With many employees working from home, or from a different workspace due to the pandemic, desk-based habits, mindsets and paradigms likely run deep. These employees have access to tools like email, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Salesforce to meet communication needs. In many cases, however, companies have not provided platforms for their non-desk workforce. In large part, this may be because they have not taken the time to understand who they are, how they work and what matters most to them.
Gaining a better understanding of the non-desk workforce drives engagement, reduces turnover and increases productivity. Despite being 80% of the world’s employees—with food manufacturing workers accounting for nearly 11% of that—the non-desk workforce has largely gone overlooked and ignored. As the recent pandemic reinforces the importance of these workers in keeping businesses and the overall economy going, it also serves as a window into how these workers operate— including how they behave, communicate and use technology.