The three forces shaping the future of work are (The 2020 Workplace - Dr. Karie Willyerd, 2012) (slide 4)–
- Globalization
- Demographics
- Social Media
In today’s world, 30+ years since the dawn of globalization,
no matter where people come from, demographics plays a key role in designing
the workplace blueprint. Dr. Karie
Willyerd (20-20 Workplace - Karie Willyerd,
2012)
stated that she, as a baby boomer, is more similar to a baby boomer in India,
than to a millennial (or Generation C) in North America.
Unique technology & social media traits of Generation C (connected)
Cisco (Gen Y: New Dawn for work, play, identity, 2012) conducted worldwide
surveys in August 2012 across 18 countries (Canada inclusive), involving 1,800
college students and workers ages 18 to 30, and uncovered these interesting
behavioural patterns around technology and social media –
- The smartphone is the preferred device over desktop PC, laptops and tablets (slide 5).
- 60% use it to check emails, texts and social media updates (slide 4).
- It is a part of a morning routine before getting ready for work for 90% of them (slide 6).
- 85% of women are compulsive checkers while only 63% men fall in this category (slide 8).
- While 70% said that smartphone apps are important to them, only 27% use them mainly for work. Also, 60% use 1 to 9 apps regularly (slide 10).
- Almost 90% upload photos to share or store; 62% upload videos to share or store both on internet sites (slide 14).
- 87% have a Facebook account and 41% update FB at least once a day (slide 11). 56% have a Twitter account and 21% tweet at least once a day (slide 14).
- 90% shop online, 57% will share email addresses to get discounts and sale notices. 3 out of 5 rely on customer reviews for online shopping (slide 15).
While company policy forbids use of company-owned devices
for personal use, according to 40% of Millennials, 71% don’t obey the policies (Gen Y: New Dawn for work, play, identity, 2012) (slide 16). This
could very well be a nightmare for organization’s IT departments, the guardians
of company networks systems and security of data.
More findings from Cisco (The Threat Landscape and The Next-Gen Workforce, 2012) uncovered a
fascinating perspective that 66% of Millennials did not agree with employers
tracking employee internet activities if using company device (slide 13). While
91% feel that the age of privacy is over (slide 12), 2 in 5 Gen Y believed that
internet browsing should be strictly private (slide 14), i.e. websites should
not track and share their online browsing information. Also, only 1/3rd
are not worried about the data that is stored and captured about them (slide
12). Here’s where companies have to create code of ethics surrounding social
media and technology proliferation, in order to avoid adverse outcome that
could cost the organization millions of dollars.
When it comes to convenience and security, the Millennials
are conflicted about their online privacy, according to Cisco (Infographic:
Convenience vs. Security: The Gen-Y Conflict, 2012) . 75% don’t trust
websites to protect personal information. However, they have no intentions of
changing their online behaviour, which raises alarm bells for IT departments in
companies where employees put networks at risk using corporate devices.
Does your organization have an employee code of technology & social media ethics?
References:
The 2020 Workplace - Dr. Karie Willyerd. (2012). Retrieved from Center for Effective Organization: http://ceo.usc.edu/pdf/Web_Workplace_of-the_Future_USC1.pdf
20-20 Workplace - Karie Willyerd. (2012, June 22). Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCsvP8Klxzs
Gen Y: New Dawn for work, play, identity. (2012, August). Retrieved from Cisco Solutions: http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/solutions/enterprise/connected-world-technology-report/2012-CCWTR-Chapter1-Global-Results.pdf
The Threat Landscape and The Next-Gen Workforce. (2012, August). Retrieved from Cisco Security Intelligence: http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/solutions/enterprise/connected-world-technology-report/ASR_CCWTR_Summary.pdf
Infographic: Convenience vs. Security: The Gen-Y Conflict. (2012, August). Retrieved from Cisco Connected: http://www.cisco.com/assets/sol/ent/business_trend/borderless/ccwtr/Security_Fingerprint.jpeg
Sh!t Millennials Say...In the Workplace (@JBTSMillennials). (2012, June 15). Retrieved from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQC7YM4CFVU
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ReplyDeleteHello Audrey,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog. The video was funny and interesting.
I liked reading the fact points that Cisco got as a result of the survey. I do believe that women are better multitaskers than men. However, I still wonder how can 85% of women be compulsively checking their smartphones and SNSs being at home or at work. Employees code of social media is very common now in most workplaces and the places I have worked so far, surfing internet and using workplace net to log in to social networking sites have been strictly prohibited even during breaks. And I know that this is making most employees unhappy especially the ones who are addicted to social media, but in order for employers to have control over employees and their working hours, this is necessary.
Here is a link to a business journal that is about “THE MILLENNIALS: A NEW GENERATION OF EMPLOYEES, A NEW SET OF ENGAGEMENT POLICIES” that I thought you might find relevant to your blog.
http://iveybusinessjournal.com/topics/the-workplace/the-millennials-a-new-generation-of-employees-a-new-set-of-engagement-policies#.UzWg2vldVqU