Multi-tasking 'Net-Generation' employees can be more productive – if we let them

Chris Miller

How many of us have popped in to a teenager’s room while they have been doing their homework only to find music playing, multiple windows running on their laptop with various active chat sessions, Facebook, and other social media apps running, with occasional SMS conversations with friends – and still they’re managing to get on with their studies?

The above scenario is one that happens in most teenagers’ rooms around the globe and continues at their university lodgings too. Our first immediate reaction as adults is that an environment as described above cannot be conducive to productivity.

Why do we think that? It’s purely based on our experience. As we cannot truly multi-task, we believe that the current generation of teenagers can’t either. Well if that’s the case, why is the pass rate for A-levels up again for the 28th year in a row with 97.6 per cent of entries gaining an E grade or above? Surely if all these distractions were impacting their productivity, we’d be seeing a reduction in qualifications.

I, like many business leaders, carry mobile technology and am more efficient as a result. I can respond more quickly when I am mobile, and when it’s part of the workflow for business approvals, it means the company I am working for is more agile. However, I am definitely not a true multi-tasker. When required to produce a presentation or a written proposal, I need to focus, and the interrupting nature of services such as IM and Skype simply creates a distractive environment, and impacts my personal productivity.

For most of today’s workforce, the introduction of new technology can be disruptive – we have, so far, spent our careers mostly focusing on one task at a time. Many companies have introduced social networking and associated technologies into the corporate workplace, but with mixed results.

There are still many companies that block access to sites like YouTube, even though their competitors, and occasionally even their own companies, use it to help launch new products. Also, how many of us business leaders find it unacceptable for employees use a laptop or BlackBerry during a meeting? We usually see this as a sign that we don’t have their undivided attention. And the reality is, we’re probably right, as very few of us in the current workforce have been able to develop any kind of productive multi-tasking capability (this YouTube clip is a great example of how difficult multi tasking can be).

Please don’t misunderstand me: there are already exceptional people who can focus on multiple things at the same time, but they are just that – exceptional. The majority of workers today are most productive when concentrating on single tasks. But that’s all about to change as the next generation of employees join us.

The so-called "Net-Generation" has grown up with the internet and other time-slicing technologies and are completely comfortable with them. They can already do things that many of us find impossible, such as maintaining multiple conversations simultaneously across different technologies.

Neuroplasticity is the capacity of the brain to develop new neuronal/synaptic interconnections and thereby develop and adapt new functions and roles, and today’s technologies have enabled the “Net-Generation” to be truly effective and productive by leveraging the multiple on demand services made available to them.

So can the “Net-Generation” truly perform multiple tasks at the same time? While it seems like multi-tasking, it’s actually slicing the time between the tasks so that they appear to execute concurrently. The “Net-Generation” is excellent at switching or time-slicing.

So what does this mean to business leaders, and what must we do? To make today’s students as effective and productive as possible in the future workplace, business leaders must now ensure that their companies evolve into a multi-tasking/time slicing workplace.

“Net-Generation” employees will expect to have the ability to hold interactive, two-way conversations with other businesses and employees. The standard workday in the office has already been challenged for many of us with the introduction of flexible working patterns, and depending on the role, it may make sense to enable the “Net-Generation” employees to work where and when they want.

It will also mean clear guidelines as to what is permitted if the real world is opened up to the internal network via business use of apps such as Facebook and Skype. While there is much technology available to manage what is accessed and sent externally, there must be zero tolerance of sharing company information, with appropriate action taken when necessary.

If we provide the next generation of workers with a less functional workplace environment than what they’re used to at home, we’ll limit the true potential of “Net-Generation” employees. It’s now time for firms to unleash the full power and capability of our future leaders.

Chris Miller is one of the founding members of the e-skills UK Employer Strategy Forum, governing the IT Management for Business (ITMB) degree.