A new cohort of social media-savvy employees, dubbed ‘Generation Gmail’, are apparently displaying a particular frustration with corporate e-mail restrictions, complaining that mailbox sizes are too constrained and that they will readily “work around” using personal e-mail to be as productive and flexible as possible.
The findings of an international study commissioned by Mimecast have revealed that corporate e-mail users under the age of 25 are placing businesses at risk with a “slapdash attitude” to company intellectual property (IP) flowing outside the organisation and being stored on public servers.
Use of personal e-mail for work purposes is “pervasive” (with 85% of under 25s surveyed admitting that they send work related e-mails or documents to or from personal e-mail accounts, the highest percentage of all age groups).
“With social networks and personal e-mail now a ubiquitous part of their life, the way e-mail is used by this demographic is bleeding into the workplace,” commented Nathaniel Borenstein, chief scientist at Mimecast.
“It’s not surprising that expectations for workplace technology are shifting. Our results find that workers are frustrated with corporate restrictions and are working around them by using personal e-mail accounts so they don’t affect their productivity or flexibility.”
Frustrations with the current workplace
In tandem with Generation Gmail’s appetite for technology – and an instinctive desire to share and collaborate – comes a frustration with traditional workplace tools and behaviours.
Over half (51%) of under 25s questioned for the survey said that if they had an unlimited work mailbox they would be less likely to send work e-mails to personal accounts (11% higher than other age groups).
The Generation Gmail report also finds that:
Core communication channel
One of the creators of the MIME standard which makes modern e-mail delivery possible, Borenstein continued: “E-mail is a vital channel. Indeed, it’s the preferred choice of communications within companies today. Although more fanciful headlines would have us believe that e-mail is on the verge of extinction, the reality is that e-mail is embedded within company culture and will remain a core communication channel for some time to come.”
He continued: “However, unprecedented change is afoot as a new generation of people who have had lifelong exposure to technology enter the workforce, bringing with them unique challenges in the provision and management of e-mail and other technologies for companies.”
According to Borenstein, the proliferation of social networks and mobile devices has “transformed the communications landscape” within companies.
“Employees increasingly mix and match technologies, using devices and platforms interchangeably to find workarounds that maximise their flexibility and productivity,” he suggested.
“Employers need to work out what they are going to do in the face of this cultural shift.”
Mimecast commissioned Loudhouse, an independent marketing research consultancy, to conduct the survey and investigate how attitudes to work e-mail use are evolving as well as how progressive employers are managing this core communication channel.
The research comprised a total of more than 2,400 online interviews with corporate e-mail users in the UK (1,080 interviews), the US (805), Canada (272) and South Africa (300).
Further information on Mimecast
Mimecast delivers SaaS-based enterprise e-mail management including security, continuity and archiving.
By unifying disparate and fragmented e-mail environments into one holistic solution that’s always available from the cloud, Mimecast minimises risk and reduces cost and complexity while at the same time providing total end-to-end control of e-mail.
Founded in the UK back in 2003, the company serves approximately 3,500 customers worldwide and has offices in Europe, North America, Africa and the Channel Islands.
For further information access the website (a dedicated link is provided on the right hand panel of this page)
