As more and more workers purchase and become dependent upon mobile devices, the IT landscape in organizations has dramatically changed. As organizations evolve and develop new “Bring-Your-Own-Device” (BYOD) policies and procedures, they are discovering that many younger workers resist, oppose, and even violate these new attempts to manage IT security.
A survey released earlier this year found that younger “Generation Y” workers are increasingly opposing corporate policies that limit or control devices in the workplace, particularly personal mobile technologies like smart phones, tablets, laptops, smart watches and even Google Glass.
The Fortinet Internet Security Census 2013 survey polled 3,200 university graduate level individuals throughout 20 countries who were between the ages of 21 and 32, employed full-time and owned their own smartphone, tablet or laptop about their stance and attitudes on corporate policies regarding BYOD, cloud applications and emerging technologies that are entering the workplace.
Key findings included that younger workers have a strong attitude that BYOD empowers workers. Forty-five percent (45%) of those surveyed viewed their organization’s approach to personal devices use empowers their work. This percentage increased over last year’s survey result, when only 26% of workers hadthe attitude that BYOD approaches can improve their effectiveness as a worker.
Additionally, the survey indicated a strong trend by younger workers to be willing to violate their organization’s BYOD policy if it restrict’s the use of employee-owned devices, cloud storage accounts and other wearable technologies for work. Fifty-one percent (51%) of the sample confessed a willingness to violate such restrictive policies. This percentage also increased drastically over the last year in a similar survey, when only 9 percent of those surveyed indicated a willingness to break the rules.
Finally, 70% of Generation Y workers have used their various personal cloud accounts for work purposes, whether authorized to or not. They trust cloud accounts as a secure way to store and share documents with 32% of those surveyed indicating they “trust it fully.”
As mobile device technology becomes more and more consumer-driven, workplaces (and IT departments in particular) will continue to be challenged with managing their employees and enforcing BYOD policies.
As a takeaway, leaders need to recognize generational differences in attitudes when developing their policies and procedures regarding BYOD policies.
