BYOD 3 – When the possibility becomes a demand

Humans are by nature creatures of habits and have been for ages. They like to know what to do tomorrow, next week and next month. Some people like it more monotonically some like it more varied. During the last decades the staffing business and independent contracting has made big entrances to the market. This type of employment fits some people better some worse. (I won’t go into the staffing business market and independent contracting but on a brief level I think they are devastating to people. Read my first sentences and you understand why. ) Normally young people are more or less forced into this type of employment. On the other hand it can be a gold mine if you are really good on something but then you most probably also has a buffer when between assignments because of the good salary. But in most cases people like to be permanently employed. It is safer and you know what to do tomorrow, next week and next month as long as you do your work, behaves and the company works ok.

So why do I point this out? Because I think independent contracting in the long term is not good for people. Also; when you start to expand the use of independent contracting you bit by bit remove the soul of the company. No no, this is not a communist thing, it’s out of politics. It is how human works. This post is about BYOD.

It’s good to be professional. It’s good to be private. If you erase the barrier between you most probably will have a less good private life and you will produce less good when professional. Devices are one of those barriers you shouldn’t erase. BYOD is an eraser.

There are a lot of employers who always try to use laws and systems at a maximum and with a mind set of “is there a possibility – use it”. I think we will see employers (staffing employers or the companies who engages independent contractors) who will set BYOD as a demand. And that’s when it becomes scary. What will happen when the company says “you have to bring your own computer if you want to work here”? Will the difference between keeping an assignment or not be the device, its quality and speed, if you have a support agreement or not on the device – because it will break sooner or later? Will a broken computer be a reason to fire someone? This contingency will cause disorder for people. No, it will not bring all things upside down but the contingency a BYOD demand can cause will transpose into disorder for people. On top of this; will companies pay additional salary or will they see it as a possibility to cut costs and increase the ROI.

Current and especially future employers have to be attractive to attract good people. One way is to allow BYOD. But if I was a good prospect to employee I would say “please give me the device” instead of asking “can I bring my own?"

Note. I’m pro to be device independent; you should be able to use any different device to access the companies IT services. I just don’t like what might be a result of BYOD. Humans are by nature creatures of habits. They like to know what to do tomorrow, next week and next month. Provide your employers with the equipment and devices they need to fulfill their tasks.

This 3 step rocket is another point of view on the BYOD trend, my critical view.