The survey by Siemens Enterprise Communications found that one in four respondents expected to be provided with a smartphone by their new employers, whilst 40% expect to receive a laptop and more than 1 in 6 will want Facebook access during work time.
Researchers interviewed 164 UK and 154 US teenagers, finding that the majority of teenagers surveyed believed that access to the internet in the workplace helps them to be more productive, with nearly 70% saying smartphones and tablets make it easier to do their jobs, and over half (55 per cent) said it will make them more efficient in the workplace.
According to Siemens, the study found that teenagers are seeking to mirror the technology that they use at home when they enter the workforce, with 13% anticipating their new employer will give them a tablet computer.
Access to applications like Facebook, Google+ and Twitter, says the report, will also be very important for establishing networks, collaboration and communication in future UK workplaces, but not necessarily with management.
Delving into the research reveals there are subtle differences between UK and US teenagers, as UK teens are more likely to think that this technology will persuade them to work out of hours (32%) than their US contemporaries, with only 18% of American teens thinking that Blackberries and iPads will require them to work into the evening.
Adrian Crookes, vice president of strategy and technology with Siemens Enterprise Communications, said that, with an estimated 320,000 young adults having graduated this summer in the UK – and graduate placements rising by 9.4% - t), businesses need to ensure that they have the right technology in place to attract the top talent.
“To retain and maximise the productivity of `net natives' organisations need to align their communications and technology environments to allow effective collaboration and information flow”, he explained.
“Today’s working environment is all about enabling individuals to select the most appropriate communication channel to the task at hand. Be it over audio, video, social networking, web collaboration all initiated from a variety of devices, the advances in enterprise communications allows a rich user environment and organisations need to ensure they are maximising the productivity and knowledge of both current and future employees”, he said.