Is Technology Changing Us? with Mary Faulkner and Matthew Stollak

Published: July 25, 2019, 4:01 a.m.

b"In another episode recorded live during this year\\u2019s Work Human Conference, Todd Schnick and Mike Wood are joined by Mary Faulkner, a senior advisor at IA HR and Matthew Stollak from St. Norbert's College, for a fun and fascinating conversation about pop culture, the impact of technology on modern workplaces and whether or not there really is something different about Millenials.\\xa0\\nWhat does Pop Culture have to teach us?Because Mike loves Twitter, and because Mary and Matthew are both very active on the platform, they start with a discussion of one of social media\\u2019s favorite topics: pop culture. Mary talks about the movie Office Space, and how she wants all of her teams to see how ridiculous it is to be using jargon, to be letting policy and procedure take the place of human interaction and that not too many people really care about Hawaiian-shirt day. She goes on to say that the idea of one person walking into a company and saving everyone from bad management just isn\\u2019t realistic.\\xa0\\nHas Technology Changed Us?Matthew works at a college and has plenty of access to the next generation of new employees. He talks about the impact technology has on how we interact with each other, bringing up the all-too-familiar example of a phone on the table when you\\u2019re talking to someone. Mike shares an example about long meeting days, and how people need to work while they\\u2019re in meetings to get everything done, and Mary questions the management decisions that lead to that kind of behavior. Matthew brings things back to reality telling us that there has always been new technology, and people have always worried about the impact it has on workplaces and relationships.\\xa0\\nDoes Generation Make a Difference?Matthew points out that in a classroom of 18 to 22-year-olds, you\\u2019re going to see a diversity of outlook, interest, dedication, priorities, and motivations - just like you would in any group of people who have nothing in common other than the year they\\u2019re born in. Mary talks about what this means in terms of recruiting and creating benefits packages that will appeal to different people - making assumptions about what someone wants or needs based on their birth year isn\\u2019t practical - the real differentiating factor is where people are in their lives and what they want for themselves.\\nHaving a Shared PurposeTo build a strong company culture, you have to have a shared purpose, and the people working for an organization need to have aligned values. It\\u2019s that, more than anything else that will dictate how successful a company is. Mary shares an example of a water utility company she once worked at, and adds that over time, people and companies change - what was once a great fit may not always be. You don\\u2019t need a perfect value alignment - but you should be aware of what level of deviance from your own values you can tolerate.\\xa0\\nWhat Should Employers Be Doing?Todd asks Mary and Matthew what is the one thing that employers, managers, and owners should be doing to make work human?Matthew says they should be listening to people and fostering a culture of respect and authenticity. Mary agrees and adds that if you\\u2019re going to be asking for feedback - you need to act on it, or genuinely explain why you can\\u2019t. Otherwise, it seems like just so much fluff.\\xa0\\nResourcesConnect with Matthew Stollak on Twitter @AkaBruno or by emailConnect with Mary Faulkner on Twitter at @MFaulkner43 or by email"