Pic: Monkey Business/IndiaPicture

The desire of young professionals and college students to use social media, mobile devices, and the internet more freely in the workplace is strong enough to influence their future job choice, sometimes more than salary does, according to an international study published by Cisco. 

This demand illustrates the importance of the relationship between the internet, workforce culture, and companies' competitive advantages, and surprisingly indicates that traditional methods of attracting and retaining young employees may be less important as the ‘millennial' generation comprises more of the workforce.

Key findings:

Impact on job choice and salary

The study revealed that one in three college students and young employees under the age of 30 (33 per cent) said that they would prioritize social media freedom, device flexibility, and work mobility over salary in accepting a job offer, indicating that the expectations and priorities of the next generation of the world's workforce is not solely tied to money;

-Mobile networking, device flexibility, and the blending of personal and work lifestyles are key components of a work environment and culture that are increasingly important in determining which companies will land the next wave of industry talent;

-More than two of five college students (40 per cent) and young employees (45 per cent) said they would accept a lower-paying job that had more flexibility with regard to device choice, social media access, and mobility than a higher-paying job with less flexibility;

-In India, 57 per cent of employees surveyed confirmed they would accept the job option that paid less but offered device flexibility and remote accessibility.  

Influence of remote access and flexible work hours on job choice

- For those employees who are prohibited from accessing corporate networks and applications remotely, the top reason among employees is corporate policies (48 per cent), including influence by corporate culture and resistance to enabling a more distributed communications culture;

-In India, 27 per cent of students would base their job acceptance on being allowed to work remotely, the highest percentage amongst all nations surveyed.

Importance of mobile devices

- About seven in 10 employees (68 per cent) believe their companies should allow them to access social media and personal sites with their work-issued devices;

- More than two out of five college students globally (42 per cent) believe companies should be flexible and empathetic to their need to stay connected via social media and personal websites;

-Majority of college students globally believe that company-issued devices should be allowed for personal and business use because of the blending of work and personal communications in their daily lifestyle.

Attitudes toward workplace flexibility and remote network access

-Three out of five students globally (60%) feel that once they begin working, it will be their right – more than a privilege – to be able to work remotely with a flexible schedule;

- More than half of the college students and employees want to access corporate information over corporate networks using their home computers (63 per cent) and personal mobile devices (51 per cent)