At a workshop for senior leaders a few months ago I was asked what I thought about the effect of technology on future generations. These baby boomers were clearly concerned about a possible lack of social skills and emotional intelligence that comes from a focus on technology instead of face -to- face or even telephone communication. Yahoo recently changed their policy of telecommuting, hypothesizing that in person contact was necessary for optimal innovation, creativity and collaboration. So what implications does this have for employee engagement?
In a workshop I recently attended at the SHRM-Atlanta conference, the presenter from Symbolist noted four problems with our reliance on technology:
1. It creates psychological distance and negative physical affects.
People who use Facebook, Linkedin or other social networks are 30% less likely to know their neighbors and 26% less likely to provide them companionship.
A 2010 study found that while nearly 70% of students report reading posts from a close friend that seemed like a cry for emotional help, less than 50% reported they would make a personal visit to see the distressed friend. Students report that at least 1/2 the time they are uncertain whether the sender is joking or serious. Technology, of course, does not allow for gestures, body language or facial expression.
2. It decreases communication clarity
Online tools help people communicate with one another without the visual cues we get from actual human contact, thus reducing the ability to respond with appropriate emotional intelligence . Digital relationships carry misunderstandings and can cause confusion.
3. It creates – faux relationships -Being there and yet not being there
On-line relationships can be pseudo relationships.
4. Removes context around information reducing meaningful knowledge transfer
Context is critical.
He states that engagement programs should be designed for effectiveness and efficiency, and they should:
1. Emphasize training
2. Encourage in person communication
3. Socialize culture stories such as the Ritz-Carlton. “Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen”
4. Craft symbols of organization culture like the greyhound symbol for the transportation company
5. Leverage technology appropriately ie., Zappos.com.
JUN
About the Author:
Deborah Brown (Debbie) founded Atlanta based D&B Consulting, Inc. in 1993 to provide executive career and leadership coaching, and executive career transitions and outplacement services to organizations and individuals. She is a Master Practitioner of the MBTI personality assessment and a Certified Social + Emotional Intelligence Coach® through the Institute of Social + Emotional Intelligence® of Denver, Colorado. Debbie earned the SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources) certification.