Employees younger than 26 feltthe least productive and supported working from home compared toother age brackets. (Photo: shironosov)

Conventional wisdom would seem to have it that employees 25years and younger would have an easier time staying engaged duringthe enforced separation mandated by COVID-19 concerns. After all, ageneration having grown up with smartphones and tablets wouldobviously be the best-prepared to handle the trials andtribulations of remote work.

According to a new study, however, the kids aren't alright.

Related: How to manage employee burnout in the remoteera

Perceptyx, an employee survey and people analytics platform,surveyed over 500,000 employees from more than 100 enterprisesworldwide and discovered that employees younger than 26 felt theleast productive and supported working from home compared to otherage brackets. Contrary to expectation, employees 46-55 years oldscored highest on feeling they could take sick days without fear ofnegative consequences and having the resources to do their jobseffectively while working remotely. Employees 55 and over scoredhighest on feeling a sense of personal accomplishment in their workand confidence in their remote work environments enabling them towork productively. That age bracket also felt that their companies'responses to COVID-19 minimized stress for employees.

Employees under 26 —or "digital natives" as the study refers tothem —scored the lowest on all those questions.

One young employee commented, "I do not feel as productive at myhome as I do when I am in the office. It is now difficult toseparate my personal life and my work because I have to work in mybedroom. There is not a place for me to go to unwind after a longday 'at the office.'"

Another stated, "My main issue is the lack of workspace whileworking at home. This does not seem to be something that can easilybe resolved without being onsite."

Perceptyx suggests that perhaps this shouldn't be much of asurprise. "As the newest members of the workforce,"  thestudy says, "this group has yet to forge strong relationships orprove themselves within an organization, leading to a distrustamong 1 in 5 employees that their organization will not do all itcan to support their job security." One such employee commented, "Ihave anxiety and fear of not being able to deliver the demands at adistance…and suffer termination."

Caretaking concerns were most paramount amongemployees 26-45 years old, compared to the other age groups. "Ineed tips on how to manage having my child home and trying to workon her virtual schooling and being able to help her when she needshelp," one respondent said.

The study also discovered that there is employee support acrossthe board for a mixed working experience (spending some days at aphysical office and other days working from home), particularlyamong those with caretaking responsibilities. Perceptyx suggeststhat taking that interest into consideration may help ease thetransition back to the workplace once restrictions are lifted.

Perceptyx also recommends frequent conversations with youngeremployees during this time to help defuse stress and facilitateproblems solving.

For more statistics and tips, click here to download the full free report.

Related: 

• 3 tips to help employees overcome burnout andachieve work-life balance
• Business continuity & social distancing: 3 tipsfor transitioning to a work-from-home model
• Managers need a crash-course in work-from-homeskills