Gary Hamels article on Generation F vs Fortune 500 companies lists a variety of examples of how online life now effects work related life. Because I don’t work in a fortune 500 company, not many of these applied to any jobs I have had. Though there are ways the online world can affect other positions for me, and my peers.
One big thing now a days is Facebook. Everyone's on it, and employers know that. Employers can look you up before you come in to interview and it can make or break their decision of hiring you. I have seen myself my former bosses looking up potential hires on facebook just to “see what they look like.” One of my friends recently told me a story of one of the higher ups in the retail store she works in came across her instagram and wasn't pleased, and even went so far as to speak to her about it. Once you place yourself in the online world, you are placing yourself in the eyes of anyone and everyone.
A way the online world has changed workplaces in a way that I like, is the implementation of work emails. It’s a completely modernized form of communication, and a great way to separate your work emails from your personal ones. Work emails make things so much easier. Especially working overnight, it gives me an easy and appropriate way to communicate with my bosses when someone comes up or I have a question. It also keeps me in the loop. In the hotel business a lot can happen in your days off that people may forget to tell you. A thing I like about our work emails is that it keeps a thread of happenings so I can just go through and read what other people wrote the last few days.
Speaking of the hotel business (as well as restaurants), everyone uses online websites to review their experience with the business. This can either be a good thing, or a bad thing depending on what they say. A lot of the time they will mention names as well if they catch them. Sometimes the things they say can be really great, but you can’t please everyone. And like I said before, once they post that review online everyone can see it. Sometimes it can really deter people from staying with you if they read that someone elses stay was absolute crap.
With the ever-evolving web presence we have also become a very phone savy nation. My past two landlords have been very “texty.” This is obviously wonderful in terms of being too lazy to make phone calls, I could just text my landlord about any issues I had or that “hey I just sent my rent out it might be a few days late!” But it also has definitely deteriorated how professional the relationship between me and one of my past landlords was. One time I texted him about needing screens for the windows in my bedroom so bats wouldn’t fly in at night and he responded with “Bat’s are cute.” He even went so far as to text me offering cheaper rent if I gave him “massages, etc.” I said no and over the two years I lived there he gradually increased my rent. So yeah yeah yeah he’s a pig etc etc but I really blame how easy it has gotten to communicate. I highly doubt he would have ever called me and and made the massages offer, but the fact that he could hide behind his phone and ask made it easy and he didn't have to put much thought into it.
So what I’m saying is, communication is a lot easier with Generation F, and online presence is absolute key to surviving these changes.
MORK!
ReplyDeleteSo much to say! Ok. First of all, with work emails; It's like what you were getting at with people becoming text-dependent. People at my work LOVE sending emails--most of the time like agonizingly passive-aggressive. Like "Whoever ate my bagels in the fridge in the break room--those were my bagels. That's not cool. Eat your own bagels." Maybe that's a bad example, but I think generation F is wayyyyy confrontation-averse. No one has to figure out how to deal with those uncomfortable face-to-face interactions because we can just text or email or tweet it instead.
And online reviews--another way for passive-aggressive generation effers to avoid uncomfortable interaction. At the Skirack, the people who come in and leave pissed off enough to put in the energy to write a bad yelp review never say a word to us. Then, a week later we need to have a serious talk about a customer who felt that they got ignored and said that they're never coming back and that neither should anyone else.
I'm not entirely above all of this. Online life and technology have affected me in the same way. Sometimes, if I see someone calling me about something I've been putting off or avoiding, I'll ignore it, let them leave a voicemail, and text them back. Like a fricken wuss. What am I so afraid of?
Oh God, Mork, is there any hope for the future?
Hi Mindy,
ReplyDeleteI like how you brought up the whole work email thing. I for one actually hate confrontation so I like emails when it comes to work related issues that's for sure. It's easier to just send a email for everyone and keep everyone in the loop especially when there are a few different shifts involved. Again this goes with convenience and that's of course why we all use technology!
Then again as you mentioned above some people are so comfortable with sending messages because it's not face to face that they seem to think it's OK to be inappropriate. YUK!
There are obviously pros and cons with technology, and in my opinion the pros outweigh the cons, so I will continue using all of technology I can!
It's funny. The last couple comments I've been making have been going on about the anonymous part of the internet, yet to a workplace it is clearly the opposite. Yet, people still seem to believe that if you're online you can do whatever you want and absolutely nothing will go wrong! Of course, this comes back to haunt them later when their employers do look them up on Facebook or whatever. It really is a different world out there. It used to be as simple as fill out an application, do an interview and that's what you have to go on. But now that so many people are on the internet, you can simply do a quick Google search and you'll probably learn a lot more than you wouldn't have known otherwise, and in some cases this can change the mind of the employer completely.
ReplyDeleteMindy-
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! I never heard, first hand that is, of employers actually looking up people on Facebook. I mean i know they do, I've read about it, but it's scary to think that it actually happens. Scary because people share their WHOLE life on Facebook it seems whether it be a negative status on an off day or just to vent or an embarrassing photo your friend posted of you. I try to keep my Facebook very "clean" just because I don't want an employer to look me up and see something that gives them license to judge me in a negative way. When it comes to Instagram I don't really feel as if an employer or boss should take the time to look at it because I feel like that's just being plain nosey. Social life should be separate from work life. I just think its super judgmental to look someone up on Facebook "see what they look like", it doesn't seem professional.