Your Brain in the Workplace

This quote was taken from a brilliant article written by Lisa Manfield from “This is your brain on technology” titled “Are digital technologies actually changing the way your brain works? Some neuroscientists say yes” .

You can find the full article here.

Your brain in the workplace
Prensky, who has developed training games for the likes of IBM, Nokia and Cisco, believes employers need to change their workplace culture in order to take advantage of the skills today’s techno-savvy employees bring to the table. “Higher-end people are coming into companies and they are anxious to do something meaningful from day one. And they have the tools to transform business,” Prensky said. “Norms are changing. The next generation of employees doesn’t understand why their boss would walk over to talk to them. If a business is smart, they’ll use this transformation smartly.” He offers the example of Google, which regularly gives its staff time to work on personal projects that have the potential to solve problems. “It’s very effective,” he said. “Young people today don’t like to take orders from someone communicating at them.”

McBride concurs. “This generation, more than any other, wants to be able to participate in knowledge—not just be an audience to it.” She thinks emerging professionals should spend as much time using online tools for professional knowledge and development as they do developing their social life and personal interests. “This is the difference between today’s world and the past.

“If we’re all to survive this radical transformation of our always-on communications, we need to learn some basic social and community skills and spend as much time thinking about other people’s needs before defaulting to our own,” McBride added. “I think a lot of the narcissistic and impulsive behaviour we see in the workplace and in schools is not a result of the Internet but a consumer ideology of intensely self-interested behaviours and attitudes. Technology isn’t to blame for bad socialization. I think the solution to the attention problem has to be addressed in a much more holistic way.”

But for NowPublic’s Brody, the effects of technology’s impact on the brain are simple. “Gen Y is smarter, faster and more aware of the world around them,” he said. “They’re a better breed of human.”