Internet generation thrives on new working norms
With the growth of a knowledge economy, the Internet has become the lifeline of many organisations. Knowledge workers use the web extensively to perform their tasks.
The web helps in information gathering, communication and other tasks.
The pervasiveness of the Internet has spawned a whole new generation of workers with specific characteristics. This ‘Internet’ generation have a unique style of working and behaviour owing to the fact that they are adept at using the web for wide variety of functions.
This generation is usually in the age group of 25 -35 years and the older generation (which typically includes the senior management) of the organisation may find it difficult to accept such behaviour or even find it quirky.
This generation has a culture of its own which is bound to become the culture of most workplaces in the future.
Awareness of what constitutes this culture will help in understanding workplace attitudes and behaviour.
Understanding the reasons behind such behaviour will definitely improve the quality of workplace relations and take employee interaction to the next level. Some insights:
Members of the Internet generation have no qualms about walking out of a boring or long-drawn presentation even if others may find this inexcusable.
For them, this is just an extension of the habit to click past irrelevant web pages they come across while doing a search.
They prefer communication or information that is bang on and doesn’t meander; they want quick and immediate access to what they are looking for and hate wasting time.
This is because the generation has a shorter attention span. \Also they prefer to divide tasks into smaller units to suit this tendency.
They believe working on smaller units of a larger task helps them give their full interest and in turn improves their efficiency. Putting too many tasks on their platter will only backfire.
Similarly after meeting someone for the first time, they want to find more information about the person or organisation online.
Based on what they find, they will be willing to move forward in the relationship. This active search for information should not be misinterpreted as nosy behaviour.
If the information is vague, chances of further progress are less. This generation places a high value of transparency because sensitive and confidential information is easily accessible.
Hiding what can be easily accessed is seen as dubious. Full and accurate information is the key to working with this generation and others must provide the same.
This generation does not believe in asking for information from their managers or supervisor. They seek it on their own using their online communities and social networking sites.
They like to get the information they want without waiting it to trickle down from the top or through the levels of hierarchy. Such ways of transferring information is alien to them.
Working in a knowledge economy this generation believes free access to information helps them to work efficiently. They do not like restrictions placed on their time and opportunity to gather information.
Authenticity is given high value by these employees. They are open and honest in their online interactions and expect the same from others especially when knowledge sharing.
This does not mean readily sharing sensitive or important information but they want others to accept the fact that to work efficiently and gain access to the right information each one has to be inter-dependent.
They appreciate the willingness and honesty to admit ignorance when one does not know.
This generation believes in providing several versions of a document or assignment before coming up with the final, finished copy.
They work on numerous rough drafts, constantly update information as and when they come across it and submit the final product only after they are fully satisfied with the content.
The ‘work in progress’ stage takes a longer time in their case.
The Internet has made it possible to access a wealth of information readily and this generation sees no need to store such information in their memory unlike the previous.
It would be wrong to think that this generation does not know much because they have a hoard of information saved on their hard disks.
These unique characteristics of the Internet generation will pervade the culture of most workplaces in the future. Being aware of it and using them to advantage will certainly help organisations gain the edge.
HEMA. G
faqs@cnkonline.com
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