Data shows that Gen Z's work preferences are a blend of Gen X and
millennials and could convince businesses to dial back on millennial
workplace changes
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT), the leading
provider of global Enterprise Communications as a Service (ECaaS), today
released a new study that highlights how Generation (Gen) Z, which will
enter the workforce in earnest in 2017, will change the workplace,
especially as it relates to business communications. The report, titled,
"Rogue
One: How Generation Z is Going to Bring Balance to the (work)Force,"
surveyed full- and part-time employed Gen Z, millennial and Gen X
workers, and found that the work preferences of Gen Z, in many ways,
align more closely with Gen X than millennials.
This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161215005609/en/
Rogue One: How Generation Z is Going to Bring Balance to the (Work)Force. (Graphic: Business Wire)
For instance, the survey findings suggest Gen Z are less tech-dependent
than millennials, and more similar to Gen X, when it comes to adopting
high-tech devices and apps in their personal lives. Millennials are more
likely to use wearables (39 percent), connected appliances (35 percent)
and virtual reality (24 percent) than Gen Z or Gen X. Additionally, Gen
Z values face-to-face communication more than any other generation, with
an emphasis on effectiveness over convenience--a major shift from how
millennials prefer to work. While one in four Gen Z workers prefer
communicating in person, millennials were most likely to respond that
face-to-face communication will be less important in the future.
"Our goal with this study was to benchmark for the first time how Gen Z
communication and work preferences might impact the workplace,
especially when it comes to adoption of newer technologies," said Enzo
Signore, CMO, 8x8, Inc. "We found that while millennials have encouraged
the workplace to become more technologically advanced and remote-work
friendly, Gen Z will bring more balance to the workplace through
face-to-face communication and tools that will help them communicate
more effectively. We believe this will start to have an impact over the
next 12 months."
A Balancing Influence
In general, millennial work styles and communications preferences differ
from their Gen X predecessors, but Gen Z preferences are more a hybrid
of the two. The majority of Gen Z workers want a physical workspace (57
percent) combined with the ability to work remotely (48 percent) and
have flexible hours (73 percent). Additionally, when asked about the
types of communications tools they want to use, the majority of
millennials want tools that will save them the most time. Adversely, Gen
Z wants to use tools that are the most effective, even if it takes more
time, demonstrating a desire to do a job well versus quickly.
When it comes to traditional workplace tools, Gen Z brings balance
between high-tech millennials and older Gen Xers. Less than 20 percent
of Gen Z respondents say they are likely to use traditional Gen X tools
like email or landlines for work. But on the flip side, Gen Z is the
least likely of every generation to use millennial favorites like
messaging and chat apps in the future workplace. Smartphones are the
exception and are quickly becoming a hub of communication for all
generations, but especially for Gen Z. When asked which device they used
to take the survey, twice the amount of Gen Z respondents (62 percent)
used a smartphone over millennials (31 percent) and Gen X (28 percent).
Other Key Findings
The generations didn't disagree on every response, finding common ground
on the importance of some technologies to the future workplace. There
are also some interesting findings as they relate to other newer
technologies like bots and connected appliances. These include:
-
Email on the decline: More than half of all generations
surveyed do not believe they will use email for work in the future.
-
Bots are here to stay: Nearly seven in 10 of all respondents
agreed that at least some of their current jobs could be automated by
bots today, with even more agreeing that bots will automate some part
of their jobs in the future.
-
Connected home will impact work: On average, 55 percent of all
respondents agreed that connected devices, such as cars, fridges, etc.
could be used for work in the future.
-
No more lines between personal and work tech: The majority of
all respondents (56 percent) would prefer to use the same tools for
work as in their personal lives.
About the Survey
8x8 partnered with Koski Research to field a survey of full- and
part-time employed workers in November 2016. Koski Research collected a
sample of 1,000 respondents across the United States who use a computer
or phone for their everyday work. The survey includes 200 Gen Z
respondents, 400 millennial respondents and 400 Gen X respondents, ages
18 to 50. The sample size is statistically representative of working
Americans, including gender, age, income, race/ethnicity and geographic
location.
To explore the key findings in greater detail read the full
report. To listen to our discussion on the future of work with Jacob
Morgan, best selling author, speaker, futurist and co-founder of The
Future of Work Community tune into the 8x8
Conversations Multiplied podcast.
About 8x8, Inc.
8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT) is the trusted provider of secure and reliable
enterprise cloud communications solutions to more than 47,000 businesses
operating in over 100 countries across six continents. 8x8's
out-of-the-box cloud solutions replace traditional on-premises PBX
hardware and software-based systems with a flexible and scalable
Software as a Service (SaaS) alternative, encompassing cloud business
phone service, contact center solutions, and conferencing. For
additional information, visit www.8x8.com,
www.8x8.com/UK or
connect with 8x8 on LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161215005609/en/
8x8
John Sun, 408-692-7054
john.sun@8x8.com
or
Tracey
Workman, 781-366-1789
8x8@inkhouse.com
Source: 8x8
News Provided by Acquire Media