5 Reasons Businesses Should Embrace Social Networking & Microblogging Culture in the Workplace | TECH / BUSINESS / TRENDS
1. Apples to Oranges: The Digital Age Is Evolving Work/Life Balance
The Digital Age has brought with it a breadth of cost-cutting, time-saving technologies for business (i.e. email, wifi, word processing, networks, scanning, ppts, pdfs - to name a few of the most basic game changers), exponentially raising the quality of output, and shifting turnaround expectations into hyper speed. These very same technologies have also evolved how we perceive work time, and interact with our work in and out of the office...With basic technologies like emailing, IM, video chatting, and mobile devices like BlackBerries and iPhones, we are connected to the job 24/7.
We're not thinking in traditional 9-5 mode anymore. Moving forward, businesses need to understand these shifts in work/life balance, and accept reasonable intersection between the two worlds -- i.e. We might have a Facebook tab open while at the office, but we might also check the office email before we go to bed -- and even respond when necessary. We simply cannot compare the expectations and processes of the last century to those of today.
2. Generation Y Are Born Multitaskers
We're often talking to our clients about how Generation Y has an evolved digital mindset, as they were born into a digital culture. Years of fast-paced media input, social networking, chatting, texting and immediate & vast accessibility to content and information have given them unprecedented multitasking skills. On the flip side, they demand a constant stream of incoming information and stimulation. Their attention is fragmented. But unlike older generations, they're natural-born experts at cutting the digital clutter, and naturally efficient at quickly filtering large masses of information for relevance. As Generation Y enters and takes over the workforce, stuffy perceptions of acceptable online behavior and workflow in the office will continue to outdate themselves.
3. Staying Connected/Stimulated Makes For Happy Workers
Here at The Zandl Group, we're in the business of staying connected to culture, news and trends. Being active online is a key way that we stay tapped into emerging trends, how people are interacting and what's grabbing consumers' attentions. But there's still a positive slant for employees of businesses where it may not be directly relevant to stay current on the latest celebrity tweets, or friend's Facebook statuses; These activities fulfill their increasing need for constant stimulation, and innate craving for connectivity. Such 'distractions' can actually help maintain general focus, keep them stress-free, and promote good teamwork and communication skills. And happy, stimulated workers are always a good thing.
Instead of banning workers from online activities that fall out of direct relevance to the job, businesses should find ways to tap into those interests...or offer alternate distractions that can provide some more diversity to the work day. Google, for instance has mastered this concept in their offices -- offering and encouraging constant creative diversions, collaborative projects and activities that stimulate workers and break up the day's tasks...
"Studies that accuse social networks of reducing productivity assume that time spent microblogging is time strictly wasted. But that betrays an ignorance of the creative process. Humans weren’t designed to maintain a constant focus on assigned tasks. We need periodic breaks to relieve our conscious minds of the pressure to perform — pressure that can lock us into a single mode of thinking. Musing about something else for a while can clear away the mental detritus, letting us see an issue through fresh eyes, a process that creativity researchers call incubation. “People are more successful if we force them to move away from a problem or distract them temporarily,” observe the authors of Creativity and the Mind, a landmark text in the psychology and neuroscience of creativity. They found that regular breaks enhance problem-solving skills significantly, in part by making it easier for workers to sift through their memories in search of relevant clues."4. Creativity Counts
[via Wired.com]
Creative thinkers make good workers. Keeping a creative, tapped-in workforce maintains a fresh environment, where inspired ideas can be developed and nurtured into good, healthy decisions for the business. The most successful businesses and brands today got to the top by being innovative and relevant to the world.
"According to Don Ambrose, a Rider University professor who studies creative intelligence, incubation is most effective when it involves exposing the mind to entirely novel information rather than just relieving mental pressure. This encourages creative association, the mashing together of seemingly unrelated concepts — a key step in the creative process.5. Generation Y Are Entrepreneurial & Write Their Own Rules
History is full of tales of revelations that were helped along by such conceptual collisions...George de Mestral had the initial brainstorm for Velcro during a 1941 hunting trip, when he noticed how difficult it was to pick Alpine burrs off of his clothes.
This means that tweets about Lady Gaga’s lingerie can help someone debugging Perl code. (Or a tweet about Perl code may help Lady Gaga’s underwear stylist.) A random scrap of information can trigger just the right conceptual collision. It’s hard to know which scrap might do the trick, but that’s the beauty of social networks — they constantly produce potential sparks, for free."
[via Wired.com]
There is so much to learn from the Gen Y mindset. They're problem-solvers, go-getters and tend to write their own rules. Don't tell them what to do (or what they can't do); They might just simply walk away. They expect customization, flexibility and easy/instant means of communication/collaboration with their peers. They're confident in their talents, value and resourcefulness.
As opportunity seekers, their heroes in business are often entrepreneurial success stories (Sergey Brin & Larry Page of Google), or self-made superstars via YouTube, blogs (Tavi, Justin Bieber, Perez, Fred). If businesses offer the right tools, opportunities and environment that align with these ideals, they're likely to attract great employees, who will be inspired to perform at their best.
But of course, there's always a point where things can go too far...Overriding caveat to all of the above: Everything in moderation.
Jamie Dwyer
Senior Creative Director
Zandl Group
2 comments:
What a great resource!
I'd say that if one wanted to look elegant and feel good about her body, a designer lingerie should be worn. Fashion lingerie has been specifically designed to make a woman look feminine, sophisticated, and most of all, gorgeous.
Thanks for sharing!
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