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Autumn, 2007
Welcoming the Shadow
Boom to Work
This group is best known as GEN Y. They are also
referred to as the Millennials. In Canada they
are the group who was born between 1980 and
1995. (Canada’s generations are slightly
different than those in the US which is why
there are differences in the birth dates
attributed to the generations.)
If the Mantra of the Baby Boomers is (was) “Live
to Work”, that of their children is “Live, Then
Work”.
When a Boomer is asked “What do you do”? Their
response is “I am a (doctor, lawyer,
dietitian and so on)”. When GEN Y is asked “What
do you do”? They are likely to answer I
(snowboard, hike, play ball)”. When asked “What
work do you do”?, they say “ I work in
(nutrition services, the land department,
construction, education). Unlike their Boomer
parents, they do not define themselves by their
work.
GEN Y is attributed with the following
characteristics:
- Optimistic
- "Connected"
- Entrepreneurial
- Street Smart
- Networking
- Confident
- Challenge Seeking
- Unwilling to commit
What They Want :
- Continuous Development of Skills
- Work/Life Balance
- Fun Workplace
- Structure & goals
- Mutual respect and relationship with
boss
What Drives Them: Distrust of hierarchy
and authority
The Baby Boomers were considered hard to manage
by the Silent Generation (Traditionalists) that
preceded them. GEN Y shares that reputation. To
the extent that it is possible to categorize a
generation and create a playbook for managing
them, following are some of the key aspects of
creating workplaces where GEN Y members are
likely to be most successful and satisfied.
- Their Work Has To Matter
Let GEN Y know why the work they are doing
counts. Show them how their work contributes
to organizational results, and the
contribution the company makes to their
community (environmentally, socially and
economically).
Make sure they see how their work
contributes to achieving specific goals that
are connected to their development and
career progression.
- They Need Attention & Involvement
This generation grew up with continuous
CONSTRUCTIVE positive and negative feedback.
They expect to have their accomplishments
recognized (publicly).
Kudos for their accomplishments is the
biggest statistical driver of workplace
satisfaction for these workers, also known
as millennials, according to a new survey
from Leadership IQ.
Remember, they don’t just celebrate their
birthday – they celebrate their birth week
and/or birth month. They expect to be the
center of attention.
GEN Y also grew up involved in the decisions
that affected them. They expect to
participate in decisions and they expect to
know why things are being done.
- They Demand Supportive, Visible,
Trustworthy Leaders
GEN Y expects lots of face time with their
supervisors and bosses. They expect to see
and hear from them frequently (at least
daily). They expect their bosses to be
honest. They also expect their bosses to
lead by example and if they don’t, they have
lost the respect of this generation. For
example: If as the supervisor, you say you
believe in work/life balance (important to
GEN Y) and then work long hours yourself,
you have undermined your credibility with
them.
- They Want To Be Challenged and To
Learn New Skills
GEN Y has grown up in a world of rapid
knowledge growth and changing skill
requirements. Continuous learning and taking
on new challenges is a way of life for them.
They also like structure and want to see how
their skills development is going to benefit
them in their career progression.
- Commitment:
GEN Y has a reputation for being unwilling
to commit. What they have is a different
perspective on commitment. They will engage
their heads and their hearts in an existing
role, while at the same time marketing
themselves. Their understanding of the
employment contract between organizations
and employees is “as long is this
relationship provides each of us with what
we need, it will continue.”
Sirota looked at the cross-generational
attitudes of more than 300,000 workers in
more than 50 organisations during 2006 and
2007, studying Generation Y, Gen X, Baby
Boomers and “Traditionalists”. The
engagement levels of the other groups were
all within a relatively narrow range of 77
per cent to 80 per cent, with Generation Y –
at 80 per cent – actually more engaged than
Generation X or Baby Boomers.
Don’t mistake engagement for the loyalty
that once existed with employees (and
employers). (GEN Y) Millennials never stop
marketing themselves," said Tom Musbach,
managing editor, Yahoo! HotJobs. " GEN Y is
more likely to change jobs and careers more
frequently than any other generation.
- Connected:
GEN Y lives on their tech toys and tools.
They do not know a world without the
internet and instant messaging. Social
networking sites are a way of life. They
have excellent networking skills.
Organizations that arbitrarily cut-off their
connection to the world are likely to lose
their GEN Y employees.
- Independence:
GEN Y isn’t especially self-sufficient. They
are accustomed to structure, specific goals
and actions plans. They are also accustomed
to working in groups rather than
independently. Their need for continual
reinforcement (feedback) coupled with their
reliance on teamwork can limit their ability
to get things done.
Like every other generation, GEN Y has lots
to learn about how to be successful in the
workplace. Their unique talents and
perspectives can and hopefully. will change
the world of work for the better.
Looking for more information or need some help
with these or other HR issues? Please
get in touch.
News
Some Interesting Differences
In Canada, job protected maternity and
parental leaves totaling a year (paid for
through employment insurance benefits) are
available for new mothers. In the U.S. job
protected maternity leave is 12 weeks (and which
is unpaid). Sweden provides 18 months job
protected paid (combination of employer and
state) leave for new parents. Three months of
that leave must be taken by the “minority”
parent who, in Sweden, is mostly the father.
EU: public holidays and legal minimum
annual leave combined
| Austria |
38 |
| Belgium |
30 |
| Denmark |
34.5 |
| Finland |
37 |
| France |
36 |
| Germany |
29-32 |
| Greece |
32-34 |
| Ireland |
29 |
| Italy |
32-42
(varies by sector) |
|
Luxembourg |
35 |
|
Netherlands |
28 |
| Portugal |
34-36 |
| Spain |
32-34 |
| Sweden |
36 |
| Britain |
20 |
| Northern
Ireland |
20 |
| EU
average |
33 |
|
source |
In Canada, Public holidays and “annual
leave” or vacation ranges from 20 to 26 days
depending on where in the country you live and
work.
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