When we go somewhere it is very usual that we ask if Wi-Fi is available. This is so to the extent that now restaurants, hotel lobbies, shops, offices, and other public places advertise that they have free Wi-Fi. We wonder how we can ever do without it. We need to remember that Wi-Fi is only two decades old. In fact, it was 20 years old this week.

Persons under the age of 20 try to wonder what life was like without it. Those of us who know what life without Wi-Fi was like, would rather not remember. Wi-Fi has made life easier in general and it has made it much easier to communicate. It has certainly changed our social and personal lives.

One pertinent question is whether it has changed our working life. Or does it have the potential to change our working life? Has it made doing business any easier? Does the economy function more effectively thanks to Wi-Fi, which by the way needs to be remembered that it is a brand name. It is one of those brand names that have become so much assimilated with the product or service that they have merged into one – like biro.

I believe that in Malta we are still not exploiting fully the opportunities offered by Wi-Fi. It is fine if one wishes to use social media. Probably in that regard we are over-using Wi-Fi. However, when it comes to working and operating efficiently, thanks to Wi-Fi, we still have a long way to go.

We can mention two examples. First, although Wi-Fi allows employees to work remotely, we still need to come to grips with the concept of remote working. Admittedly, there are some jobs that do not allow for remote working, especially those which are client facing. On the other hand, there is equally a number of other jobs that make remote working very possible.

The benefits of remote working can be numerous. It may allow persons, who would otherwise not work, to find a job. It saves on office space. It reduces traffic flow, which in Malta is no small thing. Working remotely may enable employees to have a better work-life balance. It may also help employers to find more suitable employees for their vacancies, as they widen the pool of potential candidates.

Wi-Fi, like most other things in life, represents an opportunity not a threat

Yet, working remotely requires a totally different approach to managing the performance of the employees. We may need to focus less on time and more on the task to be done. It also requires employees to learn how to work in a team, which is not necessarily present all the time at the place of work, in all its components.

I believe, so far, a number of employers have viewed remote working as a threat rather than an opportunity. Employers have not helped themselves in this regard as they have not always shown themselves to be capable to act responsibly.

The second example is online client servicing. Some people tell you that, if possible, they would always seek to get serviced, be it shopping, or to acquire a service, online. There are others who still want to have a paper-based transaction and would still want to have a physical presence, even though it is time consuming and inefficient.

This latter group of people would still insist on holding on to cash to pay for their transactions, rather than pay online. They would rather wait in a queue than get serviced in the comfort of their homes. Moreover, there are also still a number of service providers that have shied away from offering online solutions to their clients.

To benefit fully from Wi-Fi, we need to go beyond processes and work on culture. Focussing on processes would mean not taking into account the human side of change. We forget that any change in processes also brings with it a change at the personal level. Making Wi-Fi widely available is a very good start. We need to support this by seeking to promote a change in attitude. Wi-Fi, like most other things in life, represents an opportunity not a threat.