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"The E-Hermit": A Critical Perspective

Advanced technology has revolutionized the way companies conduct business internally as well as externally. E-mail and the Internet are ideal tools for sharing information faster and more efficiently. The computer has become a machine with an all-encompassing capacity to absorb and lock users into a world of their own with little face to face contact with other human beings. The creation of the Internet has developed a new context for human communication. However, the importance of human interpersonal communication cannot be neglected. Unfortunately, for such a vital and essential human skill, communication is largely relegated to the back burner, in favor of innovative high-tech communication.

The development of the secluded co-worker (the E-Hermit) results from a corporate culture that cultivates a segregated environment by inadequate leaders who are oblivious to a workforce that extensively use and potential abuse email and the Internet. The development of communication deficiencies will inevitably arise, causing fragmentation throughout the organization resulting in an overall disaffected workforce. Excessive Internet use leads to depression, isolation and detachment which affects the individual's psychological well-being and leads to inefficiency in the office and disruption within the home (Kraut1998).

Some remedies include, creating e-mail policies and guidelines, encouraging face-to-face communication and incorporating a relation-oriented style of management. Until management remembrance the value of human communication, companies will continue to experience poor productivity due this new trend of employee and an overall disconnected workforce.

Increasingly competitive environments have made it possible for business savvy organizations to ignore the value of human communication by incorporating computer mediated communication. Companies are constantly investing in new technology and communication infrastructures to cut costs and increase...