Technology, Baby Boomers, Gen x, and Gen y

To: CEO
From: Peter Ochabski
Date: Wednesday, Nov 14th, 2012
Subject: LexisNexis Survey Analysis

The LexisNexis data seems to be sound and includes information on three age groups of white collar employees. The first being those born 1964 and earlier; the second is people born from 1965- through 1979; and lastly those born from 1980 on. While everyone agrees that technology is beneficial and makes everyone more productive the youngest group uses a significantly wider range of software, hardware, and web resources. A few examples are music and video playing programs as well as photo editing software. They are generally more personal use resources such as gaming, social networks, bb/forums, and multimedia sharing. They spend about double the time on PDAs, PCs, and phones per day, but again much of this is personal use.

Generally it seems as though the younger generation uses more technology throughout their lives, it is more frequently for personal use and decreases their at-work efficiency. The older generation seems to lean in the opposite direction and be so conservative about their use of technology at work that they do not take full advantage of it.

I would suggest that the younger employees be given clear and specific limits on what is and is not acceptable use of technology in the workplace to help them reduce distractions at work. I would also suggest training the older generation on how new technology can extend their efficiency, effectiveness and reach. For example using social media, in a professional manner, to market the company. Security cannot be overlooked and I would recommend a training session on confidentiality, how to keep company data secure, and how to avoid common mistakes. Generally it should not be assumed that employees know what is appropriate at work or that they will be competent at using new technologies to their fullest.

Thank you for your attention I hope this information is beneficial to you and your company. Please let me know if you have any questions.