Cellphones, Twitter and Facebook have an increasingly adverse effect on workplace professionalism, according to a survey out of the Center for Professional Excellence at York College of Pennsylvania. Over half of the HR professionals polled and 34.3 percent of managers and supervisors indicated that they’d seen more IT uses over the past five years than previously. How is tech influencing the way in which we’re perceived at work?
For starters, the York College data show that we’re having a lot of trouble separating ourselves from our devices. Over 70 percent of respondents indicated that workers are text messaging at inappropriate times, and 65.2 cited excessive Facebook and Twitter usage. Others may perceive these actions as rude or careless rather than tech-savvy and a sign of the times.
Our tech dependence also negatively affects productivity. One-fifth of managers surveyed reported that employees, and especially younger workers, are more unfocused than the workforce was five years ago. Accordingly, 22.8 percent of HR professionals reported that IT misuses like texting and social media use were among the most likely reasons for terminating an entry-level employee.
York College of Pennsylvania surveyed 312 managers and supervisors and 309 HR professionals. Do you agree with their assessments?
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