Matt Elliott is a writer and communications specialist currently based in Toronto, Ontario. Since graduating from the University of King's College in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts in the dubious field of History, Matt has been working at a small not-for-profit organization on a variety of projects, including the architectural design and management of several educational web platforms. His current responsibilities tend more toward program development and management. But he also fixes office computers when he needs to.
Matt's experiences as a young, full-time employee led to an interest in generational differences in the workplace and the changing landscape of what a 'career' really looks like to young people entering the workplace. As an employee in his early 20s (born 1983), Matt began to identify strongly with "Generation Y" and soon started reading everything he could find about shifting attitudes and a new culture of work: a culture where task, not time, was given priority, and overblown bureaucracy gives way to simply getting things done. The result was his blog, yworking.com, where he writes regularly about these issues and others.
When he's not getting all fired up about generations and work, Matt enjoys nerdy things like computers (Apple mostly), video games, short fiction and going to see bad movies.
Matt Elliott's blog is yworking.com.
From The Globe & Mail:
The Nova Scotia government is looking at switching to a four-day work week in a bid to conserve energy.
Energy Minister Richard Hurlburt said Thursday the idea came up during a brainstorming session at Conserve Nova Scotia, a government agency that encourages people to use energy more efficiently.
Of all the reasons to […]
Young people don’t want to wait around for meaning, so they leave. Employers don’t want to give their new people big projects, because new people are notorious for leaving after a few months on the job.
Lying during the interview process it’s so common it’s almost not worth talking about. Some studies peg “the rate of lying on resumes or in job interviews at 20 to 44 percent. That includes lies about past degrees, jobs and responsibilities.”
I think it’s dangerous to conflate ‘working at home’ to ‘never leaving your house for work-related reasons’. The Generation Y-fueled change is not necessarily a shift towards impersonal business, but rather toward increased fluidity between work and life.
I think this is a dangerous attitude that’s been cropping up a lot as this Generation Y hysteria works its way through businesses. It’s almost as if there are three stages of reaction to Generation Y in the workplace.
True loyalty is sticking with a project even when things get bad. It’s going the extra mile to fix a mistake that could make the company look bad. It’s using so-called “personal time” to learn, create and promote — to better yourself in ways that better the organization. Employers, try rewarding that for a change.
There is no ‘right’ way to get things done today. One-size-fits-all processes, policies, or rules — even for something as seemingly frivolous as ‘banning Facebook’ — is a losing battle.
There’s nothing wrong with keeping your eyes open and making sure you’re up on the latest trends, conventions and breakthroughs, but the problem with Best Practices People is that they’re usually the one who isn’t at all.
Being a giant Apple fanboy, I was pretty excited with all the iPhone news announced at Monday’s Worldwide Development Conference (WWDC). In addition to a wealth of new features — and availability in Canada, which I’m ridiculously happy about — the new iPhone also boasts GPS.
I worry, though, that the stigma that Gen Y is after more than a salary will translate into some employers think they can pay us nothing as long as they let everyone leave the office early on Friday.
