1 in 5 young employees want this more than money
January 19, 2009 by Sam NarisiPosted in: Communication, Employee computer use, Special Report
In a tough economy, companies need ways to retain employees when salary budgets are tight. Here’s one strategy that might work for the under-30 set.
One thing young employees want: freedom to use technology how they want while they’re at work.
In fact, 20% of workers age 18-29 say they’d take a lower salary in exchange for more relaxed IT policies, according to a recent IT World survey.
Some things that matter to those employees:
- access to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter
- the ability to work with personal devices of their choosing, such as Blackberries, iPhones and their own laptops, and
- freedom to use the Internet for personal business.
Developing smart policies
What it means for HR: Adapting technology policies to fit the needs and wants of the company’s employees could turn out to be a valuable recruiting and retention tool, especially as more tech-savvy youngsters enter the workforce.
Also, some experts say employees are productive when they’re free to work with the devices they want.
Of course, that doesn’t mean HR departments should suddenly do away with their tech rules. When creating or modifying policies, it’s important to take input from:
- IT – The main reason these policies are in place is to keep the company’s network safe and running smoothly. IT knows what’s possible and what will cause problems.
- Managers – Have there been productivity problems because of workers’ personal technology use? Policies can be made more or less strict depending on how big of an issue that’s been.
- Employees – If workers want a change in policy, it’s important to know why. They may have legitimate, work-related reasons for wanting more freedom, or they might not.
January 19th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
When an employee spends time on Social Network sites, there will be no work done. How will you balance it off, will you put a time restriction spend on Social Network sites?
January 19th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
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January 19th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
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January 20th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
This is patently absurd! Given the sheer magnitude of potential legal problems with social networking sites and the security risks from personal electronic devices, I am incredulous that anyone would even suggest such a thing.
Indeed, why don’t we just set up an X-Box and a Playstation 3? Since when are employers expected to be babysitters? Good grief….
January 20th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
I have this situation already daily. Simply, work is measureable. An employee provides results in a timely manageable value added Return on Investment.
If my employee can not focus on the immediate work at hand then
I reference the cause and establish my boundaries.
My boundaries are clear;
As long as the bandwidth is not jeopardized; (which can be a real source for conflict resolution)
In the case of when the ‘water cooler’ conversations (Inet Social Servcs) become a problem the ‘water cooler’ is ‘off limits’ until workload is met.
Remembering that valuable Bandwidth of Inet Services are always at risk to all employees needing Inet services. Make sure the business technical model can support these higher Inet open wants & needs.
January 20th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
I’m glad you called them employees and not part of the work force, because obviously if they’re spending time at Facebook and Twitter they’re not being productive. I, too would work for less money if it involved paying me for my playtime also. Probably want to take care of personal business on company time because taking care of it on their own, how odd – PERSONAL time, eats into their on line gaming.
Prediction: 11 to 21 years from now when this 18-29 group becomes the mid-to-upper management bunch, they’ll be imposing even more restraints than are generally in place now: NO! You may not bring your personal crystal-data-cube to work, heaven only knows what virus infested holograms you’ve roboloaded lately.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
I don’t necessarily like that technology has such a big impact on if, how, and when employees are productive. But, the bottom line is…it does! We have to accept the fact that “personal” technology has become easier to use than it is to avoid. If my employees need to take a few minutes here and there to check in on some personal business, then go for it! As long as their use of personal technology does not have a negative impact on our internal IT systems, and they are getting the work done, who cares? It’s no different than someone getting away from their desk to say hello to a coworker down the hall, or making a quick personal phone call. If a couple minutes of no productivity leads to hours of increased productivity because my employees aren’t freaking out about unattended personal matters or feeling distracted, trapped, etc., then let them have some breathing room. If their productivity slows, it will be addressed. If too much time spent on personal issues is the root cause of the decline in productivity, it becomes a performance issue. Chances are, if your employees feel like they are being treated fairly and like adults, and still aren’t performing well…you have a bigger issue than IT restrictions.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
While I think its great to give young people what they want to make them happy, this kind of treatment is best left for a college classroom.
Personal email is one thing but letting everyone visit facebook and other social sites puts unneeded strain on network (bandwith costs go up), as well as more stress on the IT employees who do not receive a paybump to possibly have to monitor a network which now allows this activity.
Save it for the off hours.
January 20th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
As companies cut back on costs, labor, benefits, leave time, etc, employers must start thinking out of the box to keep their employees satisfied. Simply having an attitude of, “you’re getting a pay check” does not inspire great productivity from this 18-29 yr old generation. Although it may work to retain employees during the lean times, they’ll be off to greener pastures as soon as it becomes available.
January 20th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Thank you Mike, I agree that we all need to learn how to motivate this age group. If logging on to Facebook to take a well-deserved break is what makes them happy, how is it any different then older generations calling a loved a spouse about stopping at the grocery store, or hanging out near the “water cooler” with a co-worker talking about the weekend? It never states that playing around all day on the internet was allowed, or that not keeping up with the workload is accepted. It merely states that access to these sites makes employees happier – just as free coffee, good parking, in-house childcare, and other add-on benefits help people to enjoy going to work, and at the end of the day, makes them more productive.
January 20th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
What this article shows is that 1 out of 5 young people have no clue what it means to work and should grow up. What you get from an employer is not only money but experience that will allow you to grow professionally. With that experience and knowledge you can now work your way up. And you can be proud that it was not handed to you but that you earned it. You are tehere to work, not to socialize with your friends. Save that for the weekends.
January 20th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
The old cigarette and coffee breaks have been replaced by “Blackberry” breaks. Our younger generation workers are mostly non-smokers, and could care less about the coffee — they just need their cyberspace.
January 20th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Obviously, I missed something in this article that most of you are seeing. Nothing here states anything about using personal technology or social networking during breaks. If it is available, it will be used. If it is used, it will be abused.
More importantly, if an IT department cannot control the technology being used, you will have legal problems, be it HIPAA, SarbOx, GLB, or FACT, to name just a few. It is not a question of “if”, only a matter of “when” and “how much you are going to have to pay”.
I agree that there is nothing untoward in making modest concessions for technology usage, but opening your company to this potential for liability is not a modest concession, it is insanity.
January 20th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
I can’t believe somebody had the nerve to publish such a BS article. Sure, these younger people would like to have their employer foot the bill for their technology needs since they can’t afford them because they can’t get a decent paying job because they don’t understand that work means work.
Bring their own technology into a corporate environment and expect their employer to troubleshoot and support it? What a load of crap.
Somebody needs to get a clue!
January 20th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
If they want to play, then they need to stay home. I’d like to work part time and get full time pay.
January 21st, 2009 at 7:39 am
Frankly, there is a difference between working and “networking”. I pay the employee to work, he/she should be networking on their own time. Their salary is an entitlement for work done for the number of hours agreed upon. After that time, they can use as many devices as they choose singularly or together. I have a business to run and these people are supposedly adults.
January 21st, 2009 at 11:04 am
The past 30 years has seen a growing trend toward tantrums to get their way. It is time for the Parents & the Employers to say, “No. You are being paid to do a job. Do it.” It seems that a large number of people just put out their hands & expect someone else to fill them with all the perks of life. None of this stuff is “deserved”. It must be earned. So, it appears that I am siding with Don & Jim on this one!!!
January 21st, 2009 at 12:07 pm
“Sam Says:
January 19th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
When an employee spends time on Social Network sites, there will be no work done. How will you balance it off, will you put a time restriction spend on Social Network sites?”
This is the future. I am 46 and I can understand how new technology can provide the younger people access, networking and other possiblities to restructure jobs and positions. Its working smarter that should be looked at instead of thinking that all they will do is chat.
January 21st, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Over the past year or so I’ve heard myself refer to this age group and “their sense of entitlement” more times than I care to admit to. From an IT perspective, it’s a nightmare and a neverending battle. And the problem is not just social networking sites. iTunes, music web sites like Pandora and photo upload sites — just to mention a few — all have the potential to suck up computer and network resources. We block the activity and modify the technology policies…and the whining ensues. The argument that the activity is impacting the entire network — and all of their fellow employees — doesn’t phase them.
When they took the job, they knew they were walking into the “grown up” world. I’d much prefer to treat them as adults, than to feel as if I’m dealing with whiny kids.
January 21st, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Hasn’t anyone heard of the successful workplaces like Google, Microsoft and Yahoo? They offer a lot more than access to IM and Facebook and their employees are very productive. The more we as employers can do to improve the working environment the more employees are going to want to do.
January 21st, 2009 at 3:25 pm
To even suggest, that the business community should continue to foster the erroneous self absorbed, me serving and entitle to, concept that our young people are currently deluded with is preposterous.
Honestly, this line of reasoning is so incredulous to me – I could make a day of it ranting about it.
Reality – The self indulgent life style is a luxury and takes money. One must work and earn the privilege to become self indulgent. It is not an entitlement. It is not something a company owes an employee. If people want the liberties to intermingle their personal time with work, they need to have their own business. Until then, employees need to recognize, whom ever is paying the bills and has the money the employee is accepting, the employee lives by conditions/expectation of that employer.
I am not advocating servitude. I believe both the employer and the employee have a professional, personal and moral obligation to conduct themselves in honest, forthright and dependable manner. Each recognizing, both the employer and the employee need to be benefiting from the relationship.
Bottom line – work is work and play time is “Free” time.
January 21st, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Randy makes a point that Uber-successful companies have the money to spend on “extra” employees which help alleviate everyone’s work loads. But in a small to medium-large company workforces are usually smaller which means workloads are more. But giving a smaller company the same privileges of a larger company goes back to the entitlement that younger kids want just because someone else has it.
It all depends on the specific company but as a default rule, social networking should be left for home.
I am in my late 20’s and I am a member of many of those sites but I didnt rise to the top of my department by watching others work harder than me.
January 22nd, 2009 at 11:25 am
Great attitude, IT GUY!! You should go far.
January 22nd, 2009 at 11:38 am
I find it interesting – in my experience, the people that want the company to relax the IT policies are NOT the people working in the IT department. Those employees that are actually responsible for the network — regardless of age — are well aware of the risks involved in accessing these sites and don’t want anyone doing something that might cause a network issue that they would have to clean up. I think education is the key. Most of the tech-saavy (non-IT) employees know just enough about the technology to be dangerous. Somehow, they learn how to use it — and be quite proficient with it — but their learning stops short and they never seem to get to the security issues and best practices. A quick look at how they maintain and protect their personal equipment will give you an idea of how they’ll treat your company assets.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:08 am
Oh you gloomy grammarians in golden gowns, the times they are a changing.
January 24th, 2009 at 8:51 am
Whether you provide these young people access to technology in the work environment or not, they are going to visit and participate in social networking. It’s part of their culture and will end up being a part of the business culture. If they can’t access the services on your business network, they’ll use their mobile phone where they already have the capability. It’s time to stop counting minutes when it comes to productivity and begin measuring people on their outputs. Our mindset about how work gets done must shift if we are to survive over the next few decades.
February 6th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Have people forgot that employers are paying for a service. This means that the employee should be offering good customer service. When did the roles get reversed? If I am paying someone for a haircut, I expect that my hair will get cut. If I am paying someone to produce 20 widgets an hour, I expect to get 20 widgets an hour. Employees are providing a service to the employer and it is about time they remember that.