After years of responding to the needs of Gen X and Gen Y, a new study from Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, suggests employers have a whole new generation to grapple with post-pandemic – with 85 per cent of hybrid workers saying they identify with the traits of the emerging Generation Novel (Gen-N).
Coined by digital anthropologist Brian Solis, Gen-N describes a cross-generational cohort of people who thrive on digital-first experiences, and place greater value on personalisation, customisation, and transparency from the brands they buy from, work for, and support. Above all else, they also understand, use and demand more from technology than ever before – both at home and work.
According to the study of 5,018 hybrid workers across EMEA, 78 per cent of respondents say they use technology more now than they did before COVID-19, and 75 per cent consider themselves to be “digitally savvy”. Sixty-nine per cent of respondents agree they now have more of an opinion on the technology they use at work and 71 per cent feel it’s important to be able to customise their workplace tech set-up to suit their individual preferences.
The survey also revealed the risks this new generation will bring to the workplace if their expectations continue to go unmet. As it stands, only 38 per cent of respondents say they have any significant choice in their workplace technology. Without the right technology, workers indicated they will experience decreased productivity (35 per cent) and a poorer work/life balance (23 per cent). Gen-N’s expectations around increased flexibility and confidence in their technical abilities also opens businesses up to a number of security risks relating to where, when, and what employees connect to the network – with 50 per cent of respondents, for example, claiming they are more likely to try to resolve a tech issue themselves now than they would have been before the pandemic.
Also Read: Is Security Key To Your Cloud-Native Strategy?
Key findings from the report:
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Hybrid workers have a new perspective on the role of workplace technology:
80 per cent of our respondents say their company must maintain policies that encourage healthy technology use.
While 73 per cent believe technology has a role to play in fostering an inclusive environment in the new hybrid workplace, 44 per cent believe it is not currently doing so.
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Hybrid workers bring new risks to the workplace if their needs go unmet:
When encountering a tech issue at work, nearly three quarters (74 per cent) of hybrid workers say they expect it to be resolved in 20 minutes or less – and over two fifths (42 per cent) in under 10 minutes.
Over half (55 per cent ) of our survey respondents admit to connecting to a non-password protected public network at least once a week, but only a third (33 per cent) consistently think of the security risks in doing so.
Meanwhile, as many as 82 per cent are still using their personal mobile device to access work information.
