Lines get blurry between work and personal time for Generation Y employees, always connected via smartphones

An overwhelming majority of Generation Y members they check their smartphones for updates in email, texts and social media sites, often before they get out of bed, according to the 2012 Cisco Connected World Technology Report (CCWTR.) More worryingly, two out of five of those surveyed said they “would feel anxious, like part of me is missing,” if they couldn’t use their smartphones to stay connected. For this generation, information is real-time, all the time. And checking smartphones is one of the first things they do when getting ready for work or school in the morning. “For employers, this is meaningful because it demonstrates that the workforce of the future is more agile, more informed and more responsive than any previous generation. They live to connect and communicate,” according to the study. More than one in four Gen Y respondents (29 percent) say they check their smartphones so constantly that they lose count, while one third check their smartphones at least once every half an hour. Being connected is for many borderline to being addicted, with 60 percent of Gen Yers subconsciously or compulsively check their smartphones for emails, texts or social media updates, according to the study. Another finding which might make employers happy is that work and personal life have blurry lines for Generation Y, as there are no clear markers between the workday and personal time. Globally, 3 out of 4 respondents use smartphones in bed, over a third use them in the bathroom, and almost half check email and social media during meals with family and friends. Even worse, one in five said they check their messages while driving. More about the study here. Generation Y, also known as the Millennials, is a demographic term covering people born in the late 80s, 90s and in the 2000. The term was first used in the early 90s to describe the teenagers of the day. Then, the birth date for the generation was considered 1982, which places the Generation Y members in the maximum 30 age group. editor@romania-insider.com