Commentary

Just waitíll all those MySpacers climb up the corporate ladder

Here’s what the very same Prof. Kannan quoted in the previous post thinks:

telecommuting is one generation removed from a huge boom as younger workers who are more comfortable with technology, the MySpace generation, move into mid-management.

He says much of the resistance to telecommuting is age related, but that will change once the new generation moves into positions of authority. Says Kannan:

“Today’s employers will continue to adopt formal communications applications, but in time they will understand that if something needs to be recreated, it is the environment that allows workers to chitchat privately,” he said. “You will find very few managers over 30 who will agree with that.” But informal chats at the office usually involve some level of privacy. It’s unlikely that telecommuters will feel confident if the company is providing the environment where they are supposed to be candid with each other. “There are technologies where you can have private conversations not hosted by the company, but younger workers place a much lower premium on that kind of privacy,” he said. “Maybe their need for privacy will grow as they get older, but they are used to sharing their thoughts on computers.”

Article here.