How Will Younger Workers Change The Workplace?

At a recent web 2.0 conference, the speaker digressed onto the subject of employment, and told his audience that the impending war for talent means that employers will have to accept the newest workers on their own terms. He went on to specify that this included the channels of communication they preferred. He expanded on this point, saying that employers better prepare for an influx of workers who expected to be able to surf the web recreationally, IM with their friends and hang out on MySpace while at work. My first reaction was disbelief, even anger.

But I see his point, and I see evidence that he's right among the younger workers I know. They really do seem to expect these things. I'm lucky enough to work with younger employees that try their best to toe the line when it comes to company policies and expectations to stay focused on work when they are at work, but clearly they struggle. If and when opportunities come along that offer unfettered access to these things, how powerful will the attraction be?

For that matter, how will employers react when they are interviewing a promising young candidate who suddenly asks, expectantly, "I will be able to IM at work, right?" Or a promising young candidate who just assumes that he or she will be?

The speaker who brought this up went on to talk about a company he worked with, that allowed employees to spend as much time as they liked blogging every day, on any topic they liked. When he asked them about it, they told him that as long as employees were productive (produced the expected volume of high-quality work) they didn't care what else they did. That's a remarkable paradigm. I consider myself pretty progressive, but even thinking about this radical idea makes me vaguely uncomfortable.

I wonder how much the tables will turn when job seekers really have the upper hand, as many predictions suggest will happen soon. I wonder what the impact will be on businesses, not to mention on how today's managers adapt.

Comments

[David Leonhardt]

I was looking for an email address, but I could not find one. I wanted to share with you the press release at http://www.onlinerecruitersdirectory.com/news/recruiters2007.php and the accompanying report that can be downloaded by clicking the ugly blue logo at http://www.onlinerecruitersdirectory.com .

:-)

David.

[Creative class guy]

The rigid, conservative 9 to 5 work structure is over in many professions, because today's jobs often require alot more creativity and innovation than jobs did in the past. plus, we are literally expected to be "on" 24/7/365. That may look nice in profit margins, but it's not how the human brain works, especially if the job demands an element of innovation and creativity. We need time to have fun, to daydream, to think about something else for awhile. Employers have to realize that they cannot demand 24/7/365 ultra-productivity, creativity, and innovation of the modern world as well as a robotlike conservative corporate structure if they want to attract talent. If individual employees can't handle their freedom, show them the door.