Younger employees are more comfortable with conference calls

Millennials are more adaptable to where they work, with 70 per cent finding conference calls productive.

This is according to research from Polycom, which stresses the importance of employers understanding a new generation’s work habits as another study by Deloitte predicted that 75 per cent of the global workforce will be made up of millennials by 2025.

People aged 25-34 are more likely to have participated in a conference call without diverting from business from: a garden (21 per cent compared to just 15 per cent of 45-54 year olds); a taxi (23 per cent compared to two per cent of those aged 55+); a train (28 per cent compared to 14 per cent of 45-54 year olds); or a bus (15 per cent compared to eight per cent of 34-44 year olds).

In addition, millennials are the most likely to have won new business over a conference call, with 18 per cent having done so – compared to just five per cent of 45-54 year olds.

Tim Stone, vice president of Worldwide Revenue Marketing at Polycom, commented: “The workspace is evolving fast. The UK workforce is getting ever more mobile and workplaces more flexible, with two-thirds now working from disperse locations at least once a month.

“Millennials expect their employers to provide collaborative communications tools to enable them to be productive wherever they are, and our data suggests that collaborative working is something they excel at.”

Millennials are also more likely to be less formal during conference calls than their older colleagues. Around 23 per cent of 18-34 year-olds have attended a conference call in casual wear, compared to 11 per cent of over 55s. In addition. 22 per cent of millennials have had something to eat or drink during the call (22 per cent compared to four per cent of over 55s).

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