New CompTIA Study Offers Insight into How Millennials May Change the Workplace

More blur the boundaries between personal and professional life, greater emphasis on the participation of media and strong views about technology are some of the trends that could shape the workplace of the future, a new Research published this week by CompTIA, the association of the IT industry suggests.

Managing multigenerational work force examines how generational issues are changing the dynamics of the workforce now and in the future.

"As baby boomers and Generation X before them, Millennium has strong preferences and priorities on what they think the workplace should look like," said Seth Robinson, Director, Analysis Technology, CompTIA.

"It will be interesting to see if these preferences are becoming the norm as more students enter management positions, or whether students are changing their views because they take more responsibilities to customers, communities, employees and shareholders."

The flexibility of the workplace

Younger workers who have grown up in an era where flexibility is the norm hope to expand their ways of working. Boomers want to work for companies that offer telecommuting option, even if it means accepting lower wages. Companies that do not offer telecommuting option is considered obsolete.

In all age groups, most workers want an agreement that includes a couple of days at the office and a couple of days at home, with a greater number of days in the office. Collaboration, connection and creativity that results from the face to face interaction with colleagues is still important for employees, regardless of age.

Social Media

Employees between 20 and 30 years are much more likely to use social networks like Facebook, for work purposes - three in 10 in each age group. In contrast, less than 20 percent of boomers use Facebook for business and 25 percent do not use Facebook at all, for work or for personal use.

The blurring of boundaries between work and personal life - and the information shared through social media channels - is a cause of concern for business and recognized as a potential problem employees. Most workers in all age groups (64 percent) believe that the media, the harmful effects of labor productivity.

"Organizations should seriously consider building a policy regarding social networks to define appropriate behaviors and minimize the risk of sharing sensitive data," Robinson said.

This may be difficult in the workplace of the future, however. Younger workers are more connection between social networks and their work and feel that their social media skills are an important part of the skill set they bring to their work.

Tech State

Three quarters of Boomers say they use technology in a company is a factor in employment decisions, compared with just over half of the baby boomers.

"The data also suggest that younger workers are more likely to think that your employer is pushing the envelope of technology, suggesting that most of what is offered is taken," said Anna Matthai, Manager, Research and market intelligence, CompTIA. "As the world becomes increasingly digital, the companies with the best technology will be in the best position to compete and recruit younger workers."

When it comes to your comfort level and ability to use technology 70 percent of Millennials label themselves as "advanced" or "higher level". For Generation X workers, the figure is 55 percent and Boomers, 30 percent.

Email is still the most common form of communication in the workplace, but new forms of communication such as Skype, text messaging and instant claim a larger footprint, especially among workers under 50.

When problems arise technological support in the workplace they are more likely to turn to instant messaging, video chat and mobile applications used for solving younger workers. They are also open to using social media for IT support related to maintenance, repair and troubleshooting of systems and applications.

CompTIA management multigenerational workforce study is based on two separate online surveys - the first 700 professionals; second, 1,010 adolescents and young adults aged between 13 and 24. The two surveys were conducted in September 2015. The full report is available from the simple registration