You can't do that on LinkedIn!

Sigh. LinkedIn is experiencing growing pains and it appears the entire LinkedIn community is not having it. This week alone I’ve read at least a dozen statements that basically are people frustrated with the behaviors of others. "LinkedIn is not a dating site" and (while we’re in the complaining mood) you shouldn’t be "discussing personal stories" of any kind here either. Go to Facebook for that, or Tinder, or anything else - but go away.

Ya, that’s not going to happen and here’s why: our virtual and physical worlds are merging. This is creating shifts in once established virtual universes and I'm sorry to break the news to you, but it's not going to shift back.

I should know. I run a 100% virtual company and since we build tools to help with engagement my team and I are frequently on the front of digital trends.

The interesting thing is that LinkedIn has grown to a point that it now is matching more closely than ever what happens in the real work space and it ends up that people don’t like it.

You have to understand. For many years, LinkedIn provided a Camelot experience for professionals. It was a place that was free of evil corporate dragons such as sexual harassment, inappropriate advances, demeaning comments in front of peers, and the like. It was a magical place where professionals were always (sighing dreamily) professional.

In the early years of LinkedIn, we didn’t want our bosses to know we had a profile for fear they would retaliate as we were perceived to be “looking”. That was until they joined LinkedIn themselves. That was the first sign of there being trouble in paradise. (Just joking!)

For women in particular, we had found our safe haven. Meanwhile, back in the real world, we would have to fight these evil dragons and slay them while still delivering our work. Now, suddenly the real world is pouring into our Camelot and it’s shocking. Especially for those who didn’t want to take the red pill and wake up. (“Morpheus, I said BLUE not red! Ugh.”)

When there was a clear divide between our virtual offices and physical offices it was very easy to keep a line of division. (Anyone else remember when we were so formal because we were putting something "online"? )  The blurring of personal and professional has always been a challenge not just "online" but in every workplace physical and virtual. As the years go by, it's not getting any clearer. In fact, in an article from Inc. “Is Workplace Dating Really Off Limits?” they point out the following stats:

“According to a recent Workplace Options survey, nearly 85% of 18-29 year olds would have a romantic relationship with a co-worker, compared to just over 35% for 30-46 year olds and about 30% of 47-66 year olds. Even more shocking is that 40% of those 18-29 year olds would date their supervisors. According to a CareerBuilder survey, interoffice dating has a fairly high success rate--of the 38% of people surveyed that dated a co-worker at least once, 31% went on to marry that co-worker!”

So that is what is happening right now in the physical workplace. It’s important you have context. Those stats are incredible because the article points out how many employers have “dating bans” and other restrictions because it’s deemed unprofessional...and it is STILL happening.

Now, let’s circle back to the virtual and physical space merging. Like it or not, that new world is here. By 2035 there will be an estimated 1 Billion Digital Nomads. (Digital Nomads are those people who choose to work from “anywhere” because they can. As an aside, they often post images of their enviable life in their travel blogs that shows them on exotic beaches sipping coffees. With 1 billion of them floating around, be prepared to be annoyed frequently if you’re not in on that movement.) 

In June of this year, Global Workplace Analytics and FlexJobs put out a new report that shows telecommuting workers increased by 115%. That’s about 3.9 million people working from home or almost 3% of the total U.S. workforce, working from home at least half the time in 2015, an increase from 1.8 million in 2005.

What does this have to do with LinkedIn and the engagement rules changing? More than you realize, but first a quick lesson on driving engagement brought to you by InspireHUB (a company with a workforce that is 100% remote) and builds technology (our IHUBApp) to help employers engage with their own staff (even when they are in the same building) because when you are not physically sitting next to someone they ARE remote.

What we know to be true at InspireHUB is that the easiest way to increase engagement with anyone who is remote (even if they are just in a different area of your building) is to recreate digitally what would typically happen in a physical workplace. 

Example 1: If your team knows they can pop their head into your office to ask a quick question as they work on something then you need to establish a similar way for them to do that with you digitally.

Example 2: If you would have an informal meeting in your kitchen every morning as people get their coffee, then setting a time for everyone to jump into a video chat at the beginning of every day will greatly increase your engagement. 

We know that blurring these two worlds increases engagement. (Our company has virtual scavenger hunts and our staff love to bring their teams on vacation with them, albeit virtually).

What surprises many people is the level and depth of relationships that happen “virtually”. They are not second-class relationships. Not only that, but without time wasters (like having to walk 20 mins across a campus or drive across a city just to finally have a conversation) you can actually have more time to get to know people. 

In some cases, these relationships can even be closer than the ones you have with people that sit next to you physically. (Gamers are so ahead of ALL of us on this. If you don’t believe me, find a Gamer and ask them. Second Life anyone?) This new reality also helps explain the birth of “cyberpsychology”.

All of these changes explain what is happening here on LinkedIn. The virtual and physical spaces are merged. We now feel more comfortable than ever and so it is no surprise that the issues found in the physical office are now showing up in our virtual spaces.

The problem is that LinkedIn is not our employer so when someone is misbehaving we can’t necessarily “report” them to HR. The other reality is one that most people already understand. LinkedIn is not the problem anymore than attending a networking function at a trade show or conference is a problem. Ask yourself how you would deal with a situation in that environment and then apply the same actions here. LinkedIn has given you the tools to make those virtual stances. For example you can:

• Let someone say something idiotic and keep your thoughts to yourself by not liking their post or commenting. (Classy, just like you do in the physical office.)
• Privately take a young professional aside via Inmail and explain why being rude on a public post is a "career limiting move" as MOST of their future bosses are on LinkedIn and watching. (Strong, just as you would in a physical situation.)
• Virtually walk away and never talk to someone again by blocking them. (Yes, I just virtually asked you to talk to my hand because my ears are NOT listening. Well, technically my eyes are not reading...you get the point.)

You also have a lot more power with LinkedIn than we had in the golden days of old, such as when your boss asks your opinion on a new hire, you can simply send a link to their statements on LinkedIn and let those speak for themselves. Having the history and seeing the recommendations of others is a powerful tool.

For those of you (like myself) who are still in the grieving process of our Camelot experience being forced into the real world, let me encourage you - it’s not over. We just need to understand the rules have changed and go about redefining how we engage in this new reality. We are still at the beginning and together, we can change the story. 

This concept is not a new one. I leave you with the words from a fictional character forced into a reality he didn’t like at first either:

“I didn’t come here to tell you how it is going to end. I came here to tell you how it’s going to begin. I’m going to hang up this phone and then I’m going to show these people what you don’t want them to see. I’m going to show them a world without you: a world without controls, without borders or boundaries, a world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is up to you."