Generational Differences in the Use of Workplace Technology

Is there a gap between generations of legal and white collar professionals in terms of technology in the workplace? LexisNexis conducted a survey to see if there really is a gap and how big it is: LexisNexis Technology Gap Survey (.pdf).

After looking at the survey results, I see that there clearly is a gap. But it is not as big as most people think. There are statistically significant differences but not the tidal wave of change. I also think that some of the differences can be attributed to the level on seniority, not the generational difference. The Baby boomers are more likely to have more senior roles than Gen X and especially Gen Y.

For example one question asked “how many times do you access a social networking site during the day?” The percentage of those who said zero was 86% for Baby boomers. But was still 38% for Gen Y. Certainly, there is a big gap. But  you should not assume that every Gen Y is on rabid user of social networking and that Baby Boomers do not know what it is.

This difference was one of the biggest in the result. Most of the other data show a much narrower gap in the use and perception of technology in the workplace.

References:

• LexisNexis Technology Gap Survey (.pdf)