There’s been a big to-do over the past few years about Generation Y* and its place in the workforce. In addition to piles of books and hundreds of seminars, everyone seems confused and concerned about managing this new generation, dealing with their wants and needs, getting the most out of them, matching their technological savvy and so on. But is there really that much to worry about?
Sure, Generation Y has Facebook, but so do their parents and grandparents. Yes, they text, IM, email and so on, but that technology is hardly new. They want to work from home, receive more recognition and benefits, and…wait. What’s so different here?
Whether you’re working with someone who is older or younger than you, you all have the same goal. You want to make money, possibly receive health and dental, maybe set up a 401k, or chase the almost-extinct pension. But that’s something that, like other things in the business world, seems pretty obvious. So what makes Generation Y seem so different from its predecessors?
One could argue that the accessibility and trade of information on the Internet, combined with a more ingrained knowledge of computers, has led to a different social, informational and even philosophical angle for Gen Y-ers. But even access to information, new communication channels, technological know-how and a return to some semblance of shared cultural experiences (or at least more specific niches) hasn’t created many operational changes or major differences in ideologies since the last generation.
Maybe it comes from the outside-looking-in approach that many older analysts are taking, or the different way in which Generation Y spreads its messages. As with the changes that come with the development of every generation, things might seem new and scary at first, but there are more commonalities between age groups than one might imagine at first.
So the current generation gap might seem like a Grand Canyon-like chasm from afar, but when one approaches Generation Y, it shrinks to the width of a laptop.
* Couldn’t someone come up with something better? I mean, there was the Greatest Generation, Baby Boomers, Gen X (because they’re eXtreme!), and then someone in marketing just got lazy and said, “Y comes after X, let’s just call them Generation Y”? I mean really, people.
Yes and no…
You’re right to assume that the generational gap is not as large as it appears from afar. However, older generations of workers have been left in the dust by inadequate training, mentoring, and coaching on technology. While some have the savvy, will, and resources, others don’t. I think that’s often where the disconnect comes between Gen Y and older generations.
Moreover, it should be noted that while all generations have seen increases in technology, and thus the desire to have work done and results appear quicker; Gen Y is accustomed to technology with blazing speed to do difficult tasks VERY quickly (and we’ve seen increases in speed every few months, not even every few years).
So, while there are parallels with all generations, I believe the “proportional change” that Gen Y has experienced is far greater than previous generations.
Thanks for commenting, Andy!
I agree with you that the level of technological comprehension between generations is larger, perhaps due to many Gen Y-ers starting to use computers at a very young age. However, there have been many reports, books and blog posts about how the current generation does business differently, dates differently, buys differently and so on from a non-technology standpoint, removing computers, the Internet, cell phones, etc. from the equation. Yet almost all of these sources show trends and information that are practically identical to those of previous generations. So while Gen Y may have grown by leaps and bounds in one area, the changes and development in most others seem to be minuscule at best.