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Challenges associated with the use of the Internet have been addressed all too often throughout the world. Not just those related to digital security, despite being one of the main pains of managers in view of frequent ransomware attacks. Other major causes, however, are resource availability and team productivity.
Every day, the labor market becomes more competitive and the organizational sphere more diversified. Therefore, the personality of employees and consequently of the team, is altered. Therefore, it is vital that managers know how to establish an effective method of communication with the team of employees, ie with the generations X, Y and Z – the predominant members in the professional environment nowadays.
To know more about these generations and the challenges of using the internet for these generations in a corporate environment, keep reading this material.
Find out who are the generations X, Y and Z
Since the twentieth century, this form of categorization has been gaining prominence. Some experts believe that it is not the best way to group individuals, but it is widely used because it presents a more precise form of “labeling.” Contrary to just a definition by sex and age, these generations cover criteria such as social, moral, political and economic context prevailing at the time of their birth.
The first generations conceived were the Lost Generation(1883 – 1900), the Greatest Generation(1901 – 1924) and the Silent Generation(1925 – 1942). They lived through great periods of history, such as World Wars I and II, the Great Depression, and the demographic explosion – which led to the development of a new generation: the Baby Boomers(1943 – 1964).
In the first formulations concerning these generations, it was common for every 25 years to make such a definition. But today, with globalization and the evolution of technology, the process happens to be faster. Some professionals even say that a new generation can emerge every decade.
After the Baby Boom, the generation X is born. They are individuals more committed to the work, besides fighting for their professional and personal rights. Therefore, they are parents of the Y generation, a group that received paternal stimuli and prosperity because of the economic stabilization of the time. As a result, they have developed a more questioning perspective and have great digital connectivity.
Lastly, we have the generation Z. It is the young people who are entering the labor market little by little and, like the previous generations, change the dynamics of the professional environment. Therefore, it is imperative that managers know how to relate to these people individually and establish objectives that aim not only at the organizational but professional growth of the employees themselves.
To better understand the set of qualities and attributes of the generations present in the corporate environment, we suggest reading the e-book “Generation X, Y and Z: understanding the profile of the professionals who have been taking the job market.” With the material, it is possible to visualize the general panorama of these individuals and identify patterns that can contribute to the improvement of business management and communication in the team of collaborators.
Some challenges associated with Internet use management
Many companies, of all segments and sizes, are inserted in the virtual environment and need the resources of the internet to carry out their main activities. In this context, young adults and adults of the highly connected generations X, Y, and Z may become dispersed as a result of their main characteristics and longings. This dispersion ends up generating some problems for managers and analysts, bringing challenges related to the best way to make the internet resource available to collaborators.
Some of these disorders may be related to team productivity. This happens, among many other factors, by the opportunity of “free” navigation given by the company. Social platforms and alternative portals, for example, can consume professional time and end up affecting their daily demands. But that is not the only problem; some explicit content, such as adult or prejudiced content, can negatively affect the organizational climate, besides being considered a crime.
Therefore, the use control should be composed of clear guidelines, explicit through policy for the use of the internet, constructed, jointly, by the leaders and the led ones. Here we reinforce the need to know who is in the team of collaborators and whatare their longings, as it will facilitate the resolution of problems associated with inappropriate use of the internet.
These challenges, as mentioned, also concern internet safety and the availability of the resource. Generation Z, starting as an example, is formed by critical, dynamic and, above all, immediate individuals. This speed in processing information also sharpens other senses, such as curiosity and the desire for knowledge. This can turn the user into a bait for the various types of threats on the internet or, viewed from another angle, cause web unavailability to other sectors of the institution because of above-average bandwidth consumption.
Fortunately, there are resources to work around these situations. The first of these would be the learning of the particularities of the generations X, Y and Z, which would simplify other processes of improvement of the internal activities, like the engagement of the professionals and the relation between the teams.
To learn more about the subject, we suggest reading the e-book “Generation X, Y and Z: understanding the profile of professionals who have been taking the job market.” Through it, it is possible to analyze the whole panorama regarding the old and new generations, how they behave and what they want.
For a full study, we also recommend the e-book “How to keep a team made up of members of the engaged and productive X, Y, and Z generations,” which you can download via this link. It is worth mentioning, however, that it is important to read both materials, as it will provide a much broader view on the subject.
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