Are Employees Really Ready to Work on Mars?

There's no doubt that technology is reshaping the way people think about how, when and where they work. In fact, in a recent survey, a significant number of Generation X and Generation Y professionals said they would be ready to move to Mars if their company opened a branch there. And a similar number said they would have a brain implant if it "made the World Wide Web instantly accessible to their thoughts." These are among the many surprising findings in Cisco's annual "Connected World Technology Report," an exhaustive survey of 2,000 Gen X, Gen Y and HR professionals that examines the changing relationship between employee behavior and the increasingly pervasive nature of the Internet. Taken as a whole, the report indicates just how much the spread of mobile devices—along with the resulting anytime/anywhere access to applications and data—is causing employees to shift their priorities and ask for the ability to seamlessly blend their professional and personal lives. Although some relics survive, such as the affinity for laptops and old-fashioned note taking, there are clearly huge changes afoot for forward-looking employers. "Businesses should grab this opportunity to re-examine how they need to evolve in order to attract top talent and shape their business models," said Lance Perry, Cisco's vice president of IT customer strategy and success. "Without a doubt, our world is changing to be much more Internet-focused, and it becomes even more so with each new generation."