Four generations are now working side by side. Gen Y or Millenials are the youngest. Yet, they are transforming the workplace. Hannah Seligson, herself a Generation Y, just released her new book called “Mission: Adulthood: How the 20-Somethings of Today Are Transforming Work, Love, and Life.” She followed over the years 7 Generation Y. “At 77 million, it is the largest generation since the Baby Boomers. Also, they are everywhere. To some extent, as digital natives, they are foreign creatures, who work, date, and, socialize differently” she says.
Understanding Gen Y’ers is the key to retaining them
Without young, aggressive, dynamic people bringing new ideas into the business and pushing back at the traditional way of doing things, many businesses will die.
Who are they?
- Looking for life-balance not from the perspective of balancing work with life but from doing their work from a location of their choosing. (As long as the work gets done)
- Technology obsessed
- Looking for a quick notoriety
- Many Gen Y’ers are born entrepreneurs
- They are the masters in multitasking
The reality?
Gen Y is the most educated and most diverse generation in history, and the first to have more women than men obtain postsecondary education credentials.
Different conception of work-life balance
Gen Y have been using computers, mobile phones, the Internet, social media tools and other technologies since childhood – the youngest of them essentially since birth.
They are used to working away from the office – for them work-life balance is not as cookie-cutter as generations preceding them. They work anytime, as long as the work gets done. They are a result-oriented generation.
What’s the takeaway for your business?
Don’t treat your employees like they come out of a cookie-cutter mold when it comes to benefits, pay and rewards. In fact, don’t even treat employees in one generation like they’re cut from the same mold.
Make the effort to get to know each of your employees and what matters to them. Yes, it will take some time and thought to craft rewards that motivate each worker (and are fair to everyone else). But the effort will pay off not only in financial savings but also in improved employee satisfaction, productivity and loyalty.
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