Discussions

We summarized the Randstad USA study, Confidence and Concern: The World of Work in 2008. The study's most interesting findings were the generational data. The study authors concluded that cross-generational interaction in the workplace is rare. “Workers walk the same halls, but are separate generational societies.”… The generations aren’t talking, sharing, teaching and learning from one other. For example, 51% of Boomers and 66% of Matures report little to no interaction with their Gen Y colleagues.

A recent discussion on the NewWOW site centered around the question, "is the density of communication among colleagues in an organization based on physical proximity?" This was sparked by a research study, “Using Prediction Markets to Track Information Flows: Evidence from Google, which. In the study, researchers determined “physical proximity” by using GPS data that measured “the precise latitude and longitude of employees’ offices. It then tracked the way information traveled through the company. Several members and colleagues have joined in with their observations.

Two recent stories in the media that maintained that telecommuters are less likely to get promoted than their non-telecommuting coworkers (Telecommuting Holds Back Careers, eWeek and The Importance of Being There, BusinessWeek) sparked a spirited discussion among the NewWOW community. This is an edited excerpt from the discussion:

What do workplace studies say about workspace choice? A NewWOW member posted a study he co-authored on workplace environment and performance. It explored how distractions, workspace flexibility, and personal control of work environment influences perceived job performance, job satisfaction, group cohesiveness, and the tendency to work alone or in an enclosed area. The study prompted a spirited discussion among members, especially about the issue of workplace choice.

What Does Research Say About Distributed Meetings? This is an edited excerpt of a discussion on how distributed teams handle brainstorming and other idea-generating tasks:

Question: My team is working on developing guidelines for distributed meetings. I'm looking for your response to a specific question, the answer to which has eluded the members of my team: When engaging in creativity-based group work (brainstorming, ideation, etc.), and one or more of the participants are remote (unable to meet face-to-face with the others, but able to connect via technology), is it best to conduct the session entirely "virtually," where all participants "call-in," in order to level the playing field?

One of the earliest discussion threads on the NewWOW site was sparked by a news item (in the San Jose Mercury News) about Hewlett Packard cutting back on telecommuting. All IT employees were going to be required to move back to an office environment or be forced to quit. For excerpts from the conversation, see

Invited to speak at the EC's 1st Conference on Collaborative Working Environments, a NewWOW member reached out to the community for suggestions on identifying key research themes in the area of collaborative working environments. A rich discussion ensued and a number of helpful suggestions were offered. Here’s a glimpse:

• It’s difficult to introduce the possibility of "surprise" into routine distributed collaboration when it's best to minimize surprises (i.e. common expectations, processes, etc.)
• Establishing trust is highly important. If an initial face-to-face meeting is not possible, sharing resumes (with pictures) is a cheaper but less effective alternative.