“A survey of the attitudes of 13 to 17 year olds, commissioned by the British IT firm Logicalis, reveals 81 per cent have already thought about their work/life balance, while more than half (55%) expect to use instant messaging in the workplace to communicate with colleagues. Many also expect to be able to continue using other web 2.0 technologies they’ve grown up with – such as wikis, social networks & blogs.”

I bet that’s not what you expected teens to be thinking about. But I think it’s an indication that this generation not only sees the value of the tools they’re using, but recognizes their future value and power in the workplace

On Work/life balance:

“The issue of work/life balance is on the radar of future employees – before they’ve even nailed down their first proper job. This web 2.0 generation also expects technologies such as instant messaging, social networking and webcams to be welcomed in the workplace – and many are prepared to up sticks and move abroad in search of a better lifestyle should the reality of the daily grind disappoint.”

That’s perhaps the strongest call to action yet.

Today’s teens expect to use the tools they know, and won’t give them up easily for older, less efficient ones just because they’re the status quo in some organizations. An organization might be able to ignore social media in the short term, but that will leave it even further behind its peers, and even less attractive to future employees.

Yankee Group analyst Joshua Holbrook suggests that enterprises give employees greater independence to choose the best tools for their work, and manage their own IT needs.

An example of this?

BP has given some employees the ability to buy and manage their own IT equipment. (BTW, here’s their Work/Life balance page – doesn’t say anything about self-managed IT, but that’s not surprising. It’s an internal program.)

I’d love to know how this impacts/helps IT spending at the company. It seems like giving employees flexibility could reduce costs if they buy what they know they’ll use, vs. getting something “standard-issue” that might cost much more, or sit idle and unused.

Check out my new Wikipatterns book – a how-to guide for growing wiki use in organizations with practical advice from a wiki expert. (That’s me!)

Here’s what people are saying about the book:

• “Create an idea-sharing environment where incomplete can be linked together and from this, solutions emerge.” – From the book’s Foreword, by Ward Cunningham
• “I’m going to recommend this without even reading it! Should be an e2.0 must-read top-shelfer…” – Susan Scrupski
• “Just pre-ordered this from Amazon. Looks to be a good read and an essential tool in any E2.0 evangelist’s tool kit.” – Scott Gavin
• “I love it when this happens, a blog I’ve read for ages (devoured some would say) gets published in book format. Needless to say my copy is already ordered.” – Gordon McLean