Five Workplace Myths Busted

https://blog.adobe.com/media_8b36a6e2c6b9227d086064b32af638cbd2ee2ac6.gif“Work in Progress” report reveals insights about today’s workforce that you might not expect.

With four generations in the workplace, tech disruptions, and the gig economy on the rise – leading a Talent function in high tech has never been more exciting. Everything we know about what attracts, motivates and keeps workers happy on the job is in question.

New research we released today underscores that workplace trends are on the move. We’re calling the report, “Work in Progress,” and it came from an online survey of 2,011 global workers in the U.S., U.K., and India who use a computer daily for work. I love how the findings put an end to several long-held workplace myths. Here’s a summary of the U.S. findings:

Myth 1: We’d call-in “rich” if we won the lottery. Despite what Dilbert and movies like “The Office” say, people love to work. Seventy percent of workers love their jobs. In fact, eight in 10 would keep working even if they won the lottery – yes, you read that right. Among those who would keep working, more than half (51 percent) would stay at their current job.

Myth 2: Perks rule. Drop your Ping-Pong paddle and listen up: respondents said technology, more than perks, is the most important factor in keeping them happy at work (81 percent). Access to state-of-the-art technology ranks higher than access to food and beverages (72 percent), a beautiful office design (61 percent) and on-site amenities (56 percent). Is tech the new perk?

Myth 3: If you want to talk to a Millennial – text them. Maybe with friends Millennials would rather text than talk, but at work it’s a different story. We found more than half of Millennial workers (55%) prefer to communicate in person, more than email, text and instant messenger combined. Even Millennials got it wrong about themselves: half of Millennial workers (46%) think their generation favors texting and instant messenger at work, but in reality only a small minority prefers communicating this way (11%).

Myth 4: We work 9 to 5. Not! Respondents said that 78 percent of waking hours on a workday and 41 percent of waking hours on a typical day off are spent working or thinking about work. And, moonlighting (having one or more jobs beyond their main profession) is becoming more commonplace, with one in three office workers moonlighting. More than half (56 percent) predict that most people will have multiple jobs in the future.

Myth 5: People change jobs for money. It’s probably no surprise that nearly 60 percent of people say they’re likely to leave their job for a new opportunity. But, nearly half said they’d take a pay cut for their ideal job. What makes an ideal workplace? Work-life balance (64%), clear direction (55%) and friendly co-workers (54%) topped the list.

My take: the bar is raising for companies. Employees expect more than a pay check and a few nice perks – they’re demanding us to create better overall experiences that take into account their work and home lives. People are willing to give 110 percent if you give them a role they love, a mission they can believe in and technology that can help them get it done easily. People are always on a quest for the ideal job, so they’re gone if you can’t deliver. In a hot job market like the one we’re in today, no one can afford that.

If you’re interested in hearing more, tune in to our Future of Work “think tank” event tomorrow, May 25, with an exclusive group of industry leaders. A portion of the group’s discussion will be livestreamed from 1:00 – 2:30pm P.T. at http://adobethinktank.com.

Be sure to see the full report for insights across U.S., India and the U.K. and highlights in this infographic:

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