Been there already. Still in the barrel. 60+ hour work weeks, working in all weather conditions, indoors and out, between -25 and +120. But at the end of the day, I don’t have to wonder if my job will be there tomorrow or if some young pup is gonna want to jump in and take it away from me.
What jobs would those be? In my opinion, any job "helps others" and is "worthwhile to society" if it earns its way in a free economy.
That excludes many government jobs, most do-gooder-type nags, the majority of teachers, etc. Be an auto mechanic and be proud of it.
My experience is that this Generation thinks they know everything, really know nothing and expect us to pay them handsomely for the favor of their presence alone.
Moral hazard? There is a variance in any group. So maybe GenY is skewed a little bit one way or the other. But like every group it has its work-a-holics, its risk-takers, and its spoiled brats.
The smart employer will cherry pick from the group the people who will be the best workers. The workers who are left, who are not the best workers, will be left with the employers who are not the smartest employees.
We see that being played out right now. There is currently a huge number of job openings in most all fields, despite the media fixation on unemployment. The good employees are playing musical chairs, leaving their current job and thus creating an open chair, in order to fill an open chair in a better position in the game of musical chairs. Those who really want to work see the many chairs that open during the game of musical chairs and move quickly for the open chair they have had their eye on.
Those less motivated to work see all the chairs that are not empty and use that as an excuse to not make a serious attempt to grab one of the open chairs.
This game of musical chairs will treat GenY no different than other groups. And it should be noted that this applies not just to generational groups, but to racial/ethnic and philosophical groups.
While the anti (illegal) immigrant voices complain about the illegals taking all the good jobs the game of musical chairs continues with many chairs opening and being filled by those who really want to work and by those who don't spend their time blaming others to avoid persoanl responsibility for their situation.
The researchers are missing the point. People are not stupid. They tend to do what maximizes value.
Baby Boomers saw maximum value in 9-to-5 jobs, with both men and women working. They began adapting to the idea that unlike their parents, they would probably not have lifetime jobs from a given employer, so had to make alternative arrangements for retirement. And by the end of their “wave”, taxes had been so increased that women’s work just paid the taxes, and did not make any additional money for the family.
Generation X’ers went for a different value set. Just grinding out time on the clock went against their desire for greater efficiency. When they wanted to work, they wanted to work hard and get the job done. But when the job was over, they wanted to go to the next job, not just push memos and drink coffee. They had lost any expectation of being supported by their employer, or government, for that matter, in retirement. It was a race against the clock to make their own prosperity.
Generation Y has reached the profound conclusion that the game is rigged against them. They saw how the X’ers worked hard and ended up losing their shirt to a disreputable government and their employers. They are also more than aware that they have to enter the work force with a college degree, but this effectively means that there is no way they *can* become prosperous, because they would spend half their career just paying off their debt.
So what are their alternatives? If they play by the rules, they will never be able to afford a spouse and children, much less own their own nonsensically inflated home. They have no retirement at all, and know that the government won’t help them a bit, since it is more broke than they are.
Boy howdy, are these some motivators for hard work. So why not start work with the idea of having your retirement up front? Since no matter what you do, you will be *cheated* out of your real retirement, and have to work until the last day of your life, why pretend otherwise?
Between an utterly reprehensible and spendthrift government, doing everything in its power to bankrupt and steal from the future, and employers with utter disregard for their employees, other than as “headcount”, why bother?
It is obvious that we are all headed into another, possibly even Greater Depression. Our currency and savings will be used like a stick to beat us, and what isn’t outright stolen or taxed away will be worthless.
So I don’t blame Gen Y one bit. If they want to join with Gen X to throw the elderly baby boomers off high cliffs, rhetorically speaking, I will not be surprised.