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Partner and president at E-Cubed Media Synthesis Inc.
Culture is defined as the "behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group." If a group of people believes that older people should always be respected, it will become a part of their culture, for instance.
By this definition, work culture can be summed up under the following broad headings:
• Communication. A vital part of any business, communication is usually more informal at creative agencies than at other companies. Traditional businesses, such as banks, mostly rely on formal language for internal and external communication. Along with the manner of communication, the channel plays a role, too. For instance, in some organizations, it might be considered rude to send a work text on a social messaging tool, like WhatsApp.
• Hierarchy. Hierarchy is the structure and number of ranks between an employee and the person with the highest level of authority. Often, startups don't have a defined workplace hierarchy; an intern can easily reach out to the founder or co-founder of the company.
• Dress code and work ethics. The tech industry, in general, is considered to be casual in terms of dress code and ethics. Google is well-known for its informal workspaces. However, that may not be the case with every tech company. Again, traditional businesses, such as the banking industry, are in stark contrast -- it might be inconvenient for banks to have a work culture where employees can report at any time, or work from home on some days of the week.
Now that you have a better understanding of the broad factors that define the culture of a workplace, let's dive in and see the impact that technology can have on these factors. The recent proliferation of smartphones has had a direct impact – both positive and negative – on how employees in an organization communicate internally and externally.
Technology And Communication
Working millennials under the age of 25 send about 110 texts every day on average, according to a 2011 report from the Pew Research Center. That amounts to about 3,200 messages every month for the average millennial. Assuming that a millennial spends eight to nine hours at work, it is safe to say that a young worker between the ages of 18 and 24 receives about 30 messages while at work every day.
The ping of a new notification on your smartphone can distract you from the task at hand, which can lead to errors. This can impact the work culture in a couple of ways. First, as millennials become the majority of a company's employees, managers might be forced to set rules for texting at work to improve employee efficiency. If they are not careful, though, the workplace can quickly become stifling, which can hamper the employee experience.
Second, the proliferation of smartphones also means that employees can use collaborative apps, such as Trello and Evernote, for working on a project with team members. This can bring down hierarchical barriers since the CEO of a company might choose to participate in an Evernote conversation and give direct feedback to a junior associate.