CHAPTER 1
Understanding
Generation Y (and why
are they different from
the other generations?)
What’s the difference?
The following true story illustrates how different the generations are and how easy it is for conflict to arise between them. A young highflier in an ad agency emailed the CEO to tell him that he disagreed with a decision that the CEO had taken. The CEO responded immediately, saying, “I have run this company for ten years and I think I know what I am doing.” The young graduate replied, “I realize this is an uncomfortable conversation but I am not the only one who disagrees with this decision.” He went on to give reasons and rationale as to why he disagreed. And the CEO, even though he had always said he welcomed feedback and had an “open-door” policy, was indignant at receiving this email from this young upstart.
I spoke to the graduate and asked him what he was thinking about when he sent the emails. He told me that he thought the company was great, that he cared about it, and that he didn’t want to stay silent when he thought a mistake was being made. It did not occur to him that he might annoy his boss, and his boss’s bosses, by going over their heads and emailing the CEO direct. He did not realize that the hierarchy and your status within it was such a big deal. And he couldn’t understand why he had received such a terse reply from the CEO. I had to explain to him that this fifty-something boss grew up in a very different time, when you didn’t challenge the boss.
This was a clear case of the graduate not understanding the “rules of the game”, and of each person judging the other on their behaviour, not on their intentions. What I mean by this is that we all observe other people’s behaviour and make judgements based on that behaviour. Obviously we don’t know what their thoughts, motives and intentions are, unless they share them with us. However we do know and understand our own intentions; even if sometimes someone misunderstands our behaviour, we know why we did what we did. In the story above, clearly the graduate knew exactly why he was sending the emails (and equally clearly his intentions were good). But the CEO was not privy to the graduate’s intention; all he had to go on was his behaviour. He interpreted that behaviour as disrespectful, inappropriate and rude. And his own intention was also to protect the management line and organizational infrastructure that he perceived as important for the effective running of the company.
In the course of my work I have heard many stories like this. They are symptomatic of the difference in style between the generations. Each generation has knowledge and wisdom, and each can learn from the others. In order to make sure we create productive relationships that work, we need to get into the heads of Gen Y and really understand them.
This chapter will explain why Gen Y are as they are, and why they behave the way they do. It will give you an understanding of Generation Y that means you can attract, manage and motivate them in a way that benefits everyone.
Rookie Buster
Each generation has knowledge and wisdom, and each can learn from the others.
Who is Generation Y?
Gen Y are those born between 1980 and 2000.
For the first time ever, we have four generations in the workplace. As older people choose to stay on at work (through necessity or desire) we will experience the trials and tribulations of creating work environments that appeal to and make the most of all generations.
Here are the four workplace generations and their birth years:
The conditions under which they
grew up
If you are the manager or parent of a Gen Y you will have first-hand experience of how different from the rest of us they are.
Generational differences are accounted for by a combination of factors:
Age
Young people are always different from their elders because they have yet to develop into adults, and psychologically they are establishing their identity, so have a need to mark themselves out as different from their parents and elders.
The conditions that they grew up under
As Napoleon Bonaparte said, “If you want to know how a man thinks, imagine the world when they were young.”
Some of the most powerful influencing factors in our lives are those that occur when we are in our formative years and becoming aware of the world around us.
Rookie Buster
“If you want to know how a man thinks, imagine the world when they were young.”
The prevailing political, social and economic conditions when a person is in their teens and starting to become aware of the world are very influential in shaping who they are. For example, I was in my mid to late teens during the “Winter of Discontent”. I remember Thatcherism and 3 million unemployed. Most of the men in my family (the women mostly didn’t have jobs or careers) had had the same job for life.
The conscious and unconscious messages I received about work were that it was scarce, when you got a job you damn well hung on to it, you put up with filing and photocopying for the first year even though you had a good degree, and you certainly did not challenge authority.
Experiences
The experiences that young people have when they are growing up obviously have an impact on their values and how they see the world. For example, Gen Y grew up in a world where there have been a number of acts of global terrorism, on which politicians have focused as one of the key threats to our safety. They saw the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11, and the London, Bali and Mumbai bombings. Their world does not feel as safe as the world of a teenager in the 1960s and 1970s. They were promised no wars, and this promise has not been fulfilled. So they reject the aggressive approach to solving conflict. They prefer a collaborative approach to life and work, not a competitive one.
Rookie Buster
They prefer a collaborative approach to life and work, not a competitive one.
They have always experienced being able to connect with people (even those whom they don’t know) around the world via the internet. This experience clearly influences their mindset, worldliness and attitude towards possibilities. They are the first generation to go on “gap years”. Gen X-ers did rail trips around Europe if they were lucky. The world was a much bigger place back then!
What is Generation Y like?
There are many stereotypes and prejudices about Gen Y – both negative and positive. Here are some of the ones that I hear the most often.
The negatives
• They are slackers; they don’t want to work hard.
• They are disrespectful of authority.
• They are impatient and want it all now.
• They have an over-inflated view of their own abilities.
• They are over-confident.
• They don’t understand how important it is to follow company rules.
• They are too demanding and want constant attention.
• They are unrealistic about how far they can go.
• They expect too much management time.
• They don’t understand corporate politics – they are naive.
The positives
• They are hungry and want to get on fast.
• They are creative and innovative and challenge the “rules”.
• They are committed and hard-working.
• They will do what it takes to get on.
• They are confident and see no barriers.
• They are hungry for learning.
• They don’t go after status for status’s sake.
• They are flexible.
• They are optimistic.
Despite all the positives, most of what I hear about Generation Y are comments from managers who are at a loss to understand them and deal with them. They see them as a problem to be solved.
I have talked to many organizations who have wasted time and money (and damaged relationships) because they have made incorrect assumptions. One example was a financial services company who had decided to launch a volunteering programme for their graduates. Their assumption was that Gen Y cared about corporate social responsibility (CSR) and would want to be involved in CSR programmes. But the programme was a flop – very few people were enthusiastic about it (although they didn’t have a choice about doing it, because it was mandatory), and the feedback the company received afterwards was not good. I advised them to talk to the graduates to dig down and find out why. The answer was very simple. Although they did think that CSR was important, they preferred to give money to charities they cared about rather get involved in a programme at work. In some ways their attitude was more similar to a Gen X attitude. The lesson was that the graduates who were attracted to this company were in fact dissimilar to Gen Y in their attitude to CSR, but the company had made the assumption that they were the same.
The first step is therefore to understand them and why they are as they are, so that you don’t make assumptions. That is half the battle. Once you understand them it becomes much easier to know how to work with them. And it becomes clear how they can contribute to and shape the changing world of work.
Let’s take a look at Generation Y’s world.
They have grown up in mainly good economic times. Even in an economic downturn they remain optimistic. They see fewer barriers than older generations do and are more flexible. So whilst their behaviour changes somewhat in an economic crisis, their attitudes and values don’t. Some of my clients have suggested that when the going gets tough, Gen Y will just become like Gen X. They won’t – and the reason why they won’t is because of the conditioning that we explored earlier in this chapter.
Their relationships with others
Hierarchy vs social networks
The internet has given Gen Y the ability to connect and collaborate with people all over the world. They are used to being able to connect with whoever they want or need to. Their world is a social network, not a hierarchy. They see their Gen X and Boomer colleagues complaining about being in back-to-back meetings, talking about how unproductive these meetings are, and longing for time at their desk. To Gen Y, this is bizarre on two counts – the first is they can’t understand why people don’t just make sure that their meetings are productive in the first place, or simply not go to them. The second is that Gen Y have more desk time, are invited to fewer meetings and therefore have fewer opportunities to comment on and discuss matters of interest to them and their job.
It’s not surprising that respect for the hierarchy is lower amongst this generation. It’s not that they are disrespectful, just that they don’t show deference for deference’s sake. They talk to a “person”, not a “position”. As long as they are polite, there is nothing wrong with that.
Rookie Buster
Gen Y talk to a “person”, not a “position”. As long as they are polite, there is nothing wrong with that.
Parenting
Gen Y have experienced so-called “helicopter parenting”, with parents who are very involved in all aspects of their life and decision making. They are used to being told regularly how they are doing. And they have been given the confidence to believe that they have any number of possibilities open to them.
They like to work with Gen X and Boomers, who can offer good mentoring skills, because they want to continue the attention and mentoring that they had from their parents.
Technology
Here is a generation that has grown up with the internet and technology. They are used to having access to information and people via the internet and social networking sites. The world – including the world of work – has become more democratic and transparent because of that.
They arrive at the workplace with the ability to use digital technologies, and they expect to be able to use the latest technology at work. Sometimes they find they have more advanced technologies at home than are available to them at work. And while organizations are getting hot under the collar about whether or not to ban Facebook, Gen Ys see it as a matter of trust. Their view is that working and socializing (the two are blurred in the world of Gen Y) can be done at the coffee machine, in the café and online. “So why suddenly try and restrict me online?” they think.
They are digital natives, whereas the older generations are digital immigrants. They grew up with technology; they do not have to “translate” how it applies to their “real world” as the older generation do. It is the real world to them. When they want to know something, they just go to Google or find someone in their online networks who is likely to know the answer. Learning facts in school seems odd to them unless they recognize the importance of doing so – why bother learning the many things you don’t need to know when you can look them up on Google?
Rookie Buster
They grew up with technology; they do not have to “translate” how it applies to their “real world”.
Collaboration
Gen Y have learned to collaborate on the internet. They play games with others, sometimes on the other side of the world, and they collaborate on their homework using instant messaging or social network sites.
They share knowledge, information and news using various websites set up for the purpose – Wikipedia, flickr and of course Facebook status updates.
Collaboration is the norm for them. So when Goldcorp, a gold mining company, decided to share its data, knowledge and maps with the world and offered a prize of $500,000 for the best estimates of the location of gold, many people in this hitherto very secretive industry thought the Goldcorp CEO had gone mad. But the result was amazing, as some of the best minds in the world applied themselves to the challenge. The result? The company found a lot more gold and went from a $100 million to a $9 billion company.
Open-sourcing opens problems and possibilities up to anyone, anywhere in the world. Gen Y are used to that way of looking at the world – their mindset is collaborative, not competitive. And this clearly affects how they work with others and their relationships with their employers and consumers (there’s more on consumers in Chapter 9).
Communication
Gen Y are used to constant communication. They like instant messaging and applications like Twitter where they can post messages about what they are doing in real-time, as well as find out what their friends are doing too. And they like to be able to find out whether any of their friends are nearby. The media they use has shaped their communication styles. Their media is instant and always “on”.
Rookie Buster
Gen Y are used to constant communication.
They get the news that they are interested in delivered to their laptops or mobile devices so that they can choose the content they want and access it when they want it. It is not that they don’t use print media; they do. But their view of the world of communications is as a “stream” of information (newspapers, Google Alerts, blogs, online news, etc.). They dip into that stream when they want and need to. One of my Gen Y colleagues told me, “I skim the free paper on the bus in the morning for the headlines that interest me, I get to work and check what my favourites are Twittering about, I may check out some of those links, I have a look at my personalized news page and then go back to any of them as I need to throughout the day.”
This style of using media is in contrast to Gen X and Boomers, whose approach is more like moving between pools of media instead of dipping into a stream. That is, they will sit down and do their emails for an hour, read The Economist on a Saturday morning, and The Times on the way to work. Gen X and Boomers tend to be controlled by media and when they “have” to do certain things, whereas Gen Y have control over it and when they want to use it.
Working style
Gen Y can often appear to be chaotic in their style.
They often know more than their manager about the content of their job, and there is a blurring of their work and life. Why would they want to work 9–5? Their view is that surely the most important thing is that they deliver the goods.
The world of work is more complex. One size does not fit all (actually it probably never did, but we acted as if it did because it made life easier). Boomers and Generation X put up with this standardized approach to employment and people policies. Generation Y is less willing to do so. They are not used to standardization – they can customize their mobile phones, their ethical trainers and their clothing, so why would they want to accept standardization in the workplace when individuality and expressing themselves is so important to them?
Coach’s notes 
Checklist: 5 steps to understanding Generation Y
1. Think about your own (conscious or unconscious) prejudices – do you see Gen Y as a problem, or are you embracing them as an opportunity?
2. Don’t make assumptions about individuals – ask people from this generation what’s important to them and how they like to work.
3. Don’t generalize – the types of Gen Y who are attracted to your sector or organization may not be typical Gen Ys and/or may be different from those attracted to other sectors.
4. Don’t judge them on their behaviour – ask them why they do things in the way they do – chances are that their intentions are good. Always ask questions to understand the behaviour you see before you judge it or jump to conclusions.
5. Show an interest in how they work – you may learn some new ways of doing things.
Go for it! The key to getting the best out of Gen Y is first to understand them. Once you understand where they are coming from and why they act the way they do you will start to see that they are not deliberately setting out to annoy the hell out of the older generation.
Having a motivated and energized workforce has great benefits. They have different perspectives on the world, and innovation only happens when different perspectives are brought to bear on an issue.
But perhaps one of the greatest benefits that Gen Y bring to organizations is that they can help you to respond to and meet the needs of Gen Y consumers.
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