New grads are facing the highest unemployment rate that they’ve ever had to deal with. It’s no wonder we are hearing cries on the subject from the early 20’s crowd, including many protesters down at Occupy Wall Street. A new study, though, could raise some eyebrows over their priorities when it comes to careers.
The results of the study, conducted by Cisco and published by Hot Hardware, show that new college graduates care more about access to social networking sites than they do about salary when considering a job offer.
Shocked? About 56 percent of the 2,800 students and young professionals polled across the globe are so turned off by the idea of logging out that they would most likely turn down or ignore a job offer from a company that banned those social networking sites.
The ability to work remotely also proved more important than pay. About 40 percent said they would actually accept less money if it meant they could telecommute and use social networking sites on whatever device they want while working. A flexible work schedule was another plus — about one-third of respondents said it is their right, not privilege, to have flexible hours and permission to work remotely.
In the digital age we live in, it’s probably no surprise that 81 percent of the respondents said they want the freedom to choose what device they use for work. Additionally, 68 percent said they think they should be able to surf social networking sites with their work devices.
And why not? 31 percent of young professionals who participated in the study said said their social media know-how is one of the traits that landed them the job in the first place. If being Facebook savvy is an important factor to employers during the interview process, than we guess it’s no surprise that their employers will be updating their statuses at work.
These results are perhaps a sign of times as to how important social networking has become to the business world but, geez, what’s next — a 40-hour work week??
(Cisco Systems via Hot Hardware)
