Wireless workforce: legal issues and risks

Abstract

The proliferation wireless technology has attracted the attention of many CEOs in gaining insights into existing and emerging legal frameworks to address various issues impacting the workforce. The main purpose of gaining such insights is to develop enterprise's management strategies to address any potential legal challenges arising due to ignorance from organisations' part, or address employee concerns with respect to health and safety issues, or to improve employee well-being, or just to avoid any expensive legal battles because these changing legal frameworks may have a profound impact on organisations. The behaviour of the workforce has come under scrutiny in recent months because of the increased use of various mobile devices in order to deliver the requirements dictated by organisations. While delivering organisational requirements, the workforce use the wireless technology to gain mobility resulting in the removal of the distinction between private and professional workplaces. Further, this mobility also facilitates the workforce to adapt their work styles according to external conditions in a flexible manner. These 'flexible' aspects have forced enterprises to support their work force with devices, tools, processes and collaborative internal and external frameworks in order to achieve efficiency. However, in real life environment, some of these frameworks may conflict with domestic and international laws, union agreements and other individual employment contracts. In the mobile domain, these issues also vary by regions, economic conditions and cultural attitudes. This paper introduces the changing IT workforce due to the influence of wireless technology and provides a discussion on various issues that need to be addressed by organisations.