Gen Z impacts tech choices in offices: Study

Generation Z (Gen Z), the demographic cohort following the millennials, is already driving the technology problem-solving and buying decisions of its employers, says a new study from global process management and automation standard Nintex.

The findings of the research are available in a series of reports titled “The Gen Z Effect” that look into the career drivers and values of this demographic in four geographic regions that are Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Each report highlights elements that must be taken into account by companies to hire and keep on the payroll the newest and most tech-savvy generation of workers.

A central conclusion of the survey is that Gen Z, also called Zoomers (hence the “Z”), are the first digitally-native generation in the workforce and often seen as the go-to persons for tech-related matters. In the survey, 70% of Gen Z employees said they had been requested by a senior team member to fix a technology issue.

Nintex CEO Eric Johnson said in a press release, “Gen Z grew up with technology in hand, and as they begin their careers, they aspire to do meaningful work.”

He added, “It’s becoming increasingly important for organisations to leverage technologies that help all employees to perform at their best. One of the best ways to do that is with a process management and automation platform like Nintex, which makes it fast and easy to manage, automate and optimise any business process, simple or sophisticated, across the entire enterprise.”

According to the series of reports, 80% of decision-makers across the four countries have selected a technology tool suggested by a Gen Z employee.

Conducted by Lucid Research, the Nintex study surveyed 1,375 current and future Gen Z employees in the four countries. All the respondents were between the ages of 18 and 23. The current included graduates of a four-year university degree program who now have a job where they use a computer for more than five hours a day. The future Gen Z employees were present enrollees in four-year university degree programs who will actively look for a full-time job after graduation, or graduates of a four-year university degree program who are actively looking for a full-time job.

Nintex then surveyed 980 corporate decision-makers in New Zealand, the UK and the US. To be eligible, respondents had to be at a C-Suite, VP/director or management level at an organization with more than 250 employees and be directly involved in selecting or helping their company implement new technology, including purchasing/choosing new tools. The work on the research started in March last year.

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