Millennials, stress, and technology

According to the “State of Workplace Productivity Report” released by Cornerstone OnDemand, a cloud-based talent management software company, the millennial generation, or those born between the years 1980 and 2000, is struggling with technology and information overload.

The report, which was referenced in an article published by USA Today® states 41 percent of millennials said they experience information overload in comparison to 31 percent of those who belong to older generations; and 38 percent of millennials say they struggle with technology overload compared to 21 percent of those from older generations.

Really? A generation—my generation, I should note—that came of age more or less in the digital era and has a reputation of being tech-savvy, smartphone-obsessed monsters who would rather comment on a friend’s Facebook posts than have a face-to-face conversation with that same friend struggles with information and technology overload? What gives?

Well, being a slave to your cell phone, tablet, or iPad doesn’t help because believe it or not, technology addiction is real. Addiction Treatment Magazine reports there is a link between communication technology and stress. In other words, these tools that were created and designed to make our lives less stressful are actually adding to the stress we already have.

It’s no wonder, then, why millennials crave face-to-face collaboration in the workplace. The survey reveals that 60 percent of millennials prefer to collaborate in person compared to 34 percent who would rather do it online.

What’s the lesson here? Millennials who complain about being overloaded with technology and information need to make it a priority to disengage, unplug, stop scrolling, whatever the case may be. After all, if our parents could make it work with nothing more than a rotary phone and snail mail, we can certainly make it a day (or maybe an hour) without tweeting, texting, Facebooking, Skyping, Vining, Instagramming, and Snapchatting.

Gen X, baby boomers, don’t assume your millennial co-workers—who probably have their ear buds in—don’t want to exchange input and ideas with you in person. Trust me, they do.

Click here to read the full results of the report.