Generation Y - Shaping the Workplace and the Politics of Nations
By Pat Thornton

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Born during a baby bulge, this group is more than three times the size of Generation X. They're the biggest thing to hit the North American scene since the gigantic cohort of Baby Boomers.  Although this "echo boom" rivals its parent's generation in size, in almost every other way, it is very different. This generation is far more racially diverse:

    * One in three is not Caucasian.
    * One in four lives in a single-parent household.
    * Three in four have working mothers. While Boomers are still mastering the internet, their kids are tapping away at computers in nursery school.

Together, GenX and GenY have produced the most important change in the employer-employee relationship since the period immediately following World War II. Three fundamental shifts are continu­ing to transform workplaces in organi­zations of every kind:

   1. Employment relationships have become less hierarchical and more transactional (What's In It For Me?).
   2. Employees have less confidence in long-term rewards and greater expectations for short-term rewards.
   3. Immediate supervisors are now the most important people in the workplace. Studies continue to prove that the day-to-day commu­nication between supervisors and direct reports has more impact than any other single factor on employee productivity, quality, morale and retention.

This new wave of workers is both optimistic about the future and realistic about the present. They combine the teamwork ethic of the Boomers with the can-do attitude of the Silents and the technological savvy of the Xers ... a formula for great­ness!
 
SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF GenY AT WORK

Attitudes

    * Globally concerned
    * Fiercely confident; been taught everything is possible (they believe it)
    * Achievement, choice & variety
    * Importance of family
    * Sociability & community matter most
    * Shock-proof
    * High levels of depression & anxiety

Contributions

    * Passionate about diversity
    * Optimistic & energetic
    * Crave career coaching & skills training
    * Entrepreneurial
    * Multitaskers; change is constant
    * Cyber literate

Cautions

    * Need for supervision & unvarnished truth
    * Require low stress, plus "Why" & 'WIFM"
    * GenX & GenY friction could make tension between Boomers & Xers look tame.  66% of teens have a negative view of GenX.

SOME MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GenY

Media Myth:
No morality or goals.
Reality:
Values are most similar to grandparents and great-grandparents. They have a strict moral code, care about manners, civic action. 88% of students have five years goals.

Media Myth:
Need to be "babied."
Reality:
They represent a reconnection with family and community. 90% of teens say they are very close to their parents. In 1974, over 40% of boomers said they would be better off without their parents.

Media Myth:
Too much TV & video games. Not enough reading.
Reality:
Annual sales of children's books have quadrupled since 1990. Video games cut into TV time, not reading time.

Media Myth:
No work ethic.
Reality:
GenYers seek skills and information that make their working lives less stressful and that will help them earn money; higher priority on making money with this generation than any before. 57% are willing to work more than 40 hours per week to reach goals.

Media Myth:
Spend now. Pay later.
Reality:
Although one in nine high school students has a credit card cosigned by a parent, studies show half the teens in the 16-22 age bracket always save a portion of their money.

SOME RESULTS OF COLLISIONS BETWEEN GenY AND OTHER GENERATIONAL GROUPS

when a Senior (mid 1920s to mid-1940s) collides, they think ...

    * Too much TV with crude language and violence.
    * What is this world coming to?
    * Too big for their britches!

when a Baby Boomer (mid l940s to mid 1960s) collides, they think ...

    * Trying to grow up too fast.
    * You're not really going to wear THAT!
    * Unrealistic expectations.

when a GenX (mid-1060s to late 1970s) collides, they think ...

    * Mall Rats.
    * Spoiled brats!
    * What do you mean, "what's an album?"

At no time in our history have so many and such different generations with such diversity been asked to work shoulder to shoulder, side by side, cubicle by cubicle. The once-linear nature of power at work, from older to younger, has been disrupted by changes in life expectancy and health, as well as changes in lifestyle and technology.

Understanding generational differences is critical to making them work for, not against, your organization. It is essential to creating harmony, mutual respect, and joint effort in a relentlessly changing world of work. Without this common understanding and acceptance of our differences, today's rapid pace of personal and organizational change too often fosters suspicion, mistrust, isolation, and debilitating stress.

We are all individuals. There are countless ways we differ in background, personality, values, preferences, and style.  To make judgments about these differences (i.e., who is better), is illogical and meaningless. However, exploring generational diversity can help explain - and bridge - the sometimes-baffling differences behind our unspoken assumptions and at-odds attitudes.
 
Caution: Be careful to avoid reinforcing negative stereotypes. Generational differences are a start, not an end to understanding.


Change Resources Group Inc. http://www.talentretention.com

Change Resources Group has been successfully providing services to organizations in the area of strategic talent management for over 20 years to address the impacts of a wide diversity of change challenges, such as new leadership, consolidations and mergers, site relocations, restructuring, market and customer changes, and high growth.

CRG's team building division, Creative Reality Games, has executed a wide range of initiatives designed to help our clients maintain levels of service excellence, while improving team cohesion, productivity and profitability in a constantly changing world of work. This division has become known for its innovative retreats and team building events using current reality TV formats, such as: The Amazing Race, Apprentice, Survivor, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

Our founder, Pat Thornton, M.B.A., has several years of experience in Canada and the U.S. with multi-national organizations, and as an executive coach in private practice. She began her human resources career at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. where she gained experience in public sector administration. Subsequently, she worked in Philadelphia and then New York City, where she developed a comprehensive background in customer service and sales training. After relocating to Toronto, she spent several years as a senior HR professional with multi-national organizations.

Pat's community service activities have included serving on the board of directors and as vice president for a multi-branch community credit union; member of the board of directors for a community social service organization, former vice president and member of the board of directors for a national association of women entrepreneurs; and volunteer facilitator/Mentor with Covenant House for employment re-entry workshops for youth.

Pat holds dual citizenship in the U. S. and Canada and has extensive experience in Europe and Asia.

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