People don"t want to work for employers who heavily restrict internet access, a senior Microsoft executive said in a keynote speech at the opening of Tech.Ed 2006 Sydney today.
"These kids are saying: forget it! I don"t want to work with you. I don"t want to work at a place where I can"t be freely online during the day," said Microsoft Senior Design Anthropologist Ann Kiera. She dubbed internet-wary employers "digital immigrants" and said the new wave of younger workers were "digital natives".
A Microsoft Australia manager, Frank Arrigo, added that it was increasingly obvious that employees are finding a multitude of workarounds to work internet restrictions anyway.
Despite the fact that these thoughts will definitely resonate with frustrated office-geeks worldwide, one can"t help wondering if Microsoft is beginning to see corporate internet limitations as a threat to the earning potential of the upcoming advertiser-funded Windows Live services that will be embedded in Vista.