Posted on 07/12/2007 6:38:19 AM PDT by BenLurkin
What's the point of baby boomers complaining about Generation Y at work? First of all, it's a cliché, because people over 40 have been complaining about "young people" since forever.
Even worse, it's a losing battle. Generation Y is huge. It's one thing for boomers to verbally squash Generation X -- that was no problem. Gen X is tiny and the baby boom was huge.
But in Generation Y, baby boomers have met their match. And in the demographic catfight of the century, Gen X aligns itself with Gen Y over baby boomers, which means that the workplace gripes boomers have about young people are going to be moot in a matter of years.
Generation Which?
So maybe the over-40 crowd should spend less time talking about trying to "bridge the generation gap" -- which is really a euphemism for "get Gen Y to be more like us" -- and more time celebrating the great things that Generation Y brings to the workplace. Gen Y isn't going anywhere, and it's not like they're about to conform to baby boomer demands.
But before you continue reading, understand that the world doesn't actually adhere to demographer datelines: The generation you fit into is more a function of the choices you make than the year you were born. So if you want to know where you truly fit along generational lines, take this test.
And if you want to know why baby boomers should ease up on Generation Y, consider the ways that these youngest workers are making life better for everyone:
1. They won't do work that's meaningless.
These kids grew up with parents scheduling every minute of their day. They were told TV is bad and reading is good, and are more educated than any generation in history. They just spent 18 years learning to be productive with their time, so they're not going to settle for any photocopying/coffee stirring job.
But that's good, because we all want meaning in our jobs, and we all want to understand how we're contributing to the world at large. Why should anyone have to wait until retirement age to start demanding that?
These days, the workplace can be restructured so that we all do a little coffee stirring in exchange for each of us getting to do some meaningful work. And if work can be in some way meaningful for all of us, then the workplace in general will be a better place to spend our time.
2. They won't play the face-time game.
We've known forever that it isn't necessary to be in the office from 9 to 5 every day to get work done. But many of us have missed family events only to sit at a desk all day getting pretty much nothing done because of the stress of missing a family event. And there didn't used to be any option -- if you wanted a successful career, you made sure co-workers saw that you were putting in the hours.
Generation Y wants to be judged by the work they do, not the hours they put in. And what could be more fair than this? In fact, a good portion of the workforce has been requesting flextime for decades, but the requests have gone unheeded.
We have Gen Y to thank for forcing the switch, because if Gen Yers can't leave the building whenever they want, they'll walk out the door and never come back. Face the truth: Boomers weren't willing to go that far, but they sure are benefiting from it. Now they have more opportunities for flextime, too.
3. They're great team players.
If you've climbed a corporate ladder your whole career, then it's probably inconceivable to you that Gen Y doesn't care about your title. But it's true -- they don't do rank. Chances are they saw their parents get laid off in the '80s, so they know how ephemeral that special rung you stand on is and they don't want to waste time trying to get there.
Generation Y played on soccer teams where everyone participated and everyone was a winner, and they conducted playground politics like diplomats because their parents taught them that there's no hierarchy and bullies are to be taken down by everyone. And Gen Yers take these values to work -- they expect to be a part of a team. Gen Y believes that no matter how much experience an individual has, everyone plays and everyone wins.
Maybe it's annoying to you that you don't get to be team captain, or worse, the bully on the playground. But you've read the Harvard Business Review's decades of research on how essential workplace teams are and how older people have little idea how to be good team players, so relax: Gen Y is doing the teamwork for you. In fact, there's no way to work with Gen Yers except on a team. They go to the prom as a team, so they're certainly going to go to product reviews as a team.
That makes us all lucky. We don't need any McKinsey person coming to our company for $10 million a minute telling us how to promote teamwork. We can just follow Generation Y.
4. They have no patience for jerks.
Generation Y changes jobs every two years, typically because the work isn't a good fit, or the learning curve isn't steep enough, or they don't like their co-workers. And Gen Yers will disengage from a jerk before trying to get along with him or her, according to a report by Stan Smith, national director of Next Generation Initiatives at consulting firm Deloitte. They have no desire to bother with somebody they don't like.
This is really how we all should function. After all, according to research by Stanford professor Bob Sutton, the cost of putting up with a jerk in a company is about $160,000. Moreover, Harvard researcher Tiziana Casciaro found that people hate working with high-performing jerks so much that they would rather work with someone incompetent who's nice.
Nobody likes having to deal with jerks, but we've always believed it was asking too much to have a workplace full of decent people. Generation Y sets a new standard for this, and companies are having to dump jerks quickly or risk losing their ability to recruit and retain Gen Yers.
Don't Fight the Future
So let's get off our high horses and stop evaluating whether or not we like working with Generation Y. Its members have incredible leverage in the workplace right now, and they're not going anywhere.
It's time to admit that the workplace is changing and that we're lucky to have a group as optimistic and self-confident as Generation Y leading the way.
What is ridiculous is you making generalizations about me - who you know nothing about.
My point was the generation who were parents and raising families during the depression were the ones who really had to deal with it - not their 8 year old kids.
You don't need to lecture me about going hungry - I grew up very poor and went to bed hungry many times as a small child.
My admiration for the parents who made do during the Depression is not exactly " so self absorbed" that I "can't seem to admire any generation but my own".
Maybe you missed the part about me admiring my grandparents generation.
40 year olds didnt land in Normandy?
I think the “Greates Generation” mantle belongs to those who would have been at retirement age durring the Korean War. Plenty of those lived through (and worked through) the Depression.
Maybe 7 year olds worked - but they certainly weren't responsible for taking care of their family - their parents were.
The average age of a WWII soldier was 26 - so most of them were too young during the depression to have worried about feeding their children. The generation who retired during the Korean war were mostly to old to have fought in WWII - the army didn't take men in their late 50s and early 60s.
Ok, sorry to offend you but the Boomer generation I think are the ones that are the generalists calling GenX - slackers, GenY - spoiled brats.
If you went to bed hungry as a child then you’ll understand that the Greatest Generation went to bed hungrier than you during the Depression.
They went through it too and BTW my Dad was one of those Depression kids and he had some stories to tell growing up.
(My Mom is a Boomer, she was smart not to marry a Boomer- she probably would have ended up divorced - your Generation wasn’t known for it’s faithfulness- and I would have came from a broken home - then I’d have a sad story to tell- Thank God it never happened).
And he always spoke glowingly of his mother who had to raise her kids when his Dad died when he was 6 yrs old.
I don’t have any sad stories to tell like my Dad b/c my parents made sure of that - and for that I AM GRATEFUL TO THEM!
The point being I admire my Dad’s generation more than the Boomers b/c Boomers have nothing good to say about their parents’ generation.
You guys never will, I just don’t find your generation that impressive:
You mock the generations after you as not as “good” as yours and you despise your parents’ generation.
Your legends in your own minds - a self-righteous lot.
So if the Boomers can’t dish it in , don’t dish it out.
Are you Boomers ever wrong, have your parents’ generation ever done anything good or right?
The average age was 26- and that includes the fact of how many able-bodied men died. I’m sure it also accounts for 16 yar old lying to get into service...
And who were these boys Chain of Command? I suppose we had full-birds walking around learning to shave?
I dont recall being 50 a requirement to retiring from the Service... Maybe it’s just me though.
And just because some werent worried about feeding childre- didnt ean they weent worried about feeding themselves.
And yes- 7 year olds were just as responsible then- there money meant enough to eat!
“Our parents sucked it dry”
____________________________
Spoken like a true Boomer - Still blamin’ your parents at your age.
Sad.
I’m just darned glad that most of your generation did not allow your hippie scum (made over into yuppie) parents to brainwash you with their terrible ideas and notions. Y’all seem to fit in more with us X-ers. Good outcome!
Mostly Gen Y and Millenneals. Boomers are mostly mustered out. X-ers are getting there.
2 - Generation Y came into the workplace as the dot-com revolution was imploding. They saw themselves and friends get laid off from good paying jobs, corporate scandals erupt and the "good ol boy" system protecting itself instead of entry level workers. What would your response be to this? Mine's the same as Gen Y and I am Gen X. I have no loyalty to my employer or management, only to my paycheck and my customer base.
3 - employers don't invest in their employees as much as they used to as far as retraining.
4 - maybe they just don't like drama and attitudes, this comes from shorter attention spans brought about by faster computing speeds.
Dude, maybe you are unhappy with the hippy generation BS folks. Sounds like you are blaming the NAACP, AFLCIO and any other Socialist movements on anyone older than 40.
I’ve been paying my taxes apparently longer than you have. What pray tell gives you the right to tell me I am the blame me for this government screw up??????????
Grow up!!!!!~!
Hey, you started flinging first. Talking about my generation demanding things. I asked you for examples.
You are YET to provide them.
Dude.
If I grew up already, I’d be in your shoes. No thanks.
Me too. They have some cute girls. All in their 20's.
It's going to be a tougher economy than my grandfather had. So if I want flex-time to be with my family, I'm not "spoiled." It's entirely reasonable.
No, the "chances are" they saw their parents make more money than they had the decade before.
Yeah, but it's true. My generation inherited a truckload of debt for which we had no say, received no benefit, and yet will shoulder the debt load. Guess which generation gets stuck holding the Medicaid and Social Security bag?
Yeah. Gen X & Y. So you know what? The Boomers and "Greatest Generation" can go to hell.
And aside from that, YES! I AM blaming the people who voted for and paid for the socialists in power!
You even proclaim you’ve been paying taxes longer than I. Why is it not until MY generation gets to vote that Roe V Wade gets seriously re-examined? Why has affirmative action and social security gone by so long on YOUR payroll? Why is it only NOW getting shaken?
YES poobear, I do blame your generation for it’s sins. Thats called accountability. My generation will pick it up from here. Those of you with a spine left in you, follow us!
Hey I'm 43 (and consider myself a member of Gen X, not a Boomer) and it's right on the money for me, too. I think the people who see in it "barf alert" material demand blind loyalty to the political parties, churches, and employers because they grew up in an era when such larger entities would take care of you in return for unthinking devotion and they just don't understand how profoundly the world has changed.
Everybody is an independent contractor now - in every facet of American life. ;)
Right on the money. I've been explaining that to my wife lately, making her see the bigger picture.
My ‘Greatest Generation’ parents are bringing in more per month than they ever did working during their lifetime. (Something VERY wrong with that)
My ‘boomer generation made this possible. Maybe if the Government socialists would have brought this to light sooner. The only thing they did was to have the Tom Brokaw types hype the “greatest generation” BS that you seem to be spewing.
Looks like you’re “hook line and sinker” to me. Get a clue.
And what “Greatest Generation” BS *am* I spewing?
Methinks he doth protest to much!
I pointed out that your generation- the LARGEST generation, the one with the BIGGEST impact on society, has (as a group) allowed these things to happen.
Fine, you were indoctrinated. Don’t blame me for that. I’ve grown up since middle school knowing that regardless of my views, someone somewhere can echo them- and I can reach them! Thanks in no small part to the internet.
All I take offense to is being pigeon holed into your view of a generation- who just NOW got the vote! And we still don’t have the numbers of your generation.
Sounds like, while you think I’m “hook line and sinker”, you’re viewing my struggle from the bucket in the boat.
Again, tell me what major conservative movements we can attribute to the Boomers? It doesn’t have to be politics, it can be cultural, but give me examples that shine out and define your generation in a good light.
This article is so full of tripe, it is difficult to know where to start.
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