODY President APAC reflected on this point, stating; “fatigue is not universal, a fact that will challenge global businesses that are designing with employee welfare in mind – underscoring the need for personalisation”.

From good to best – what’s next for digital services?

Respondents were twice as likely to feel neutral about using tech for leisure this time around, but anecdotal responses suggested it’s easier to strike a balance between our virtual and physical lives outside of work.

There’s plenty of positives too with the elderly and immunocompromised having described their online lives as a “life-line” and “empowering”.

In terms of what people want more of, speed and ease of use increased its lead as the most important factor for Australians, with 80% of respondents calling this out as the leading driver of brand loyalty.

Andrew Groth commented; “consumers are calling for digital experiences that are quick and easy so getting those basics right then going beyond that to create the kind of entertaining, empowering and helpful experiences people want is where a valuable point of difference exists.”

“Meanwhile, the metaverse concept represents a nascent potential for brands and users to connect in completely new ways and truly transform the digital era. What we’re seeing is the rise of a parallel online reality, where people can work, shop, and connect digitally – with good design making it feel more human”

In terms of the digital services recognised as most improved over the past year, respondents rated banking and retail most highly, followed closely by groceries. These services were also recognised as the most accessible for people with a disability, which is important to note given respondents called specifically for more inclusive design that’s tested by the end user.

One respondent asked that businesses “hire disabled people to test and give feedback because if you don’t have the disability, you can’t give accurate feedback like we can.”

Another observed that accessibility benefits all users stating, “I have noticed technology becoming easier to use, probably due to the increasing amount of people of all ages and technical skills using websites and services.”

“Two years into the pandemic it’s clear our relationship with technology is beginning to strain” commented Matt Kain.

“What’s promising is that respondents still see the joy in technology, with its ability to connect coming through strongly. It’s this human aspect of technology that will become increasingly desirable and set businesses apart – but only if they make it accessible by design” he concluded.

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About Infosys

Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. We enable clients in more than 50 countries to navigate their digital transformation. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer our clients through their digital journey. We do it by enabling the enterprise with an AI-powered core that helps prioritize the execution of change. We also empower the business with agile digital at scale to deliver unprecedented levels of performance and customer delight. Our always-on learning agenda drives their continuous improvement through building and transferring digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

 

About WONGDOODY

WONGDOODY is an award-winning creative agency and the global experience-and-design platform for Infosys. The company is recognized for branding, retail, and consumer insights. With offices in Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, Melbourne, London and across the globe; WONGDOODY clients have included Amazon, Honda, and a wide range of Fortune 500 companies.

 

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, financial expectations and plans for navigating the COVID-19 impact on our employees, clients and stakeholders are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding COVID-19 and the effects of government and other measures seeking to contain its spread, risks related to an economic downturn or recession in India, the United States and other countries around the world, changes in political, business, and economic conditions, fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry and the outcome of pending litigation and government investigation. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

 

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