Generation
"Y " — born 1980s to
2000
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. Generation Yers make up 70 million of the current population, they share everything online
through their blogs or their MySpace and/or Facebook sites and they are easily influenced by their peers. A
challenging concept for not just customer service organizations, but for every interaction with your organization
including recruitment and retention. If they're annoyed or angered, they're going to talk. And you don't want 70
million people badmouthing your company!
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. Four fundamental shifts are continuing to transform workplaces in organizations of every kind:
- Employment relationships have become
less hierarchical and more transactional (What’s In It For
Me?).
- Employees have less confidence in
long-term rewards and greater expectations for short-term rewards.
- 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.
- Gen Yers want to align with employers
that care and do something for a cause. They are the generation who have been most marketed to. They like being
part of a team that stands for something. Your company is their brand. Your brand had better have some name
among their peers or at least within the industry, if you want them to stay with you. They live by
brand recognition.
Your biggest obstacle is keeping their attention. They are the
Internet generation and are extremely technologically savvy. According to several studies:
- 97 percent either own or have access to a computer (at a
friend's house, school or library);
- 94 percent own a cell phone;
- 76 percent use Instant Messaging;
- 15 percent of IM users are logged on
24/7;
- 34 percent use Web sites as their primary source of news
(they don't have time to wait for a scheduled newspaper or television news report - they live by their own
schedule.);
- 28 percent own a blog, while 44 percent read
blogs;
- 75 percent of them are college/university students with
Facebook accounts;
- 60 percent own iPods or similar MP3 device (gone are the
days of Walkmans);
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 (also called Veterans) and the technological savvy of the
Xers … a formula for greatness!
|
Some
Characteristics
|
At
Work
|
|
§
Globally concerned
§
Fiercely confident; been taught everything
is possible (they believe it)
§
Achievement, choice &
variety
§
Importance of
family
§
Sociability & community matter
most
§
Shock-proof
§
Depression &
anxiety
|
Contributions
u
Passionate about
diversity
u
Optimistic &
energetic
u
Crave career coaching & skills
training
u
Entrepreneurial
u
Multitaskers; change is
constant
u
Cyber literate
Cautions
u
Need for supervision & unvarnished
truth
u
Require low stress, plus “Why” &
‘WIFM”
u
GenX & GenY friction could make tension
between Boomers & Xers look tame. 66% of teens have a negative view of
GenX.
|
|
Misconceptions About GenY
|
|
Media Myths:
|
Reality:
|
|
No morality or goals.
|
Values are most similar to grandparents and
great-grandparents. Stricter moral code, care about manners, civic action. 88% of students have
five years goals.
|
|
Need to be “babied.”
|
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.
|
|
Too much TV & video games. Not enough reading.
|
Annual sales of children's books have quadrupled since
1990. Video games cut into TV time, not reading
time.
|
|
No work ethic.
|
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.
|
|
Spend now. Pay
later.
|
Although one in nine high school students has a credit
card co‑signed by a parent, studies show half the teens in the 16-22 age bracket always save a
portion of their money.
|
|
when a Silent collides, they think
…
u
Too much TV with
crude language and violence.
u
What is this
world coming to?
u
Too big for their
britches.
when a Boomer collides, they think
…
u
Trying to
grow up too fast.
|
u
You’re not
really going to wear THAT!
u
Unrealistic
expectations.
when a GenX collides, they think
…
u
Mall
Rats.
u
Spoiled
brats.
u
What do you
mean, “what’s an album?”
|
Generation
Y
Generation
X
Baby Boomer
Generation
The Silent or Veteran
Generation
| 
