Innovation Perks

On Wednesday, I wrote about how feds are hungry for agency cultures that drive and reward innovation. According to the latest edition of the Dice Report, the ability to innovate is one of the top qualities tech-savvy workers want in a job.

A survey of more than 750 tech professionals found that tech startups are appealing not for their potential perks, but for their workplace environment. Tech professionals who choose jobs at startups do so because they believe that's where they'll find bosses and colleagues who value entrepreneurship (42 percent), speed (22 percent) and freedom (19 percent).

In addition, the appeal of startups was not limited to recent college grads and 20-somethings, the survey found. While respondents in their late 30s to age 50 were the least likely to favor working at the next Twitter or Facebook, the closer tech workers got to retirement age, the more likely they were to select a startup as their top choice.

"You've heard that with age comes wisdom," the report states. "For tech workers, it also seems to bring the need for a looser, freer workplace and a dash of startup risk."

Still, despite all of the potential benefits of tech startups, only 31 percent of technology professionals surveyed flagged them as their employer of choice. Established companies are still an attractive choice among tech professionals, with many saying established IT departments are more stable (74 percent), more structured (18 percent) and less risky (8 percent).

What do the results mean for the federal government? Does the government's more structured work environment put it at an advantage or disadvantage when looking to attract and retain tech-savvy workers?