Managing the generations part 4: Generation Y

Generation Y (Gen Y or Generation Why) have been born since about 1980, which makes them 30 and under in 2010. They may just remember the Cold War, but probably feel at ease with all the new European countries and ‘Stans’ that fell out of the end of the USSR, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.

These people have no direct memories of how life was lived without new technologies. They are ‘digital natives’ and ‘media impartial’: they expect to work, communicate, shop and be entertained anywhere and everywhere, using cheap, replaceable technology that connects them to the internet. They don’t expect to work on company premises or during ‘office hours’ all the time, they don’t expect to have to remember facts (that’s what Google and Wikipedia are for), they don’t expect movies to be in cinemas or on DVDs or music to be on CDs. They don’t believe that intellectual property – when delivered by the internet – should need to be paid for.

This group grew up with the TV as ‘a friend in the corner of the room’: for them, it is natural for technology to be left on, even if they are not concentrating on it. Indeed, many Gen Ys can easily multi-task with technology: watching TV, surfing the net, talking on a mobile phone and playing a computer game simultaneously and in any combination. But the downside of this seems to be shorter attention spans and some difficulty in engaging with people face-to-face rather than by machine. Statements like ‘I prefer the adverts over the programmes, as they tell me what I can buy’ are common from Gen Ys. Many wear headphones as much as they can, so that their lives have a soundtrack like a movie.

In the UK, new designer drugs and ‘legal highs’ are popular among some Gen Ys. They are definitely the post-AIDS generation, where although condom use is understood, sexually-transmitted infections are on the increase. This generation were the recipients of a new National Curriculum in all state schools. They seemed to cover more subjects, in more depth, in shorter timescales then their predecessors. But they don’t always remember or carry forward much of this learning. More of this generation go to university than ever before. But they – or their Baby Boomer and Generation X parents – also pay more for that university education than previous generations. Meanwhile, employment prospects for Gen Ys – at least for the short term following the worldwide recession – are worse than for the people who have gone before them.

The Gen Ys in your organisation are probably more technologically savvy than their older colleagues. They can amaze previous generations with the speed and depth of their work. But they may flounder, and need additional support, if they are not given easy access to technology. They may surprise their colleagues as much with what they do not know as what they do know. They may find traditional structures, cultures, policies and practices (set working hours, uniforms, reporting lines etc.) both stifling and threatening. And they may have real difficulties in holding face to face detailed conversations.

It is likely that, for the moment, your Gen Ys are in junior positions, reporting to Baby Boomers and Gen Xs. These line managers are likely trying to remake them, through coaching and delegation, more like themselves. However, although this will work in places, rest assured that the Gen Y’s way of working looks like the model for the future.