The bright guy in product design, triple degree from the best university, is going to expect, at 25 years of age, to see this technology in place. And if he's told, "Well, you gotta use Windows, you can't use blogs or wikis or instant messaging any of that stuff," he'll say, "Well, why do I want to work here?" Young people are not going to go where these tools are restricted.
Now, I'm not particularly cool, nor am I young anymore. But I totally agree - and it's one of the reasons (but not the only one, or even the main one) why I've resigned from my current job, and will soon be moving to pastures new.
PS - this isn't a dig (well, not a bitter and serious one !) against my current company, as they're by no means the only company doing this, or even the worst - just a recognition that for many people, environment (social, physical, virtual) is important, and also that even though some of these tools can be regarded as social (instant messaging is something that springs to mind), the boundaries between social and business are fuzzy. Some of my friends are potential collaborators, clients or suppliers. Some are just friends. But if a company has no problem with asking an employee to work late, or read a proposal over a weekend, how can that company turn around and hinder social contacts during work hours ?
[tags]corporate, culture, social, tools[/tags]
Absolutely. For example I can't imagine working for a company that complained about me using my PowerBook (unless it was because I wasn't using the MacBook Pro they were providing me with!!) as this is the most productive I have ever been with a computer. Likewise the tools I use like IM, IRC, etc...
And good luck with your next venture!
Matt
No question - this will be the reality for many more employees in the future.
I'm in recruiting and this is a big draw for the 20+ year olds I talk to every day. In fact, double that number and you'll have my age, and it's becoming more of a factor for me. I recently left a very large, corporate brand name and this weighed in on my decision to leave. They wouldn't allow me to blog (even though it was reaching the job-seeking community) and even though their reasoning held no water. So I blogged anonymously for almost six months before deciding to leave on my own.
I'm thinkin' this fascination with "cool" might not just be limited to the young & svelt.
Dennis
Matt - yup, and thanks...Headshift awaits !
Dennis - I completely agree - as I stated...I'm not young, and these things matter to me. Allowing, or disallowing access is an indicator of not just of culture, trust and flexibility, within a company, but also an indicator of how much a company is willing to allow independent innovation. See my more recent post linking to JP Rangaswami who nails it.