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Gen Y Ups the Ante for Technology in the Workforce

Gen Y for Technology Bye-Bye Baby Boomers As older Boomers reach retirement age, Gen Y and Gen X workers will be filling the gap. The workforce is expected to shift to Gen Y by 2020. This means businesses will need to adapt to a new set of expectations, attitudes and work preferences, including IT tools […]

Written By: Gina Roos

Aug 28, 2013

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Gen Y for Technology

Bye-Bye Baby Boomers

As older Boomers reach retirement age, Gen Y and Gen X workers will be filling the gap. The workforce is expected to shift to Gen Y by 2020. This means businesses will need to adapt to a new set of expectations, attitudes and work preferences, including IT tools they like to use. This will be compounded by the industry’s adoption of cloud computing, bring-your-own-device (BYOD) philosophies and social media.

Employers Need to Tech-Up

Thirty-two percent of Gen Y and 22 percent of Gen X survey respondents consider how savvy a potential employer is a significant factor in job selection. This compares with only 19 percent of Baby Boomers.

Getting Good Grades

About 50 percent of survey respondents said their employers were either cutting-edge or in the “upper tier” in their use of technology. When describing their own skills, 22 percent of Gen Y respondents said they had cutting-edge tech skills, while 43 percent believe they have upper- tier use of technology.

Tech at Work

The survey finds that 74 percent of Gen Y workers used a smartphone for work in the last year, compared with 37 percent of Baby Boomers. BYOD is a big trend for younger workers; 61 percent of 20-somethings and 59 percent of 30-somethings said they use a personal device or application for work.

Tech Gender Gap

While 65 percent of males said they used a smartphone for work compared with 44 percent of females, 72 percent of males used a laptop for work versus 55 percent of females.

Everybody Agrees Microsoft Leads in Software Apps

Most office workers prefer Microsoft software apps. Nearly nine in 10 workers used MS Word in the last year and another seven in 10 used MS Excel. The percentages held across every age bracket from their 20s to 60s, ranging from 86 percent to 88 percent of survey respondents. However, younger workers are twice as likely to use alternative word processing or productivity apps.

Training Is Tops for Gen Y

Although 75 percent of respondents participated in mandatory or voluntary training over the past 12 months, Gen Y workers participated in voluntary training at a higher rate than any other age bracket.

Gen Y Prefers E-Learning

Employers will need to bolster their e-learning training programs to keep their younger workers happy. Thirty-four percent of all survey respondents participated in e-learning over the past 12 months, but the biggest participants were Gen Y workers with 45 percent of them using this as a method of training.

Tech Satisfaction

Three out of four employees are satisfied with their employer’s ability to repair, troubleshoot, and maintain devices and applications. However, they fully expect IT support service needs to grow, according to 50 percent of Gen Y, 48 percent of Gen X and 42 percent of Baby Boomer respondents.

Resolve IT Issues Faster

Survey respondents in all age brackets agreed they want faster support/resolution of IT issues. Sixty percent of Gen Y, 53 percent of Gen X and 53 percent of Baby Boomers rank faster support as their key preference for improving IT support. This is followed by more proactive maintenance so issues are addressed before becoming a big problem, according to 37 percent of Gen Y, 47 percent of Gen X and 40 percent of Baby Boomer respondents.

Gen Y Ups the Ante for Technology in the Workforce

Gina Roos

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