The NZS.com Generation Y As Employees discusses the characteristics of employees born in the 1980s, known as Generation Y or Millennials.
Employing Young People in New Zealand
Generation Y:The apocalypse of business, or thinly disguised discrimination?
Generation Y, born between 1978 and 1994, are also known as the Millennials or Generation Why. They are the future for businesses everywhere. They will come up with large and unique ideas, and will frustrate your management team.
The question is, are they really that difficult to deal with? Are they the spoilt brats of the millennium or merely driven entrepreneurs who have higher expectations as an employee, customer, tenant or investor? Do they intimidate businesses because fancy policies and workplace politics do not satisfy Gen-Yers as easily as it seemed to for Generation X or the Baby Boomers? Are managers contemplating a mass national suicide attempt because they are getting frustrated with Gen-Yers asking: "why not do that this way"?
Perhaps this is slightly over dramatic, but this is often how Gen-Yers can be viewed and portrayed.
Gen Y versus Gen X
Was there this much media hype when Generation X began entering the work force? If so, are we going to have an over dramatised, mediatised "revolution" every time a new generation matures? Next time will employers be hiring the next generation of young entrepreneurs, listening to their views and encouraging them into success, or hiding beneath their desks, clicking and rocking?
Gen Y are commonly said to be demanding, impatient and adamant that they will change the world. Gen-Yers are happy to start with changing how things are being done in workplaces, winding up the poor Baby Boomers with their "fancy" ideas, and their view that policies from 1979 absolutely must be updated immediately.
Managing Expectations
It is certainly not being suggested that they be permitted to go on a rampage, ripping up offices throughout New Zealand and retiring ways of old. It is merely being suggested for employers to listen and if appropriate, perhaps implement some of Gen Y ideas.
Understand that if your Gen Y employee wants to be the Marketing Manager in six months while you expect them to wait for seven years; they may resign and find someone who will allow them to fast track their career. While this is just an example, is illustrates the way Gen-Yer's think. Talk to your Gen-Yers, have regular one-on-ones with them about career advancement, their options and progress.
Gen-Yer's need positive reinforcement. If you don't offer coaching and mentoring, they not hesitate to contact the competition and apply for the same role in their company. You may not be able to slam the brakes completely on the Gen Y "Ferrari in a school zone" approach, but you can gently take down the speed and teach them patience. They will pause, reconsider and learn from you if you give them the opportunity.
The Gen Y Profile
Some pieces written about Gen-Yers, can cause significant dismay at the "Generation Y profile". They are described as impatient, unpunctual, disrespectful spoilt brats with no work ethics. What about highly motivated, naturally gifted for entrepreneurism or capable of taking your company to a new level? They are flexible as far as change goes, as long as they aren't expected to work 85 hours a week, as this cuts into unpaid 'lifestyle' time. They are competitive (even small incentives have a huge impact), and do not understand the word 'can't'.
The Upside of Gen Y
You may see this as a negative (issues with authority), but what about the up side? They will complete the project Jimmy from marketing got bored with because "it couldn't be done". They will thrive on this, complete the project superbly, even if it's just to prove to you and poor Jimmy that it can be done.
They will come up with "out of the box" ideas and drive them to a successful completion and launch, simply because they believe they can. They weren't taught "don't rock the boat" or "let the managers manage".
They were taught that they can be anything they want to be. So why not focus on balancing this perfectly manageable business dynamic? Gently pull them back if they go too far, point out minor details they may have missed during their excitement at finding the cure for cancer, or something else as equally important to them. Generation Y is not the be all and end all of business, and they certainly do not consider themselves the saviours of businesses, but they can bring you skill-sets, ideas and efficiency that will boost your business.
Gen-Yers need to be treated as individuals not as a number. They are after all working for your company, not waiting in the emergency department of an overcrowded public hospital for stitches.
Making Changes
Treat every employee as an individual and understand that the younger employees expect more from you. Gen-Yers hitting the workforce have caused media hype and a supposed "revolution" in the workplace. Perhaps everyone should be excited because the Gen Y hysteria may drive out the managers who wish to manage half-time instead of full-time. It will require excellent tolerance, communication skills and a genuine concern for staff.
In theory, the media may have influenced a huge change in who makes it into management positions in New Zealand businesses. This is really a "revolution" of efficiency, and intolerance for positioning individuals in management roles that do not possess the necessary life skills or skill-sets to deal with staff individually instead of as a number. Thus, Gen-Yers are not the apocalypse of businesses everywhere. They are simply the newest generation to hit the workforce, and they are likely to bring some much needed change with them.
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Business images from Flickr: Meet Generation Y, New Zealand Flag and Wellington Buildings.
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