It’s all about the attitude: Boomers and Gen Y on technology
by Celine Roque
LexisNexis did an interesting survey among white collar workers, asking them about how they view various technologies and how they think these impact their job performance. It’s nice to note that using computers, Internet browsers, email and calendar programs is almost universal among the respondents. Most of them also agree that new technologies and software applications have made it easier to get up-to-the-minute information (95%), perform research (94%), improve productivity (90%), and manage information (87%).
In other areas, however, attitudes towards technology diverge based on age. The younger workers from Gen Y tend to be more liberal than Baby Boomers on Internet usage during work hours. Around 62% of Gen Y admitted to accessing social networking sites from work whereas only 14% of Boomers did so. As for browsing Internet bulletin boards and forums, it’s 47% for Gen Y versus 27% for Boomers. Lastly, 44% of Gen Y confess to going to mutimedia sharing websites like Youtube against just 24% of Boomers.
In terms of office etiquette, opinions again demonstrate a wide generation gap. LexisNexis warns that these differences in values could “contribute to in-office tensions and even harm teamwork and productivity.” Perhaps it’s not surprising that over two-thirds (68%) of Boomers decry the proliferation of PDAs and mobile phones as a contributor to the decline in workplace manners, while only less than half (46%) of Gen Y workers agree with this assessment. The same number of Boomers cry foul when other people use a laptop or PDA during in-person meetings, whereas a fewer number of Gen Ys (49%) are similarly offended.
It seems that the key here is the perception of productivity. A mere 17% of Boomers say that using laptops or PDAs during in-person meetings is efficient, versus 35% for Gen Y. Blogging about work-related issues is tolerable for just 28% of Boomers, in contrast to 41% of Gen Y who are fine with it. Almost half of Gen Y workers (47%) see nothing wrong with befriending a client on a social networking site, but only 24% of Boomers feel the same way. When it comes to befriending their colleagues on these sites, 76% of Gen Y are all for it while only 38% of Boomers think that it’s appropriate.
Where do you stand on these issues? Where do you draw the line in terms of using technology in the workplace?
