Who are they?

Adjectives both good and bad abound for Gen Y, but the one we can’t get away from is “coddled.” They truly are used to getting what they want, when they want it. They are used to having their parents pay for it, and for many, graduating from college does not change that mindset at all. In fact, if they can’t make enough to pay for their lifestyle, many Gen Yers just move back home. There’s no argument that, as a group, Gen Y is smart, and they are using their smarts to get the lifestyle they want, even if it means Mom and Dad continue to pay for awhile.

They’ve also been labeled as “demanding,” “disloyal,” “impatient,” “tattooed,” “pierced,” “techno-savvy,” “pampered,” “indulged,” “can’t focus on one thing at a time,” and “high-maintenance feedback lovers.” Some of this is no doubt true. After all, they are used to having the world at their fingertips via iPods and computers and using them all at once. They had cell phones before they hit puberty, and delayed gratification is not a concept they understand. Of course, that is because it wasn’t taught, but let’s not bring that up. It is, at least at times, not a pretty picture. But, in our research, we found one indisputable fact and that is that they are young and with youth comes some behaviors that will take care of themselves in due time.

On the other hand, Gen Y is bringing a lot of good to the world, at least potentially. It is the least prejudice of all the generations as far as we can tell. Hopefully that will be the case when it comes to age. Gen Yers hardly notice race other than to value the differences. They are very tolerant of the many types of lifestyles people choose to live, and they value ethnic differences. They are compassionate. They love working in teams and collaborating. In fact, they have figured out how to work in teams much more organically than the generations before them. While Boomers and Gen Xers fight for team leadership roles, Gen Y doesn’t seem concerned. They are much more interested in being with their friends, doing interesting work, solving problems, and having fun. Yes, fun. This will be new for the workplace, because Boomers and Gen Xers have to schedule fun. It is not something they build into their lives naturally. Gen Y expects fun to be a part of their everyday work and life. In fact, the line between work and life is much fuzzier for Gen Y than what Boomers and Gen Xers are used to, but more on that later.

This generation also handles change better than the generations before it. Gen Yers are used to change coming almost at the speed of thought. While they may not be the most well-read, they are definitely the most well-informed generation. After all, they have their iPod, their iGoogle homepage, and their text-buddy grapevine to keep them totally informed at all times.

They have a consciousness for both socio-economic and health issues. They have their fingertips on everything from global economics to government policy, and of course, they have the monopoly on technology. And one very important note: Boomers and Gen Xers cannot—we repeat, cannot—compete in the technology arena. We are trying to learn, but let’s face it, if we don’t know how to do something, we call our Gen Y children, employees, or nieces and nephews. They walk over to our technology Rubik’s Cube and line up the colors in no time at all and then smirk a little as if to say, “Loser.”

Okay, maybe that’s just how we feel and not what they’re thinking but… “We’re just sayin’….”

In addition to their technology expertise, Gen Yers are ambitious, but not in the same way as Boomers and Gen Xers. They have very high expectations for themselves, and they put pressure on themselves to do a good job. They are also an honest bunch—brutally honest at times. And—ugh!—they question everything: yes, everything from why they have to work at the office to why they have to start with grunt work and climb the ladder. They are not questioning everything to be annoying. They generally want to make it better, and questioning the status quo is their launching pad to making it better. They want to apply their technology expertise, their collaboration skills, and their ambition to making things better—and easier. Boomers and Gen Xers can complain and say they are lazy, but if they invent a robot to clean houses or take out the trash, you can bet everyone’s going to use it. Besides, before complaining about their questioning, Boomers and Gen Xers should remember how they became the coddled, demanding, questioning, techno-obsessed troops that they are.