I have to admit: my instinct, whenever I encounter the conventional wisdom regarding a so called generational gap with today's web 2.0 and enterprise 2.0 tools, is to be highly skeptical. As much as a major part of my job as an analyst is to categorize things and draw conclusions from data, such broad generalizations don't sit well with me. I do think younger workers are more likely to be acclimated to these technologies, and as such are perhaps more used to integrating such tools into their daily lives - a major advantage. But that does not necessarily mean they are more capable of using them effectively - or even like using them any more than other generations. It just means they have had more focused practice time.
Still, there is plenty of data out there that points to some differences. One of my favorite general blogs on all things web 2.0 is Read Write Web. This week, they posted a link to recent LexisNexis study on the topic.
There is some great data in this study. Download it here. Here are a few highlights:
First, reality or not, a clear majority (57%) of respondents agree that a generation gap exists in their workplace. However, belief in this gap varies significantly by age. 69% of Gen Y believe the gap exists versus only 51% of Boomers.
All ages and levels of white collar workers agree that new technology and software applications have made it easier to:
But, when you start to look at social software, the statistics begin to diverge.
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62% of Gen Y reports accessing a social networking site from work; versus only 14% of Boomers.
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47% of Gen Y access Internet bulletin boards and forums from work - versus 27% of Boomers
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44% of Gen Y access multimedia sharing web sites from work - versus 24% of Boomers.
Image Credit: Lexis-Nexis / Captured: 04.28.2009
Interestingly, younger workers are more concerned that the unrestricted use of software, hardware and the Internet at work may not be good for their own workplace productivity. 32% of Boomers think the Internet can decrease workplace productivity, versus 50% of Gen Y workers who think so.
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22% of Gen Y say that social networking web sites decrease their productivity at work, versus 0% of Boomers and 7% of Gen X.
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22% of Gen Y say that multimedia sharing web sites decrease their productivity at work, versus only 3% of Boomers and 7% of Xers.
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15% of Yers think Blogs decrease their workplace productivity ,versus only 1% of Boomers and 4% of Gen Xers.
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53% of Gen Yers agree that personal devices, such as Blackberries and mobile phones, encourage too much multi-tasking.
So, does Gen Y's know something that rest of us don't. Does their greater experience with these tools translate into some wisdom not learned by older generations with these tools? Or are they just using them more? Probably both.
The generations differ on etiquette for these tools as well:
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While a over two thirds (68%) of all Boomers agree that PDAs and mobile phones contribute to a decline in proper workplace etiquette, less than half (46%) of Gen Y workers think so.
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While over two thirds of Boomer workers think the use of a laptop or PDA during in-person meetings is “distracting”(68%), less than half (49%) of Gen Y workers think so.
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While only 17% of Boomers think using laptops or PDAs during in-person meetings is “efficient,”over one third (35%) of Gen Y think it is.
Certainly these differences could lead to workplace friction. Organiations would be advised to address them explicitly, but I would caution against arbitrary rules setting. Behind these numbers, its obvious that younger workers maintain strong ties via these tools. Forcing these connections to go underground can only serve to drive a wedge between the generations.
At our recent IMPACT conference, we encouraged attendees to provide live commentary on the event as it happened via blogs and Twitter; that meant rapid typing on laptops and mobile devices during presentations. I did my fair share of Twittering. No one around me expressed any distraction, but I also tried to minimize the possibility by sitting well off the side of the room. To any IMPACT attendees, comment below on whether or not you noticed the handful of individuals blogging during the sessions?
Overall, I would say out attempt at getting the attendees to join in the blogging and Twittering less than successful. There were 5-10 posters, but that's not great out of a conference of over 300. Why do few? There were some logistical challenges: the internet connection had issues. But I don't think that stopped anyone really, just slowed them down. Dave Wilkens, Sr. Director of Product Strategy at Mzinga called out the demographics of our attendees as the reason for the lack of such web 2.0 participation. Our conference certainly skews towards the higher rungs of the org chart - and thus includes higher %'s of boomers and Gen X than the general population at large - and certainly what's to be expected at other general learning industry events. But is the generational divide to blame for the lack of live-Twittering at IMPACT?
I am not so sure. I think it would be best for the early Twitter adopters out there to use Oprah as a measuring stick. Twitter acheived Oprah consciousness - a good indicator of awareness in the population at large - just a few weeks ago. On April 17, the day of Oprah's very public first Tweet, 37% of visits to the Twitter.com home page were new visitors. It is hard to pin down lack of Twitter adoption pre-Oprah as an indication of luddite tendencies and not simply as a problem of brand-awareness. Post-Oprah we should be now be able to get a better sense as to whether there will be true generational differences in valuing and using microblogging technologies.
Image Credit: CNET
This is obviously a topic that bears further attention. In our High Impact Learning Organization research last year, we asked you how big a challenge meeting the needs of younger workers was for your organization:
Forty percent of all respondents stated that their challenge of training younger workers is very large or significant. That is, nearly half of the respondent organizations have large populations of younger workers to train. So obviously its important. And we will be conducting futher research into meeting the needs of younger workers later this year. Organizations should start by developing a strategy for social learning - and for formalizing the informal learning already happening within the organiation. Check out our new Enterprise Learning Framework for guidance.
Is this divide an issue for your organization? If yes, how are you addressing it? Comments welcome as always.
- David