The Future of Office Work: Balancing Automation with the Human Touch
April 16, 2025
Workplace automation can refer to any technology that performs repetitive tasks with little or no human oversight. For example, you might use a marketing automation system like Mailchimp to target customers who purchased a specific product from your company. By automating the process, your marketing team can focus on creative projects instead of performing mundane tasks.
While workplace automation tools can benefit your organization in several ways, you shouldn't let them replace employees. After all, your human employees have skills that help them excel in areas where apps usually fail. That makes it important for you to keep people engaged even as you adopt more automation tools.
Benefits of Automation in the Office
Automation will play an increasingly important role in the future of office work because it offers several benefits.
Increased Productivity and Accuracy
Automation tools can perform repetitive tasks much faster than humans can. Additionally, these digital tools don't need to rest, so they can work 24 hours a day without taking breaks.
Let's say your office needs to add 100 new entries to its database. It might take a human an entire shift to enter this information. An automated data-entry tool, however, could do the work within seconds or minutes.
Just as importantly, automation tools don't fall victim to human error. Even the most detail-oriented person will make mistakes when performing a mindless task for hours. When properly calibrated for the job, digital apps should produce fewer — or potentially no — errors.
Lower Costs
Automation lowers costs by working faster than humans can. Instead of hiring six people to enter data, you can have one person oversee an automated data entry app.
Considering that the average data entry keyer makes about $40,000 per year, adopting automation tools could easily save hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Of course, office automation systems can do much more than enter information into a database. Let's say you automate aspects of your marketing campaigns. That would lower your payroll costs by about $83,000 per person.
Enhanced Decision-Making Processes
You need accurate data to make informed decisions for your business. Automation's lower error rate and faster speed give you access to accurate information in close to real time. You can also pair your automation tools with a data analysis platform to get deeper insights that drive success.
Challenges Posed by Office Automation
Office automation can also pose some challenges.
Potential Job Displacement
As automation takes over more tasks, some companies will reduce their workforce sizes to save money. This is a serious concern that could produce far-reaching socio-economic effects.
However, companies can avoid this issue by investing in upskilling and reskilling programs. Instead of laying off workers, you can encourage them to learn new skills that make them useful in the future of office work.
Cybersecurity Concerns
Automation tools can only do their jobs when they can access your data. As you add more tools to your IT ecosystem, you can expect the number of connected accounts to grow, too. Eventually, some will become inactive accounts that pose serious cybersecurity concerns.
Tools designed with security in mind can also become access points for hackers. If you don't update the software, criminals could use known vulnerabilities to access your network. Therefore, your IT team needs to keep software updated and encrypt data for greater protection.
Relying Too Heavily on the Technology
Too much automation could mean you lose the "human touch" that customers want from your brand. For example, if your customer service solution relies too heavily on automation, customers might become frustrated by answers that don't address their deeper concerns.
You can lower the risk of losing the human touch by acknowledging that automation doesn't fulfill all jobs equally. It could make more sense to have a human do the job, even if it takes that person more time.
Also, keep in mind that digital tools can't replace the creative thinking and problem-solving you get from talented employees.
Finding the Balance: Cooperative Work Environments
Finding a balance between automation tools and human employees often means finding workers who know how to use the tools effectively. Instead of letting automation take over your office, incorporate tools into processes so they can assist employees. Ideally, you want to create more time and opportunities for humans to use their critical thinking and creativity.
Need help finding people who fit the future of office work? Reach out to Snelling Staffing or MRINetwork today—we’re ready to help you fill your immediate talent needs with professionals who are built for what’s next.