Although there is a common stereotype that young adults are more tech savvy than older generations, a new survey found Boomers and others in the higher end of the age spectrum actually feel more confident about using technology at work.

Moneypenny, a leading provider of phone answering, live chat and customer contact solutions working with businesses of all shapes and sizes, surveyed 1,000 employed people across the United States to find out how comfortable they feel about using technology at work, such as common software programs. The results might surprise you.

The best news from the survey is not so surprising — that the vast majority of American workers are confident with tech in the workplace. Some 84 percent expressed confidence with using popular business, communication, accounting and marketing software. But the group with the least confidence was people in the 18-24 age range. Only 57 percent in that age range said they were “very confident” with technology, and 24 percent of that age range said they were only “slightly confident” with their tech skills.

While the younger generation are more associated with being ‘tech-savvy’ – it was in fact 35–44-year-olds who felt the most confident with the technology they use in the workplace – with 68% answering “very confident,” followed by 25-34 and 65+ year old’s – both groups of whom posted 67 percent as “very confident.”

Another interesting finding was that only 53 percent of the 45-54 age group said they were “very confident,” but only 2 percent of that group said they were just “slightly confident.”

Software covered by the survey included document management software such as Microsoft Office and Google Drive, which garnered the highest confidence ratings of 47 percent by category. That was followed by payment transaction software such as Stripe and PayPal at 27 percent and communication/messaging software such as Skype and Slack at 25 percent.

One interest gap in the survey, particularly in light of increasing work-from-home programs that skyrocketed during the pandemic, is the survey does not specifically mention online meeting apps like Zoom, GoToMeeting, or Microsoft Teams.

The survey did cover accounting software (22 percent), customer service software (16 percent), marketing software (10 percent), and project management software such as Basecamp and Asana at just 6 percent.

Another interesting finding of the survey was that 100 of respondents in nine states said they were confident with the tech they have to use in the workplace. These states included Connecticut, Idaho, Maine, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, and Virginia. 

Another gap in the survey from the standpoint of manufacturers is that the survey focused entirely on business office-oriented software. Manufacturing and design software such as CAD-CAM programs were not included.

Despite the strong confidence expressed across the board, 74 percent of respondents said they still felt they would benefit from additional training in the software they use at work.