Employees of Gen Z officers suffer ‘burnout’ from being overrun by fax machines and other old technology, study finds
- Old technology like fax machines is causing stress among young office workers
- A study found that Gen Z workers suffer from ‘burnout’ because old technology baffles them
- Most younger workers suffer from ‘impostor syndrome’, only 32% of baby boomers have it
Younger office workers suffer from ‘burnout’ because they are baffled by old technology like fax machines and copiers, a new report finds.
In a reversal of traditional roles, workers ages 18 to 24 – known as Generation Z – must turn to peers their parents’ age for technical help.
Researchers found that many offices still use outdated computers, phone systems and even fax machines, leaving 49 percent of Gen Z staff confused and needing help from baby boomer colleagues, over the age of 55. So-called “legacy” systems are one of the main reasons that 78 percent of younger workers suffer from “impostor syndrome,” the report said.
By comparison, only 32 percent of baby boomers suffer from the condition, leaving employees questioning whether they are competent enough to do their jobs.
Old technology like fax machines is causing Generation Z office workers to burn out as the machines confuse them and contribute to their ‘impostor syndrome’
A spokesperson for the study said Gen Z employees are particularly sensitive to the impact of legacy systems and value modern technology
More than eight in ten Gen Z workers said they also struggled with burnout, in part because of frustrations with old technology slowing down their jobs. Yet only 47 percent of baby boomers said burnout was a problem because they can more easily switch between old and new technology.
The research was conducted by Asana, which provides work management technology. Spokesperson Simon O’Kane said: “Gen Z are particularly sensitive to the impact of legacy systems and place a high value on modern technology.
“They are opposing established norms in the hope that companies will update legacy systems in favor of modern technology and efficient processes.
“It’s clear that organizations either don’t have clear processes that Gen Z connects to, or have legacy processes that they find cumbersome and demotivating.
“But generations who didn’t grow up with technology in the same way are less affected by it.”
The findings are based on a survey of 10,624 office workers in Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the UK.
Researchers also found that 65 percent of Gen Z workers become annoyed by struggling to find information about legacy systems that they believe should be within reach.
Only 53 percent of baby boomers suffered from the same frustrations and can easily deal with such problems because they were used to it ‘before’.
The survey also found that technology is so embedded in the lives of Gen Z workers that 37 percent have trouble logging out after office hours and continuing to work on phones and tablets. Only ten percent of baby boomers have the same problem.