Hard-wired: The Uneasy
Relationship Between the Human Animal and the Electric Workplace
Speaker: Steve Prentice
We have seen over the last forty years a logarithmic change in the pace and sophistication of work and human communication. The English language is once again morphing through the use of text messaging and ICQ. Young professionals are emerging job-ready after 20 years of training on high-speed computers and games, while their parents struggle with e-mail overload and job uncertainty. Only six percent of Canadian professionals telecommute, stress and conflict are as prevalent as ever, and the same scenario looms over the next generation. Or does it?.
Steve Prentice is an author an expert in the physiological relationship between humans and their information technology. He points out that a great deal of our current work-related problems stem directly from the fact that we are still, underneath it all, part of the animal world, with reflexes, defense systems and instincts that are incompatible with the machinery we have build around us.
This talk will identify the true reasons behind e-mail overload, unproductive meetings, interpersonal conflict, the pre-vacation heart-attack, loyalty, performance and leadership issues as being based deep within our physical metabolic selves. It will provide real world practical solutions for dealing with these issues at your company, and an insight into what can be expected as newer generations of employees come on board.
