10 BYOD Worker Types

Here are the most common worker types taking shape in the new BYOD workplace…

If there’s one class of workers to blame for the BYOD phenomenon, it’s the Millennials pouring into the workforce. They put the pressure on management to allow them to use their own mobile devices on the job, not some antiquated corporate-issued BlackBerry. That’s so 2006. They want to work odd hours and over weekends. They actually want their business lives and personal lives to blend.

Read all about them in CIOs Look Ahead: Millennials, Consumer Tech and the Future.

Like Sheldon Cooper on the Big Bang Theory, most techies shake their heads derisively at so-called Apple Geniuses and overly simplistic iPhones and iPads. They’ve found a friend in Android. With BYOD in place, Android has allowed even the geeks to embrace consumer tech. Android offers the openness that techies crave, and also serves up some pretty cool apps for monitoring systems remotely and other IT job functions.

[ 10 Android Tablet Apps for IT Pros on the Go ]

[ 12 Android Apps to Help Keep Your IT Shop Humming ]

CEOs have a hallowed place in the BYOD world. Whatever they want to use, they get to use – and IT needs to make it happen, captain! Whether it’s the iPhone and iPad on the day after launch, the ill-fated HP Touchpad, or even a throwback device a la Google Chairman Eric Schmidt still using a BlackBerry, the birthplace of BYOD has been in the corner office. 

BYOD isn’t for everyone, but that hasn’t stopped some companies from mandating the policy across the workforce. Half of employers will require employees to supply their own device for work purposes by 2017, says a Gartner survey of CIOs. Pity the worker who doesn’t want to put up the cash for a fancy mobile device, sign over privacy rights, and then be expected to surf social networks for support when things go wrong. Yeah, I’m speaking to you, dad.

Who loves the iPhone and iPad? Salespeople, of course. They like to keep things simple, love to give dynamic presentations, and hate typing on keyboards. They also like to blend their personal and work lives. Sure, I’m stereotyping – but tell me I’m wrong. The mobile iPad with its bold Retina display was simply made for salespeople in the workplace. If you’re still carrying around binders of paper to show potential customers, then you’re this generation’s Willy Loman.

Entry-level and hourly workers have much to gain from BYOD, many of whom don’t qualify for a corporate-issued device. Now they can tap into the power of personal mobile technology to do their jobs. It’s a freedom they’ve never had before. Great, right? Well, BYOD also opens the doors to work outside of defined work hours, in the form of work-related email and text messages bombarding hourly workers after they have punched out. Expect a slew of lawsuits on unpaid overtime.

Every workforce has complainers. Nothing is ever good enough, and BYOD is no exception. BYOD was trumpeted by complainers who wanted to use their own devices instead of a corporate-issued relic. They complained about having to carry around two devices all the time. Now that BYOD has arrived, they’re still complaining. This time, it’s about expectations of privacy, BYOD mandates, security controls put on personal devices, and policies chock full of legal jargon. 

Social networking addicts love BYOD. It makes social networking easier to do at work. In fact, a company’s top concern with BYOD is that it will lead to less productive workers. Some companies even ban the Facebook app and others at work. Check out the 10 Popular iPhone Apps – Blacklisted! On a related note, companies also better not infringe on an employee’s right to social media privacy in a BYOD policy.

In the wrong hands, BYOD can be disastrous. Practically every company has disgruntled employees ready to jump ship and take confidential corporate data with them. BYOD’s mobile and personal nature makes it easier for a malicious employee to steal stuff and hide it in a consumer cloud storage service. Bad, bad employee!

At the center of the BYOD stage stands the CIO, and he’s sweating from the hot spotlight. It’s his job to make BYOD work for everyone, starting with drafting a policy that strikes a balance between employee privacy rights and a company’s right to monitor, access, review and disclose company data. He must stitch together a brave new world with mobile device management software, social support networks in lieu of traditional help desks, security tools, multiple device expertise, enterprise app stores and more, all while working closely with HR, finance, legal and business units. Good luck.