I’ve reported a number of cases where managers (most famously, Barack Obama) implement an interrupt-free environment by mandating a “no cellphones” policy in meetings. While I wholeheartedly applaud this behavior, I must in all fairness report a dissenting viewpoint.
I was talking to a Gen Y worker whose company had launched such a ban, and he told me that he thought it was not a good idea at all, because his millennial generation needed the cellphones to work, he said! To his mind, having a coworker without a cellphone in ringing mode meant they were inaccessible, and hence unavailable to help him get his job done.
This is interesting. It isn’t that the younger set are unaffected by interruptions and information overload; there is ample evidence that they are, and my bet is that they pay a price just like their elders. But unlike the Boomer and Gen X population, these younger folks weigh the pros and cons differently; to them, ubiquitous communication is a part of their lifestyle both on and off the job, and they feel at a loss without it.
Looking at the bigger picture, I’d say that the real goal should be to strike a better balance between communication and concentration that will benefit everybody, Gen Y and Boomers alike. We need a balance because we can’t simply disconnect them and let them work in their diverse methods. They may have different expectations, but they share the same work environment and the same message flow; they can’t each choose their preferred work style in isolation. Finding a work culture that works for everybody, and that drives nobody nuts, will be a worthy challenge for the coming years.
The Information Overload Research Group is organizing a private one-day gathering of people who are leading the battle against Information Overload from a diversity of domains such as business, academia, technology, journalism, psychology, and research. If you share our passion, we’d love your attendance in San Francisco on Feb. 25, 2012.
For more details, and registration information, go to http://bit.ly/Ag7kzK .
See you there!
Although practically every organization is full of knowledge workers groaning under a deluge of email, it’s interesting to note that in many of them I run into a small minority of people who have things under control. I discover them on occasion when I explain the various solutions I can bring in, and someone says “Oh, but I already handle this by…” or “I never do that, I always…”
The things they do vary; my favorite are the rare heroes who tell me they turn off all electronic devices after work hours, but there are many variations. Basically these people have developed, on their own, Individual Coping Strategies that permit them to thrive despite the pressure of information overload. These strategies usually coincide with ones I evangelize, perhaps not surprisingly, but are self-developed from scratch by each such individual.
Now, if only they’d proliferate their methods to the entire organization! Rarely someone does, as I’ve described here, but most of these people are happy to use their methods for themselves without raising awareness to it around them. They’re staying afloat, all alone while those around them struggle in vain against the flood of messages. Their impact is felt, however, when the organization – or a senior leader in it – decides to take action; they can set an example when the time comes for a change.
If you are one of these trailblazers, do share your favorite method in the comments!
