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Email ThisMost of the questions I get from Human Resources and Recruiting professionals about Generation Y are the same. They are all about why this generation expects to get so much so fast, why we feel entitled to flexibility, why we think we deserve high pay immediately, and so forth. The thing that surprises me every time is that it’s not the Baby Boomers who are so upset with Gen Y, it’s the Gen Xers. The more I pay attention, the more obvious it is that it’s the Gen Xers who think we’re just lazy, entitled Millennials.
It’s one of my jobs to know the generation gap, so I checked out the cover story from a 1997 issue of TIME called, “Great Xpectations.” Here’s a key quote:
. . . more and more (Gen Xers) are prowling tirelessly for the better deal, hunting down opportunities that will free them from the career imprisonment that confined their parents. They are flocking to technology start-ups, founding small businesses and even taking up causes–all in their own way.
It sounds like both Gen X and Gen Y want the same thing! The problem is that Generation X did not get what they asked for, and Generation Y is seemingly being catered to like we are owed something. After reading the TIME piece, I can understand better Gen X’s frustration. But I think it’s time for us all, X and Y, to move forward, together.
So, here are 3 reasons Generation Y can and will pick up where Generation X left off and make the workplace better for us all.
Y Has Better Demographics
Generation X was simply too small to force any kind of change. There are about 50 million Gen Xers in the United States compared to nearly 76 million baby boomers and 77 million Millennials. When Gen Xers graduated college, the jobs were not there. With only 50 million people to fill the positions, and plenty of boomers around to fill the middle management jobs, companies had their pick of candidates. Employers took advantage by hiring only the top candidates and paying them as little as possible.
Generation Y is 50% bigger than Generation X, and with Xers dropping out of the workforce to take care of their children, employees, not management, have the power and even a recession won’t slow down the job market. Generation Y has the same confidence, the same ambition and the same savviness as Generation X had in their twenties, but the demographics are in Gen Y’s favor. Y can ask for change and actually get it.
Y Has Better Technology
Generation X came of age when the internet was just coming into common, public use. There were great new technologies and plenty of opportunities to strike it rich in Silicon Valley, much like there are today. But the 90’s were still a time of traditional media and marketing to the masses. So if you wanted to make your voice heard, you had to pay thousands for a TV commercial or somehow become a celebrity. Today, anyone with a bad job can start a blog and tell the world why work should be better. Plus, where there was no easy way to create a collective Gen X voice, the Web is now all about community. And Generation Y embraces the idea of community like no other generation.
Y Has Better Teamwork
Generation Y is the ultimate “team” generation. Despite what the media says, it’s not about us versus the rest of you. It’s about how can we all work together? How can we all be happy?
We’re not competing now and we never were competing with the Baby Boomers. We’re the entry level grunts and they’re the big shots in the corner office. We don’t threaten their jobs and they don’t make us work long hours because we don’t report to them. But Gen X hated, and still hates, the Boomers. It makes sense. The baby boomers were directly managing the Gen Xers, and because of the demographics I pointed out above, the Gen Xers had to work the long hours or risk being fired and (easily) replaced.
Generation Y escapes the bitterness toward Gen X, or toward any other generation. We know we’re lucky to be joining the workforce as Boomers leave and Gen Xers can’t fill all of their shoes, but it’s not about me versus you, and it’s not about Gen Y being all that different from any other Generation.
So my message to Generation X is: let’s forget the past and all hop on the bandwagon. We can make work a great place to be, and we can do it together.
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Team work is one of the theories that is often talked about and yet people struggle to reach it. Companies are now using this word as a welcome net for the gen-y. When the gen-y employee arrives suddenly team work becomes non-existent. I used to work for a conference center that actually lead team building programs. I was the lead facilitator - when I proposed leading some team activities and working with the culture of our organization to encourage team work. I was told that I was not experienced enough! I was competant to work with some of the largest non-profits and fortune 500 companies although they felt that their culture was to complex for a gen xer to unerstand. Be cautious x and y organization sell a false culture because recruiters and HR are told the “Buzz” words to attract talent. Once you arrive soon like a frog in a slowloy boiling pot they ruin and do not really want or allow team work. I hope that x and y shift culture to more team orientation.
At last, someone (Ryan) has said they understand our frustration. We did beat our head against the wall trying to tear it down, but we just didn’t have the numbers. We were called troublemakers, not innovators. And yes, we do want the same thing. We were the Marines that stormed the beach, and GenY is tha Army that followed, and will get all the credit for the breakthroughs (so it seems).
Check this out: is generation x responsible for the real estate and mortgage problems? http://genxfinance.com/2008/03/25/is-generation-x-responsible-for-the-real-estate-and-mortgage-problems
Ryan,
I will comment from a baby boomer’s perspective on “Y has better technology” above. You say - “And Generation Y embraces the idea of community like no other generation.” Gen Y has better technology available to it thanks to all its previous generations. I often wonder what the Gen X, baby boomers, and previous generations would have been able to accomplish with present day technology if it were available to them. I don’t agree Gen Y embraces the idea of community like no other generation. I see Gen Y being able to embrace community thanks to the advances in technology and it being more apparent thanks to current communication technology. Previous generations embraced community while making their way through hardships we would find hard to imagine today. I believe comparing generations is like comparing Babe Ruth to Hank Aaron - you always have to be mindful that the times are different. Gen Y’s previous generations expect Gen Y to embrace community.
Mark
I like the thoughts Ryan.
I think that in any case, those individuals who are willing to put forth (and I’ve seen this in action througout my college experience) the consistent effort towards bettering themselves and their career paths, are the ones who are turning out on top. And that is not to say that they are becoming immediately satisfied, but that they are on more solid career paths, than those who neglected to attend career fairs, or participate in
organizations on and off campus, (and based on my circle of friends, I might suspect there are a lot of them) are in for a surprise when it comes time to find a decent job out of college.
This is why it is my opinion that the generations are not so distinguished from one another and that the same basic principles apply to every generation.
You definitely have to be careful comparing generations, because the times are different. But what actually shapes a generation are the times it grow up in. So when I say Gen Y is more community oriented than any generation before, its true. Maybe the advances in technology are the cause of this, but its still a fact. Basic principles do apply to every generation, but I recommend reading the book “Generations” by Strauss and Howe, its really interesting.