14 January 2012
Younger employees are more influenced by the chance to use social media at work than the salary on offer when it comes to choosing where to work.

According to the second annual Cisco Connected World Technology Report, which surveyed more than 2,800 college students and young professionals in 14 countries, one in three college students and employees under the age of 30 would prioritise social media freedom over salary in accepting a job offer.

They also prized device flexibility (the ability to use mobile devices at work) and work mobility over their potential pay packet.

More than two of five college students (40%) and employees under 30 (45%) 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.

Meanwhile, more than half of college students (56%) said that if they were offered a job by a company that banned access to social media, they would either not accept a job offer or would join and find a way to get around their employer’s IT policy.

The report was commissioned to assess the challenges faced by organisations as they attempt to balance the needs of their business with those of their employees in relation to internet usage, especially in the light of network demands, mobility issues and security risks.

For digital marketers it emphasises yet again the power of social media as a potential marketing tool for a younger demographic.