Inspired at Work - Generation Y:
Trailblazers or Slackers?
 

Spring 2008

A younger generation, viewed as slackers by Baby Boomers, enters the workforce and changes the way the business world runs. Change takes generations to show up in the mended and re-woven fabric of society. In the case of the workplace, change is happening faster and more often, most noticeably as the latest wave of workers - Generation Y - enters the labour force. They're also known as Millennials; Canada's up-and-coming professionals who are bringing new outlooks, skills, strengths, and challenges to their employers.

"A variety of pivotal societal factors have shaped how younger workers approach employment. The dual trends of corporate downsizing and job outsourcing have collectively created a 'free agent' mentality; today's younger workers are highly mobile and not loyal to employers in the same way as past generations," says David Morrison, President of Twentysomething Inc., a Philadelphia-based global consulting firm dedicated to Generation Y.

What effect do these new attitudes have in the workplace? If you haven't been following North American business news, the key issue many Baby Boomer professionals have with Gen-Y is that while poised to retire, Boomers are concerned that their successors do not possess the work ethic, social skills, and dedication their jobs require. For Boomers still looking at managing
Millennials for years to come, they resent the suggestion that they need to begin 'being nice' or 'hand-holding' and coaching rather than commanding.

"Gen Y was raised during a time where everyone got a prize for participation. Individual accomplishments were subordinated to the common good," says Morrison. He adds, "So, while Gen Y members are excellent team players, they can quickly become lost when assigned individual duties. In addition, they may become uncomfortable with the glare that individual accountability creates," says Morrison.

Jade Zawarski, owner of Jadefish Fashion in Victoria, BC, is a 25-year-old entrepreneur with an iron work ethic and practical business goals. "I am a very strong, focused designer. I find that I put my business before everything else. Sometimes that means Jadefish is a lot more taken care of than Jade, but my work ethic is forceful, speedy, and right to the point," says Zawarski.

"When I am working for someone else I expect that they are passionate about what they do. I need to learn from my job, feel like I am making a difference for someone, even if it's just for a moment. When I'm my own boss and have an employee, I would expect them to look up to me for answers. I want to be a good boss, so that's what I hope for when I'm working for someone else."

After two years of fashion design training, Zawarski graduated at the top of her class with award-winning designs. An entry-level position in urban Victoria fashion prepared her for running her own business. "I knew then that I wanted to start up my own little business. I spent six or
seven months on new prints, screen building, setting up accounts for wholesale. Then Jadefish was born," says Zawarski.

So is Generation Y really just a hoard of slackers that will revolutionize the workplace for the worse by sheer force of numbers? Are they unreliable and disloyal? As a group, our newest workers openly question the way traditional business practices affect their careers, their lives, and their overall well-being. What may be perceived as a lack of professionalism could simply be Millennials reshaping the workforce in their own image.

"[Empowering] young adults at the bottom of the corporate ladder is going to inevitably lead to workplace disruption as well as conflict," says Morrison.

"Within the work force, Boomers often make the natural mistake of drawing on their personal experiences with members of Generation Y - their own children - when interfacing with Gen Y professionals in the workplace."

Morrison also points out that Gen Y is not as uniformly tech savvy as assumed and is much more diverse than many Boomers realize.

"Another widespread misconception that many Boomers have about Gen Y workers is that this cohort is less motivated than previous generations. While Gen Y may require a different set of management tools and incenti[ve] strategies, this audience is just as eager to cultivate meaningful, challenging careers that they can take pride in. The trick is in identifying the right 'hot buttons'," says Morrison.

Young workers experience no reservations about moving home after completing post-secondary school. They also expect more in return from their employers than a paycheck. According to Morrison, they're looking for relationships. With the stability of living at home, Millennials are more likely to quit a job that doesn't meet their needs.

"Gen Y workers are seeking better mentorship at their jobs. Rather than programs that simply provide lip service, they yearn for senior executives to take an active role in their professional development and to simultaneously function as career coaches. After all, who doesn't secretly dream of being hand-picked to become a protege?" says Morrison.

He also points out that instability in the world around them has further enhanced Millennials' need for relationship-building. Factors like the war on terrorism, environmental crises, and economic uncertainty have created a climate of pessimism and fear.

"Gen Y quietly yearns for employers that they can develop lasting relationships with. Some envy past generations that were 'lifers' at a single company for their entire professional careers. Gen Y faces what we call 'job insecurity' in that they are the first to feel the brunt of a poor economy and among the last to feel the positive effects of a healthy one. Steps that an
organization can take to help its entry-level workers feel both valued and secure in their positions will yield priceless dividends," says Morrison.

Critics call Generation Y softies, but I see a generation of youth raised by Boomer parents who lived through the peak of 20th century equal rights action and growth. We're looking at a generation encouraged to stand up for themselves and value their worth.

"When I was 12 years old my dad passed away; my mom packed us up and moved us to Vernon. After being a stay-at-home-mom for so many years, she enrolled herself in hair school and started a small salon. She's well established now. So in a way I am learning everything I know from her and everything I go through, I know she went through. So my experiences and her
experiences are one in the same," says Zawarski.

I'll be interested to see how the workplace changes in the long-term, particularly since I myself flip back and forth between Generation X and Y depending on which source you examine. In typical Millennial style, I choose to refer to Wikipedia, which defines Generation Y broadly:

"The term Generation Y first appeared in an August 1993 magazine AD Age editorial to describe those children born between 1981 - 1995. The scope of the term has changed greatly since then, to include, in many cases, anyone born as early as 1976 and late as 2000."

Wikipedia also suggests that a distinct shift in workplace demographics will take hold around 2011 when the oldest Boomers reach legal retirement age. While older cousins and siblings within Generation X will hold positions in middle and upper management, "the large membership of Generation Y should take up positions in the lower half of the workforce, a process which
may have possibly begun, since some definitions have members of Gen Y in their late 20s."

On behalf of Generation Y, I think it's safe to declare - we're not children anymore, we're not all hungry for corporate life and we know the importance of what we have to offer.

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