UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

CAWANGAN PAHANG KAMPUS JENGKA

ASM 453: ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT

GROUP ASSIGNMENT (ARTICLE REVIEW)

COPING WITH NEW TECHNOLOGY

PREPARED BY:
NUR ELYANE NATAHSA BINTI SUZAHAKASIMI (2022942919)
NUR AUNI BINTI ALIAS (2022762385)
NUR SURAYA BINTI MAT SAAD (2022786389)

PREPARED FOR:
MADAM NOOR DALILA BINTI MUSA

SUBMITTED BY:
DECEMBER 2, 2022
 TABLE OF CONTENT

Content Page
TABLE OF CONTENT……………………………………………………………………………………2
INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………………….3
OPINION…………………………………………………………………………………………………….4-5
CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………………………..6
REFERENCE…………………………………………………………………………………………………7

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INTRODUCTION
Coping with new technology is the topic that we have chosen for our group assignment for
article review. The article which is ‘New Technology, Work and Employment in the era of COVID-19:
reflecting on legacies of research’ was written by Andy Hodder and publish online in 3rd August 2020.

What is technology? To be more specific the word Technology is the combination of two
words from Greek, techne and logos. Techne means art, craft, or skill and logos means " to speak of".
In human words we can conclude that technology is a tool that can change and manipulate the human
environment to a make life easier or more pleasant and work more productive and efficiently. With
technology, it helps us to solve many issues such as file management, report generation and growth
tracking that always hamper employer productivity especially now that our country is stuck with covid-
19 crisis. The Out-break of Covid-19 has had a huge impact on employees that can cause them stress
and even get fired from their workplace.

Coping with new technology with current covid-19 crisis is also one of the challenges that
affecting the Administrative Office Manager because due to very advanced technology. Working in a
new environment allows them to get used to being always sensitive and be able to adapt in a new
working environment such as work from home, using an advanced technology, be able to conduct any
activities in online platform and others (Hodder, 2022). While some employees may enjoy the
challenge of using new technology or see the long-term benefits, others will have understandable
concerns about what it means to face work changes that involve advanced technology in the
workplace that make them stress while doing works. Due to this pandemic, the government has
introduced various advanced systems and methods that allow employees to work as usual with more
efficiency (Renu, 2021). Although the advancement of technology has played its best role in ensuring
and maintaining ongoing activities, we also need to take into account the adaptation of employees
about technology because they may experience difficulties in using advanced technology because
employees have gotten used to working manually for a long time and it may be difficult for them to
adjust the new working environment that involve themselves with technology. In this kind of
pandemic situation, the AOM and the organization have to play a very big role in helping employees
to adapt themselves with advanced technology so that employees can accept very drastic changes in
their jobs. With this, they will not feel burdened and can work comfortably and earnestly to learn new
ways of working and can be independent in various situations.

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OPINION

The article stressed several issues that rose up during the pandemic COVID-19 to the people
working environment and how they can change their habit to adapt to the new working lifestyle. There
is benefit and drawback in having use the new technology, as the saying said ‘There is two side of a
coin if you are willing to see’. The article helps people assess their previous working experience with
technology and understand the issues currently facing by us in the nowadays world. The aftermath of
the COVID-19 crisis on working lives is immeasurable which give change to our work and social lives.

The issues arise are when the world facing the pandemic, the government forced to close all
sector and encourage them working from home unless it impossible to do so. They are categorized as
‘key’ or ‘essentials’ workers in which ‘key’ workers are count as importance to keep the economy run
smoothly and the ‘essential’ workers are those who can work from home (Hodder, 2022). The workers
encounter the consequence of technology on working life in a couple of aspect such as control,
consent and resistant which the pressure from the usual or normal working environment increase to
the next level that sometime may overload their capacity to handle the burden while in the self-
isolation in their own home away from their colleague and superior (Rauch & Ansari, 2021). The
workers also struggle to adapt to individualised ‘workplace’, which bring them a distinct lack of mutual
support from colleagues, and negative implications for career progression. Working from home
suddenly become their new reality which to some is a blessing and for other is a tough reality because
the flexible working hour is not an option and must be available at any time (Hodder, 2022). In fact,
home-based teleworkers work longer hours and, consequently, have difficulty in separating paid work
from their private life is well documented and is considered one of the main negative effects of such
work (Lodovici, 2021).

Work reinforcement and increased managerial control govern the findings of the current
research on technologies at work. Technology increased electronic monitoring, the extreme work and
being push to the fullest. The article discusses the issues about homeworking and teleworking which
often depict as technology feasible, flexible and independent, desirable and perhaps unavoidable,
family and community friendly and others more (Hodder, 2022). However, those term didn’t really
mean anything if it increase work load and pressure the worker ‘online’ and ‘available’ as to prove the
presence or the attendance of the workers to their employer. The boundaries between private and
working lives also becoming blurs when the increase used of their (often personal) mobile phone for
work purposes such as video-conference or emailing. Endless video-conferencing calls have
contributed to technology fatigue, which can make workers less productive, negatively affect mental
health and impact the workers ability to work (Silber, 2022). Other than that, it also gives information

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and emails overload as people or colleagues rarely meet each other and they do not meet each other
and speak face-to-face, the volume of emails will increase immensely. Workers therefore will spend
more time on processing the information that they received (Lodovici, 2021).

On account of surge in homeworking, there will likely be an inflation in research exploring the
impact of computer vision syndrome, which arises through extended viewing of digital screens and
results in headaches, eye-strain and pain in both neck and shoulders. The article also mentioned the
psychological stress of separation from professional colleagues and the social banter and buzz that
constitutes an office environment. Involuntary changes of the working environment to the work from
home can occurring the blurring boundaries between work and personal life, resulting in feelings of
‘loneliness, irritation, worry and guilt’ (Hodder, 2022). Also, while studies have shown how emerging
technologies become entangled with social practices, leading to ‘cognitive overload’ and loss of trust
and evoking emotions such as awe, angst, stress and insecurity, less attention has been given to
workers emotional appraisals of new technologies and their responses to them, especially when these
are technologies that unsettle the core meaning and moral foundations of their work (Howcroft, D.
and Taylor P. ,2014). Moreover, in highly regulated ‘tough’ organizational context characterized by
strong ‘feeling rules,’ toughness, self-reliance, and preference for rationality over emotionality (Rauch
& Ansari, 2021).

Based on the article, I agree with statement given which are sometime work from home is
good, but prolonged of working from will give more negative effect to each individual who face these
issues. Work from home give more flexibility working hours to the single workers who don’t have
commitment at home and they can give all their attention while at home, opposite to the workers
who have commitment at home. They have to divide their time carefully to complete each task that
they have. Although even if they are doing their work according to the plan, the plan may be
interrupted by their commitment at home such as, their kids, spouse or parent. Other than that, there
are many pros and cons in using technology while working at home. The pros of using technology such
telecommuting are better balance of home and work-life, increased flexibility and autonomy,
reduction in commuting time, increased productivity, higher morale and job satisfaction, avoidance of
office politics and preservation of jobs. There are also cons which are blurring of boundaries between
work and home time and overwork, social isolation, lack of support and inadequate equipment, career
progression or promotion difficulties, resentment from colleagues and inequalities between those
who can telework and those who cannot.

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CONCLUSION
The article emphasised a number of difficulties that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic
including people’s working environments and ways they can alter their habits. The usage of new
technology has advantages and disadvantages. The article aids readers in evaluating their prior
technology employment experience and gaining an understanding of the problems we face in the
modern world. For single workers who don't have domestic responsibilities and can devote their full
focus at home, working from home offers more freedom in terms of working hours. The benefits of
using technology, such as telecommuting, include improved work-life balance, increased productivity,
and a reduction in office politics. The blurring of the lines between work and home time and overwork
are also drawbacks. The article covers the problems of working from home and teleworking, which
are frequently portrayed as being compatible with technology, autonomous and flexible, desirable
and possibly unavoidable, accommodating to families and communities, among other things (Hodder,
2022). These terms, however, didn't really mean much if they increased work demands and put
pressure on employees to be "online" and "accessible" so that they could demonstrate their presence
or attendance to their employers. When people use their mobile phones for work-related activities
like video conferencing or emailing, the lines separating their personal and professional lives are
likewise getting hazier. So, people need to know how to flexible their work in online platform and
manually in order to cope with new technology.

These days, technology plays a significant role in practically every job. Whatever sector of
business you are in, technology is advancing quickly. You must remain current with new technology if
you want to advance in your career. Nevertheless, there are a few strategies that can keep you in the
lead. First, be sure to follow the most recent news. To keep users up to date on the most recent
changes in the sector, there are several blogs and forums. Also, by attending conferences and
networking events as well, where you may pick the brains of experts and talk shop with other
businesspeople. Finally, don't be scared to try out different methods and strategies. By experimenting,
you might simply discover the next big thing.

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REFERENCE
Hodder A. (2020). New Technology, Work and Employment in the era of COVID-19: reflecting on
legacies of research. New technology, work and employment, 35(3), 262–275.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12173

Silber, M. (2022, June 21). 4 Ways to Overcome the Shadow of The Pandemic Workplace:
Technology Fatigue. Forbes.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2022/06/21/4-ways-to-
overcome-the-shadow-of-the-pandemic-workplace-technology-fatigue/?sh=14f769e4993

Howcroft, D. and Taylor P. (2014), ‘‘Plus ca Change, Plus la Meme Chose?'—Researching and
Theorising the ‘New’ New Technologies’, New Technology, Work and Employment 29, 1, 1–8.
https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/49060/5/Howcroft_Taylor_NTWE_2014_Plus_ca_change_plus_la_
meme_chose_researching_and_theorising.pdf

Rauch, M., & Ansari, S. (Shaz). (2021). Waging War from Remote Cubicles: How Workers Cope with
Technologies That Disrupt the Meaning and Morality of Their Work. Organization Science.
https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2021.1555

Lodivici, M. S. (2021). The Impact of teleworking and digital work on workers and society. Policy
Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies Directorate-General for Internal
Policies.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2021/662904/IPOL_STU(2021)662904_EN.p
df