Workers Give Construction’s Slow Tech Adoption a Thumbs Down
Date Posted: May 16, 2023
Posted In: Workforce,
From Construction Dive: Industries like supply chain management and healthcare are benefiting from the perception of technological proficiency, while construction is viewed as “the least technologically competent” by workers, according to a new study.
Construction ranked at the bottom of 10 surveyed sectors, according to purchase-to-pay software developer Yooz’s 2023 Technology in the Workplace survey, released on April 26. Construction was bested by the automotive and restaurant industries at No. 8 and No. 9, respectively, and was far below manufacturing, at No. 5. The software and healthcare industries ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively.
The report surveyed 600 U.S. professionals with a minimum salary of $50,000 who worked in fields such as healthcare, software and construction. Many were tech-savvy; 64% of all participants said they spent more than half their work day using workplace technologies, with 37% saying they spent more than three-quarters of their day using them.
Dive Insight:
Proficiency is not the only facet of tech that matters to workers — they also see comparative adoption rates as integral to their career mobility, particularly for younger professionals.
When asked, “To what extent do you agree or disagree with the statement: The way my industry views adopting new technology is a barrier to my career advancement,” 50% of workers under 25 in all industries said they either agreed or strongly agreed. This compared to just 30% of workers 25 and older.
In addition to adoption and proficiency, workers also want better training — many in the survey expressed frustration with the state of instruction at their companies. Only 20% of survey participants said their IT departments trained them, and 4% said that responsibility fell to their human resources department. A majority said they were self-taught or relied on informal instruction through their peers or online services.