Don't pigeon-hole Gen-Ys
Thursday, 4 September 2008
By Michael Phillips
This Gen-Y management issue has really got some legs. From journalists to management consultants and recruitment “specialists”, everyone has an opinion on Gen-Y and how to manage them (without it, I would be without a blog, right?).
But the most recurrent issue tends to be how to deal with these “incessant”, “needy” and “disrespectful” bunch. This is where we are getting it wrong.
First, why would you classify or separate your workforce into “age categories” (Gen-Y, Gen-X, baby boomers, blah, blah). The moment you start differentiating you have already created silos and a “them and us” mentality.
From then on, once these age “silos” are created in the minds of managers and staff, the problems arise. The Gen-Y team get bored and whinge about the oldies just not understanding them, and the older generations complain of a “lack of respect” and wonder where the world is heading.
The last time I checked every generation seems to misunderstand the next and complain about how the new generation doesn’t respect their elders. This will happen with Gen-Z, just as it happened many years ago with Gen-A (which is where I assume all this “Gen” business started).
My grandparents tell me how their children lost respect for them once they hit their 20s, and my parents think the same about us kids. Sorry, this will never change.
At the same time, we always think the generations before us “have no idea” and wouldn’t understand the complications we face in our busy little lives. We do have MTV, Facebook and Paris Hilton after all.
The funny thing is that this is now such a big thing in the work environment. If you have difficulty with a 26 year old staff member, it’s suddenly explained by them being “Gen-Y”, or if you have a problem with your older manager then everyone seems to give an understanding nod as you explain they’re 41 years old and “obviously don’t understand the younger generation”.
So, you want to know how to manage Gen-Y? Well, the simple answer is stop calling them Gen-Y.
Hire, fire and manage your staff based on merit, values and contribution to the business as a whole, not on age. Stay consistent with your requirements, whether they’re 25 or 55, and bring them all together in one harmonious team headed on the same path.
The biggest thing you can do for your culture is to establish some core values (and make them tangible, not “motherhood” statements) and then don’t waver on them. Lead from the front and live these values and the rest will follow.
After all, a fish rots from the head first. For those not up with clichés, this basically means that problems always start from the top. So if you have a problem with your culture, then you need to look at the top of the organisation first and then work your way down.
Michael Phillips is a 30-year old CPA managing a business full of Gen-Ys. He’s the Commercial Manager of Cremorne Group which wholesales and retail mens and womens apparel, including the Tommy Hilfiger, Blazer and Perri Cutten brands. He offers his experience as a pioneering Gen-Y managing Gen-Ys, covering issues such as how to recruit, retain and get the most out of Gen-Y – the notoriously difficult younger generation of employees aged 15 to 30.
Comments
Peter Wallhead writes: Finally Michael has hit the nail on the head; "So, you want to know how to manage Gen-Y? Well, the simple answer is stop calling them Gen-Y." This is such a simple statement, but it sums up the thoughts of every so called Gen-Y, including myself.
Amelia writes: As someone who is a "Gen- Y" and runs her own business, attending an industry event with "How To Deal With Gen Y" was highly insulting. Especially as I don't possess the qualities they stated. I want Gen-X and Gen-Whoever else to embrace me for who I am and what I present, and not label me with Gen-Y (especially when it has such ugly connotations such as "want it fast and now", "want everything for themselves", "want only the best", "selfish" etc.
Susan Rochester writes: At last, some common sense on Gen-Y. Stereotyping groups of employees is counter-productive, especially when it's used as an excuse for not managing well! When we look at people as individuals while sticking to consistent expectations and outcomes, we can achieve so much more.
For anyone who thinks Gen-Y is a problem, I recommend you take a look at the under-10-year-olds around you... You might want to make sure you've retired before they enter the workforce!
John Menator writes: Michael, you are quite correct, one size does not fit each generation. Team members want to be treated as individuals (regardless of generation). Give straight answers and be consistent in your expectations as a manager.
For most young people joining the workforce, their expectations will be quite different from their parents/grandparents. They will not work for one company for most of their working lives. Recruiting and training replacement staff is a fact of life and we must have processes in place to manage this. The upside is fresh ideas and enthusiasm for your business.
Tim Davis from timdavisnetwork.com writes: Is it okay to disagree with Michael's socially correct Gen-Y observation? In America, customer service is almost non-existant and it is mostly the Gen-Ys who are the rudest, lest helpful and disdain those of us who aren't as knowledgeable about computers. Ask yourself when was the last time you received top level customer service? How often does it happen?
Comparing generations is a very weak argument. Companies are moving to digital and these Gen-Ys are very much in demand. Companies would sooner fire a baby boomer than the techies.
Brad Szollose writes: Sorry Michael I disagree with you. The reason there is such a speed to blame and stereotype Gen-Y is because there has never been a generation so different in the history of the human race. Remember, this is neither good or bad, I am just reporting facts.
Most generations once in the workforce shut up and listened to their elders, paid their dues and eventually EARNED their place in the business world. They assimilated to the group.
Gen-Y doesn’t work that way. Never before in history has a group of youths assumed they were just as smart and as seasoned as their 50-year-old work colleagues, despite no experience what-so-ever. Nor has a group been so willing to tell their elders what they are doing wrong and never has a group been as arrogant as Gen-Y.
Gen-Y, just like any other generation, believes that they are the greatest generation ever and the older dinosaurs just don’t get it man:-)
The Reason? Gen-Y was raised by parents who treated them as adults from day one. Child-centric parenting has left most Gen-Ys believing they are equal to any and every adult... regardless of status, they believe they are on equal footing with say, Warren Buffett. It leaves them with gobs of self esteem and mutual admiration complex.
The second influence over Gen-Y is the internet. This has not only created an acceptance of globalisation, it has created an entire group that ignores hierarchy and gives themselves permission to go after whatever information one deems necessary. Even if it is in China. It has also created a generation that wants their research in seconds, whether it is based on opinion or facts doesn’t matter, as long as they have it now.
The third and final piece that has shaped the brains of Gen-Y are video games. These devices have created a training ground for Gen-Y that has influenced their thinking in such a way that Gen-Y cannot work without multi-tasking. This is the biggest difference between the generations: Gen-Y is a parallel thinker while baby boomers are linear thinkers. Video games have trained them day-in and day-out in the way corporate politics works. Get the treasure, attack the castle and use whatever mentor will get that task done before they are 30.
This is why Gen-Y is blamed... they are almost a different species of human being. Some of this is good, some of this is horrifying... But one thing is for sure; Gen-Y doesn't have any communication skills nor the ability to interact with real adults. Want proof? Wait until Gen-Y is in management positions... they will fire every boomer (and in some cases Gen-X) as soon as possible. This is the generation that blames everything, from social security to the current war in Iraq on boomers. Not fully understanding the bigger picture.
Gen-Y makes more money than boomers did when they were the same age (about $100 more per week) AND Gen-Y never knew a day without technology. (Boomers picked up computer skills in the middle of their careers and applied linear thought to a parallel device.)
Sociologist Daniel Bell pointed out that the more we use our intellectual technologies – the tools that extend our mental rather than our physical capacities – we take on their qualities.
Is it possible that Gen-Y is the first generation that thinks, acts and works like a computer? Good or bad, as these young people take over companies during the next 25 years, the human race will never be the same. Boomer knowledge is NOT being assimilated into these young minds. After all, neither side wants to talk to the other... but know this – BOTH sides want to be respected.
Marcus Browne writes: Had a good laugh recently. I was at a board meeting and had the nerve to mention hippy notions of sustainability and green design and was lampooned a Gen-Y. I'm flattered as I'm 46, have a 23 year old and 15 year old and the criticism was coming from someone eight years younger. I must look good for my age!
Michael Phillips replies: Thanks for all your comments, I believe it is a real issue being classified by your age rather than your contribution. It's one I struggled with for years and felt very frustrated by being held back by my apparent “lack of experience” (read “too young”). This is why I guess I ended up in an SME - because at least I feel I can effect real change and not be dictated by rigid structures.
The only downside is I'll have to change my blog; after all I'll now have to refrain from using the term “Gen-Y”. Any ideas?
Andrea Horton writes: Brad, I had to pick my jaw up off the table after reading your diatribe. Blaming the downfall of the human race on Gen-Y? Buddy, you've been watching too much 'Today Tonight'.
Michael Phillips adds: Tim/Brad - of course it is OK to disagree. That's the point. If we all agreed it would be a boring world. I guess what I'm trying to say is the focus should be on the value the employee brings to the organisation and age should not enter the equation.
And yes, customer service is horrible, but all you have to do is fly a Qantas jet or have a coffee in Paris and you'll see that the young definitely do not have a monopoly on rudeness.
And Brad I do agree with you, but to an even greater extent. I think Gen-Y was shaped more by the fact we have had an “easy” life. No wars/depressions etc etc. It's all been a joyride for most. That's why the next few years will be interesting......
Brad Szollose responds again: Thank you Michael for your response. I don't think having it easy though forged the psyche of Gen-Y. After hundreds of hours of research and multiple interviews, I can honestly say the main root cause of Gen-Y’s multitasking and ambition is from video games – they have actually reconfigured Gen-Y’s brains – they are parallel thinkers... (multiple ideas happening all at once).
Boomers do not use the areas of the brain that an avid gamer uses... MRI scans have proven this. Multilevel game play has trained Gen-Y to be multi-taskers. This is the obvious result of video game play.
Most gamers are 33 years of age and currently in executive positions, while boomers dismissed video games as a child’s game. The boomers brain cannot keep up as their brains are mired in linear thought – a beginning, middle and an end to every task. Just as Nietzsche’s writing changed because of the typewriter, Gen-Y is a completely different human operating in a completely new way. The tools that they grew up with – video games and the internet – actually trained them in global business methods since childhood. The convolutions in their brains are actually different from a boomer.
Tim Davis and Richard Carey are colleagues who have also been involved in massive amounts of Gen-Y research... so my diatribe wasn't a rant Andrea... it is based on several definitive works from Harvard professors on the subject.
I live in the USA and have no idea what “Today Tonight” is... but I did take the first dot-com company public back in the mid 90s... so I have been immersed in this for over 15 years. Although I am a cusp boomer at 46, I am more like Gen-X and Y.
If you really want your eyes opened, attend the Games + Learning + Society Conference held in Madison Wisconsin here in the USA. It is where game designers, college professors and teachers from all over the world come to discuss the integration of serious gaming technology into classrooms and campuses. People from all over the world come to this conference and it is truly amazing... and will show you what isn’t even being discussed in the mainstream media. Gen-Y will be the least of our worries in 25 years... virtual workplaces will becoming the norm.
Here’s a link for the GLS Conference.
Also may I suggest these books for your readership: Got Game: How the Gamer Generation Is Reshaping Business Forever by John C. Beck and Mitchell Wade. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy by Professor James Paul Gee.
Gen-Y is the first generation to prove we are NOW in the information age... while boomers are still operating in the industrial age. Sorry Andrea, but life on earth will never be the same. Sorry to take up so much on this comment board, but I couldn't resist:-)
Melanie Levy writes: Being 26 myself, I'm actually find it quite offensive to be pigeon-holed as a Gen-Y. OK there might be some people around my age like that, but surely there are younger and older also with the same mindset. Brad your comments made me laugh.
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