The Z generation is changing Many labor dynamics With its incorporation into the labor market, but they are also breaking high expectations. The most visible is the technological preparation that was assumed to a generation that has had to finish its remote training and started its work career in a remote work and fenced by AI.
That Lack of preparation technological has been made known as Tech Shame or technological shame: Not knowing how to use elementary devices in an office such as printer or scan a document.
Technological pressure for digital natives. Unlike boomers, The members of the Z generation have been born and grown immersed in technology for any aspect of their life. However, they experience unexpected difficulties when they face basic offices such as printers or scanners.
Despite his technological skill in personal life, A study De lasalle Network reveals that 48% of young graduates in 2022 do not feel technologically prepared in their jobs. According to the report ‘Hybrid Work: Are We There Yet?‘ From HP to 10,000 office employees around the world, 20% of young people felt judged for not knowing how to use the electronic devices of the office, while the proportion of their counterparts from other generations was only 4%.
“We were surprised to discover that young workers are feeling more ‘technological shame’ than their older colleagues, and this could be due to a series of problems,” He pointed out Debbie Irish, Head of Human Resources in the United Kingdom and Ireland of HP to Worklife.
Unfair expectations for “technological shame”. Although the fact of not knowing how a certain device works has affected to a greater or lesser extent to all generations that currently live in the labor market, it seems to be an unforgivable sin for generation Z given the expectations that they should Dominate any technology.
However, we must not lose sight of the fact that your experience is limited to technologies with which they grew up. Printers, photocopiers or scanners are already an obsolete technology for that generation. It would be like asking Boomers either Millennials make purchase orders in MORSE CODE.
Printers are less and less common at home. There was a time when having a printer at home was as common as having a computer. However, the data indicate that this trend has been stagnating in recent years and is increasingly printed at home in response to the Nightmare to face a printer.
A good sample is that, according to data HP sales published by The RegisterDuring the pandemic its income in hardware for consumption printing (non -professional) grew 21% to 77 million dollars. That means that all those people who had to start working remotely did not have that printer at home previously.
It is normal that they know how to use them. Not being used to using printers or scanners during their training period has made, no matter how much Digital natives Let them be, do not have that previous technological experience.
On the other hand, as pointed out An article in The Guardianthe Z generation has grown using apps such as Instagram or Tiktok, very oriented to the ease of use, so they expect the rest of the technology in their surroundings Be just as easy to use. Maybe this is one of the reasons why young people are more prone to scams online That his grandparents.
What lifts the hand the Millennials They would know how to send a fax, without looking in Google what a fax is.
Image | Pexels (Andrea Piacquadio)
*An earlier version of this article was published in September 2024
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