The New York Times recently did some anecdotal research on feeling awkward with talking to friends, in person, to resolve differences. Of course, these social habits are likely to rub off into the work place, and may affect your employees and therefore your business. Do you see a problem with your employees not being able to resolve differences in person? A lot of problems can arise in business from not being able to negotiate a problem, which is a critical social competent skill, as well as a vital business skill. The reliance on the Internet and cell phones have made it easier for people to avoid situations that make them feel uncomfortable.
Is technology hindering our face-to-face ability to communicate? Although the ability to text and e-mail is terribly convenient in a world where time is so vital, is it allowing people to avoid conflict? Although these technological mediums are important, we need to remember how important it is to use face-to-face contact. It is important to have this face-to-face to reduce ambiguity and clearly be able to work through situations that inevitably will arise.
As the younger “texting” generation becomes more integrated into the work place, a greater need to focus on face-to-face communication will become vital. The ability to negotiate problems and handle situations up front and strategically will be critical for the success of your business.
To Read full article: http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/do-you-feel-awkward-talking-to-your-friends-in-person/
= Oh My Goodness, Are You Going Crazy!
I have a small counseling practice on the side where I focus on helping teenagers navigate through life. During the past few years, I’ve personally seen a rapid decline in many teenager’s everyday social skills. Some of my observations include difficulties addressing conflict, smaller vocabulary, poor non-verbals communication, inability to express emotions through verbal means (outside of the Text Message Shorthand of sideways smiley or frowny faces), and an overall discomfort with spoken conversations. I know what you’re thinking at this point – welcome to working with teenagers! However, I truly believe that this is largely due to a decrease in experience with face-to-face communication, and solely relying on texting, emailing, and instant messaging, where the human interaction is removed.
As I pondered on this article and my experience from the previous day, I thought about the up and coming generations of employees. Will people avoid face-to-face interaction or choose to go through the self/automated checkout because they feel uncomfortable interacting with someone they don’t know? I don’t want to sound like an extremist, but I believe phone texting, emails, instant messengers, and automated checkout counters among other technological advances will have a detrimental impact to up and coming generations.
