Younger Gen Z and millennial workers are more tech-savvy and therefore better equipped to work at home compared to their more mature colleagues. Which is becoming increasingly vital as remote working is being adopted throughout the UK.
This is according to research conducted by Unily, an employee experience platform that found over a third (34 per cent) of senior employees aged over 40 ask for tech help at least once a week. A similar number (37 per cent) of junior employees aged between 18 and 34 believe that senior employees are not tech-literate which causes delays to the workforce.
This situation has led to a call for reverse mentoring schemes. Reverse mentoring is the practice of older executives being mentored by younger employees on topics such as technology, social media and current trends.
The majority (85 per cent) of junior employees think there should be more open learning between junior and senior members of staff. More than half (58 per cent) of staff said being tech-savvy had helped them become more noticed in the workplace.
Jo Skilton, Unily chief commercial officer of Unily said:
Technology and the need for increased digital communication has never been more apparent. Now, more than ever, senior business leaders are looking to their more tech-savvy junior members of staff to help provide advice, solutions and tools helpful for employees to communicate with each other.
Unily, a digital workplace provider, have been looking into the topic of reverse mentoring as a means of tackling tech-literacy in a cross-generational workforce. Our recent research done in February 2020, in collaboration with YouGov has revealed a potential opportunity to improve tech skills at a time when they are in high demand.
Today’s workplace is a dynamic mix of generations who must remain agile in order to embrace the ever evolving technology-driven marketplace. The value of reverse mentoring is undeniable as companies attempt to break down old structures and open up to full, untethered knowledge sharing.
Unily gathered this research by asking 2,023 employees.
Darius is the editor of HRreview. He has previously worked as a finance reporter for the Daily Express. He studied his journalism masters at Press Association Training and graduated from the University of York with a degree in History.
This has nothing to do with whether we label people as gen z or millenial and everything to do with younger people throughout history being the first to get comfortable with new tech and methods of working.