We have been described as a “Peter Pan generation,” “adultescents,” “kidults,” and a host of others to describe how we are putting off the transition into adulthood later than previous generations; generally taking longer to finish university, get married, move out, start a family and to enter the work force.
Whether it spawns from seeing many of our baby boomer parents burn out and opt for a more balanced lifestyle or simply because we are just too idealistic, I think my generation is starting to realize the importance of making a career choice that suits our skill set while at the same time matches our personality, values, and passions.
With our increased expectations and different outlook, it appears that our future employers are trying to quickly decide the best way to attract, manage, and retain our generation as we begin to enter the work force.
As a stereotypical member of Generation Y, I am going to try and shed some light on the issue by outlining a few points that I value in a work environment.
Explain the bigger picture– We want to be in a situation in which we feel like what we are doing is contributing to something greater than just ourselves. Always explain, why you need something done and explain how this will contribute to the company realizing its’ vision. Where does my work fit in with this bigger picture?
Answer the question, “What is in it for me?” – As a result of working with your company, what skills will I develop? What are the opportunities? How am I going to grow? We are confident in our abilities and what we can offer the company, but we want to know what the company can offer us.
Provide opportunities to advance – Keep us interested by continuing to provide unique opportunities to develop our skills. As soon as we feel there is no more that we can learn in a position and are no longer being challenged, we will leave.
Respect – Don’t impose your authority. You are the boss, it says so on your door and business cards. You make the decisions and you have the parking spot with your name on it, we understand this so there is no need to talk down to us. We will respect your authority only if you treat us with respect.
Justify Processes – we question everything and we expect a reasonable response. Why is something done the way it is? If it doesn’t make sense, we don’t want to do it. Be able to justify/explain the reasoning behind a certain action or process.
I think by keeping these five points in mind when dealing with members of Generation Y, a lot of confusion and needless conflict can be avoided. And who knows, maybe you will even be able to keep a member of Gen Y in your company for longer than 5 years.
Sean Aiken is on a nationwide job search. He is currently travelling throughout Canada accepting a different job every week; committed to “searching a passion, not just a career.” Visit www.OneWeekJob.com to find out where he is working this week, what he is learning on his journey, or to offer Sean a ‘One Week Job’ yourself.