As per a recent study, young employees are willing to accept a low-paying job that gives them technology access as opposed to the one that does not.

It's rather astonishing how the new generation today finds itself under the severe clasp of the ‘social monster'. New-age demands such as social media access, device flexibility and work mobility have surfaced in the Indian business scenario as the ‘millennials' today, as per a recent survey conducted by Cisco, are prioritising such ‘social elasticities' over salary in accepting a job.

The study not only reveals the gravity of such career demands, but also goes on to divulge that young professionals have no qualms in accepting a low-paying job, provided organisations sanction more flexibility with regard to device choice, social media access, and mobility.  Mahesh Gupta, VP, borderless networks, Cisco India & SAARC says, "The proliferation of smart phones, tablets and laptops has resulted in employees wanting to use their own devices to do everything akin to accessing the company email and internet to stay connected. Employees today fancy having a workplace experience from wherever they wish to connect."

But, is it likely that this social media pull can hamper productivity? "If employers can depend on their employees to get their job done right, they must consequently be considerate enough to permit their employees with access to social mediums, provided misuse is avoided," says Vinod Nair, HR head, Mahindra Finance. Providing a factual opinion, Dominic Jose, head- staffing and recruitment, Handiman Services Ltd says, "I have observed that companies that permit the usage of social media during the work hours lose 1.7 per cent of productivity as compared to the companies that prohibit it. With its wealth of applications, games and status updates that distract an employee's mind, another danger is that the access to social media makes a company vulnerable to potential breaches."

The advantage of permitting social media usages are myriad, says Ravi Shankar, senior VP -HR, HCL Technologies further adding, "Such networking liberties help employees in collaborating and creative ideation." "India Inc is no longer dependent on the traditional way of functioning. Thus, young professionals prioritising their social media needs over salary making it the apparent new workforce currency  should come as no surprise," feels Subhankar Roy Chowdhury, executive director HR, India & MEA, Lenovo India.

Consequently, we are looking at a future where the appetite for social media is bound to get the better of salary and other monetary perk demands, thereby making the adoption of this ‘connected age' by both employers and employees a restorative function.

- Lynn Lobo

The writer can be reached at lynn.lobo@timesgroup.com