Before you start giving me that Captain Obvious look, head over to the LexisNexis April-June press Releases for this interesting article here about just how wide the tech gap is and what that might mean for businesses.

LN commissioned the national survey, targeting generational differences in the impact of tech on workplace etiquette, the blurring of the boundary between professional and personal tasks, and the impact of too much tech in the workplace.

The gap in etiquette perceptions is sufficiently wide that tensions among co-workers may ensue. The identified issues include use of laptops and PDAs during in-person meetings and blogging about workplace issues. You can probably guess which age group is more comfortable with ever-present tech and on-line sharing. There are also significant differences in attitudes about social media and entertainment access during work hours.

I was most struck by the numbers measuring the degree of tech multi-tasking across the generations. The younger groups reported more than twice the reported time spent with various applications opened, to a degree that respondents must have had open three or four apps at the same time. The younger group reported total app time far exceeding in serial hours the standard eight-hour workday and approaching a full 24-hour period.

LN brass call the results a “wake up call” to managers to address the gap and improve efficiencies. It is suggested that businesses should deploy tech that increases productivity and decreases multi-tasking. Reading a bit between the lines of jargon, the authors are suggesting that management rein in unacceptable use of tech (undefined in the release) and supplant traditional social networks with professional networking solutions.

To which I say “best of luck to you in those efforts.”

Edited to fix the veritable plethora of typos generated by my damnable iPhone keyboard.

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Since I blogged about this way back when it first broke in Boston and then spread like wildfire nationwide, I thought I might post an update. The ABA Journal is reporting that attorney Michelle Moor’s state administrative charge against former employer Bingham McCutcheon has been dismissed by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. The substance was Moor’s allegation that BM failed to fully respond to her assertion that she had been drugged at a law firm holiday party.
The Commision did not accept Moor’s claim that her resignation was forced by working conditions or adverse employment action. The gist of her claim was that BM failed to properly insulate her from and take swift action against a co-employee who had bragged that he approved of giving date-rape drugs to women.
Moor’s counsel advises that they will now pursue a civil suit against BM.
I guess that is definitely a plus to being out of the big firm environment – no more wild and crazy office parties that may be hazardous to your health. Stay tuned for the next chapter where we will learn what the courts have to say about the damsel versus the party animals.