(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a
columnist for Reuters.)
By Bobbi Rebell
NEW YORK, Aug 11 (Reuters) - In a scene from the recent
summer beach read "Love and Miss Communication", a young
millennial workaholic lawyer on the verge of partnership named
Evie gets fired from her job for sending too many personal
e-mails while at work.
Then she discovers, on Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), that the man of her dreams
is very much in love with ... someone else. And so she swears
off the Internet for a year.
Needless to say, good things happen. But there's a catch.
Problems come with the things that don't happen. For example,
Evie misses a close friend's party because she didn't check
Facebook. She grows increasingly isolated, and her friends feel
insulted.
The urge for the first generation to come of age in the new
millennium to stay connected is strong.
According to Boston Consulting Group, 37 percent of younger
millennials (ages 18 to 24) said that they feel as if they are
"missing something" if they are not on Facebook or Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) every
day, compared with 23 percent of non-Millennials.
Those concerns are valid and should not be ignored. Unlike
previous generations, the vast majority of their social plans
are made online. Ditto for the humble brags. Friends cheer each
other on, which can be a great motivator.
The reality is that millennials are digital natives. They
take their devices to bed, text in almost any situation, and
constantly check social networking sites to stay in the loop.
Rather than putting a negative spin on their social
media-centered culture, it may make more sense to encourage them
to leverage it.
Bob Pearson (LONDON:PSON), president of digital marketing and
communications company W20 Group, says there is simply no reason
to pressure millennials to unplug, even at work.
"That is a myth that companies don't expect you to be online
and do some personal social stuff," says Pearson, who blogs
about millennials with his 19-year-old daughter. "We just have
to embrace that when (millennials) have downtime, that is what
they do."
For example, Pearson's daughter Brittany sends her
co-workers Snapchat messages as they are working, even if they
are right near each other.
CROWDSOURCING FEEDBACK
Allowing younger workers to be in touch at work can be
advantageous. Their real-time connections provide crowdsourced
feedback along with constant information that can be useful on
projects.
Even though millennials may be connected to work more, they
also are connected to their social world, which can make work
more enjoyable, keeping them more productive. Blurred lines
aren't always so bad.
But some worry about the health effects of all this
connectivity.
"If employers want to improve the health of their employees,
including millennials, they should consider encouraging them to
unplug when they leave work," says Terri L. Rhodes, chief
executive officer of Disability Management Employer Coalition,
an employer-based non-profit organization.
"We still do not know the health effects of texting, the
constant use of thumbs and the effect on arthritic thumb joints.
There is also growing medical concern about neck problems from
always looking down at devices."
As for Brittany, she does have a pang of jealousy for older
unplugged folks. She talks wistfully about leaving her phone at
home, at least when she goes to the beach. But she does not. In
fact, the urge to unplug seems to come and go in an instant -
almost as fast as the constant buzz calling her back to her
devices.
(Editing by Lauren Young and Alan Crosby)