Businesses need to think very carefully about their attitudes to technology if they want to attract young people into their workforce, a major study has found.

Networking giant Cisco has released the second chapter of its 2011 Connected World Technology Report, which says that 40% of University students and 45% of workers under 30 would accept a job with a lower salary if it offered more flexibility with regard to device choice, social media access, and working from home.

56% of college students said that they would refuse to work for a company that banned access to social media, or would find a way to circumvent the policy.

70% feel it is unnecessary to be in the office regularly, with the exception of important meetings, and one in four think their productivity would increase if they were allowed to work remotely.

The report is based on surveys of more than 2800 University students and young professionals in 14 countries (including Australia, but not New Zealand).

The figures back up anecdotal evidence from the recruitment industry saying employees regularly ask about the type of mobile or laptop that comes with the job.

Will these figures make you re-think your IT policies? Have you done so already? Post your comments below.