Can younger generations survive the workforce with only social media etiquette?

By Bonnie Alicea

Do we equip our teens to communicate, socialize, and behave correctly in a time where social media outlets like texting, IM, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and internet gaming has taken social etiquette out of the question?  We need to ask ourselves, as parents of the next generation to enter the workforce, if our kids can communicate effectively in the workplace. 

As a Fortune 1 corporate consultant, one of my pet peeves is scheduling an important meeting and watching the younger generations show up late, open their laptop, type all meeting long on IM or work, while never truly hearing what is happening in the room around them.  They don’t participate in the meetings.  I find this behavior rude, offensive, and counterproductive to the teams’ accomplishments, goals, and success rates. 

I find the demand for my services in the corporate world growing largely due to the fact that I establish rules for my team.  Time is money. I set the tone of the meetings.  I make all team members sign a waiver before any project, and if they do not uphold the waiver, I release them from my team.  This clause contains the following:  “When you arrive at my meetings, please turn off your laptops, put away your cell phones, and be ready to discuss an important issue”. 

So what can we do to change this behavior in teens facing the growing “instant access” issues?  Turn off the phone / computer at dinner and have a discussion about life, events, and people.  Encourage interactions outside the virtual world and teach teens human interaction skills.  Remember, these teens have to make a living and right now they are not cutting it in a workplace where creative ideas, synergy, and cooperation are required.