The Myspace generation grows up
It’s happened! The MySpace generation is entering the world of work. An entirely new wave of tech savvy, connected young professionals are looking for work and they are expecting a lot. Recently the Cisco Connected World Technology Report was released. They interviewed nearly 3,000 college students and young professionals about their behaviour and expectations of the world of work and how their demands for information access are changing.
Social media at work
Young people want to use social media at work, there is no denying this. 1 in 3 of the students interviewed said that they classed access to the internet as important as air, water, food and shelter. This may sound shocking but are we really surprised? These students don’t remember a time before the internet, they have grown up with it being a huge part of their lives and most importantly, it is how they communicate with each other.
Breaking the rules
According to the Cisco report, “a large percentage of companies still block social media access.” I remember at secondary school the same rules were enforced. Social networking, gaming websites, videos… Anything that wasn’t deemed educational was blocked, but do you think that stopped us? We found ways around the blocks using proxy websites to get to our precious MySpace accounts (yes, this was when MySpace was cool). One kid even managed to route his connection through a server he had built at home to pass the blocks. This can be a dangerous situation. Not only can these websites harm the network by infecting it with viruses, it wastes valuable time both from the students and the IT staff.
So why are the younger generation so intent on breaking the rules? It’s simple. They use these websites for communication, just as previous generations have used email and telephones. You wouldn’t expect to have your mobile phone taken from you as you entered work and they expect the same with regards to social networking.
How does this affect employers?
Employers have hit back at this wave of new staff by enforcing policies regarding their social media usage. However most companies will put out a policy on what they can’t do rather than encouraging use of the platforms in a positive and productive way. We need to take advantage of this generation and have them teach the senior staff how it can be used as part of the company’s marketing strategy and as a communication tool in general. Does it show that you trust your workforce if you simply block the websites? I’m not arguing that we should be letting the younger generation be on Facebook all day, far from it, but blocking the websites entirely is completely counterproductive.
One of the key findings from the Cisco report notes that young professionals want to work in an open environment that accommodates the use of social media. So much so that they may even be prepared to take a lower salary for this freedom. If companies don’t embrace the same culture and ideas on how to leverage social networking in the workplace, they may have a tough time recruiting the MySpace generation.