Air, Water & Internet

A report by Cisco has found that 1 in 3 students (33%) believes the Internet is a fundamental resource for the human race – as important as air, water, food and shelter and half (49% of college students and 47% of employees) believe it is "pretty close" to that level of importance. Combined, four of every five college students and young employees believe the Internet is vitally important as part of their daily life's sustenance.

The Cisco Connected World Technology Report investigated 'Is the Internet a fundamental human necessity? Is a workplace with flexible mobility policies as valuable as salary? Key results say yes.
For prospective employees nearly two of three students (64%) said they plan to ask about social media usage policies during job interviews, and one in four overall (24%) said it would influence their job decisions, such as leaving companies sooner rather than later, slacking off, or declining job offers outright.

More surprisingly over two out of five would accept a lower-paying job that had more flexibility with regard to device choice, social media access, and mobility rather than a higher-paying job with less flexibility. The new report found that three out of ten feel that once they begin working, it will be their right- more than a privilege -to be able to work remotely with a flexible schedule.

This change in attitude shouldn’t come too much of a surprise, many companies have begun to incorporate remote working for emergencies so why not as part of the normal working week?

So what does the future hold for the next generation of worker’s, seven of 10 college students (70%) believe it is unnecessary to be in the office regularly, with the exception of an important meeting. In fact, one in four feel their productivity would increase if they were allowed to work from home or remotely. The global figures were mirrored by employees as well, with 69% believing office attendance was unnecessary on a regular basis. In contrast, the 2010 report showed that three of five (60%) employees (of all ages) believed it was unnecessary to be confined to offices.