StreetVerse

Generation Y: The Workers of the Future

Posted By: Sally Vox
Filed Under: Opinion on March 29, 2010

My friend recently came to me with a problem. He had just gotten laid off from work at a politician’s campaign, and he cited that lack of communication and general condescension on the part of the management had made his termination inevitable. “It was boring there anyway, I don’t know why I stayed as long as I did. I didn’t feel like I was part of anything.” I was not surprised, as his situation was typical of what I call the “Generation Y handicap”.

When I refer to Generation Y, I like to think that it encompasses people under 30 as of today. This is in relation to the Baby Boom Generation (BB) 1945-1964 and Generation X(GenX) 1964-1980.

In my time working in retail, the food industry, and corporate offices, the same patterns began to arise: BB’s and GenX’s have similar work ethic, workplace practices and business models. But there was something odd to me: Even hard working GenY’s were being treated with condescension, great ideas not heard, and motivation was being wasted needlessly. It seemed to me that management as a whole has not discovered the way to fully tap GenY’s potential. Management’s hard headed loyalty to traditional motivators (punishment, simplification, bonuses) did not seem to work as well on GenY’s. To top it all off, GenY’s “blatant disregard” of the rules of conduct in the workplace deemed them incorrigible and inefficient. But I disagree. I believe GenY’s are an evolution of work—and management needs to learn how to properly utilize us.

The most successful companies (Google, Apple) are noticeably the exception to this, and it is my belief that some of this is due to their nurturing of horizontal structure, something GenY’s more heartily accept. Rather than going up the chain with an idea (put it in the idea box, Sam, if it’s good I’ll show my boss and take credit) they allow one on one conversations with higher ups (in pay only) and foster creativity and brainstorming. As a generation that has grown up with the internet, conversation and sharing ideas has become an innate desire. We long to have our voices heard (Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, blogs in general), and we are disheartened when we are shot down by red tape and bureaucracy. This fuels the self-fulfilling prophecy that management has placed upon us. We are shut down, then criticized for lack of motivation. Take a hint from 3M or Google: Our ideas are good, let us tell you them.

We can handle more work, if you’ll just let us. I’ve noticed that higher ups refuse to delegate responsibility because of lack of experience, or some snooty higher-than-thou attitude. Rather than make all it’s important decisions in upper management behind the large wooden doors of a boardroom, many successful businesses delegate their problems to their employees. Google’s famous twenty percent time. Google allows employees twenty percent of their work time to work on their own projects. This has allowed them to rectify many of the problems that users have voiced, all without having to hold a board meeting to fix the problem. Allow us the freedom to help solve your problems, and you will be rewarded for it.

our company better. The caveat here is: we don’t consider it “our company” if we have no connection to it. Is it any wonder why the best companies to work for are also the most successful? When we feel a connection to a company, we want to see it succeed. Zappos is known for offering a thousand dollar bonus to new employees if they quit. Why? They are looking for people who are committed to the job. Rare is the person who takes the offer, however. This is because of the environment Zappos has developed for their employees. It rewards creativity, and seeks to stimulate the workforce rather than whip it into command. For better or worse, technology has had its effect on GenY. The internet, video games, and television necessitate GenY’s need to have external motivation in order to function at their full potential. Rather than fight technology’s tangential effects on the workforce, embrace it. Make work a stimulating experience, and you will be rewarded with it.

GenY isn’t without its faults. We’re irreverent, bawdy, we come in late, we don’t like suits that much, we like to surf the internet. We’re not perfect. But we do have our strengths. We are creative. We can solve sophisticated problems.We can work well together. We want our company to succeed. The work environment will change eventually, like it or not. The question is which companies will be left behind in the archaic bureaucracies of the past and which will embrace GenY’s and their quirks and move forward into the future.

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