Prepared for Mobile Work?

Younger workers increasingly are demanding a mobile work environment, including the possibility of using their own personal smartphones and computers for work use. But many organizations are not prepared for such changes, a new survey by Citrix suggests.

The survey of more than 1,100 senior executives and IT managers in the United States and across the world found that 35 percent of businesses are under greater pressure than five years ago to adopt more flexible work practices that promote better work-life balance for employees.

But overall, use of personal devices in the workplace poses a challenge for most organizations. For example, 62 percent of businesses surveyed said they have no controls in place to manage these devices, and 45 percent of IT managers said they are unaware of all the devices being used, raising questions about security and privacy, the survey found.

Still, 25 percent of companies already support the use of smartphones, tablets and other devices in the workplace. Many of those organizations are seeing productivity gains of up to 36 percent as a result of employees using both personal and business devices, Citrix found.

Earlier this year, former federal CIO Vivek Kundra spoke about a future where federal employees could forgo a work phone and laptop and do all of their work using their personal technology.

Is your agency seeing greater demands for mobile work, and do personal devices pose a challenge for your IT managers?