EMPLOYERS are refusing to hire Generation Y workers because they lack a work ethic and spend too much time talking to friends in work hours. Source
In my early twenties, I adopted a twin philosophy from a very good friend of mine “…it costs nothing to be nice…” and that “…if you can’t say anything nice, best say nothing at all…”
I have lived to discover the wisdom of this advice and in my personal experience I have seen and heard that the negative characteristics that people would attribute to others are most often a reflection of the person speaking. Quite simply; what you say about others says more about who you are, than who they are.
Hence the assertion of this blog is that those that bemoan Gen Y, probably just wish they were more like us. It’s opinionated and at times bias but it is an attempt to develop conversation around opposing thoughts; drawn from three of the many hundreds of comments that the Article Gen Y too lazy and unfocused to hire generated.
Work Life Balance
Pretty sick and tired of “he/she who is the centre of the universe” and “work” being “somewhere you go during the day”.
Just a little jealous? I reiterate my stance on work life balance fairly often. The reality for us is that, unlike earlier generations, work is NOT our life. Work is important to us but we’ve been taught that it is better, for our health, to work to live, rather than live to work.
In addition to work we may also be juggling study, friends, family, sport, other paid and unpaid work commitments. Hence the need for flexibility. There are people in every generation that would benefit from a more balanced approach to work and life.
Respect My Authoritah!
These brats have no respect for experienced people. You treat them well and they crap on you.
Experience alone does not qualify one for respect, being respectful toward others does. Respect, like Love, is something you give not get. May I suggest leadership:-
Our concept of leadership 2.0 involves asking questions, connecting and collaborating.
We seek leaders that inspire, support and encourage our personal growth and development.
We want to feel that we work to contribute to something meaningful.
We will find new and improved ways to increase effectiveness, efficiency and productivity in business.
Gen Y’s Great Expectations
The main issue with Gen Y’s (but not all) is their expectations are ridiculous. They come into the workplace and after one year they want a promotion and if they don’t get it, they throw a hissy fit…I think there is some resentment in some of our older people as we had to work our way up and earn respect in the workplace and pay would come later. These days they think and expect to be CEOs at 24.
We are entering the workforce the most highly educated generation, yet I can see that to those that did not have to pay for an education our pay expectations may seem disproportionate. Still, education has burdened our generation with billions of dollars worth of student debt. Is it unrealistic of us to seek an income that may see us debt free within the next 15 years?
And aspire to leadership, we shall because our entrepreneurial spirit makes us increasingly willing and able to take risks, our education has armed us with knowledge and insight and today’s technology allows us to connect, share and collaborate in new, more effective ways.
Gen Y Collaborators
Love us or hate us 10 years from now we will represent almost 40% of the New Zealand workforce. Maybe it’s time to accept that aspects of our work ethic and the workplace freedom that we aspire to are useful, perhaps even necessary, for the growth of a knowledge economy.
Using video and the recent 350 Climate Actions we sort to portray the the integral role social media plays in connecting and engaging with Gen Y volunteers.
Lani’s reputation preceded her, as did we in the Workshop format, so at the very least everyone coming to see her would have to sit through our presentation first.
We didn’t exactly stick with the abstract submitted but it was reassuring to see that at least three points that we made around Gen Y Volunteers:-
the use of social media
collaboration vs control
work experience
Were confirmed in person by the talented young volunteers (14 – 17yrs) that accompanied Lani on the road trip up from Dunedin.
Although we did not use the opportunity to discuss our own project hopefully between ourselves and the Otago Volunteering crew we provided some first hand insight into the collaborative and visual style of Gen Y volunteers.
Thanks toVolunteering NZ for the opportunity to attend and be heard.
Technology has made sharing opinions, information and knowledge easier. We no longer need a degree in Journalism or a PhD to publish findings. Having a voice no longer requires the interest of a publisher or editor yet clearly our growing freedom of expression is threatening to some people.
The rise of social networking sites is indeed a disturbing trend that may be continuing to fuel the narcissism of a generation [Gen Y] becoming more desperate than ever to maintain their fragile self-esteem. Source
I wonder what this Dr would say about the need to adapt? Because despite all the evidence gathered in support of their stated point of view there is much more to prove that Social media is not just a “trend”, it is a new way of connecting and communicating.
There is so much more than ego in play here. Social networking tools can harnesss the collective potential of people and our new venture team is proof that they can be applied to entrepreneurship and new business creation. It’s our intent to help others like us – young aspiring and active entrepreneurs, business catalysts and change makers – use these tools to;
Showcase their talents, skills and values
Connect with people of common purpose and vision
Find work experience and business opportunities
Build teams with which to drive the creation of new business
Using Technology to Connect with Generation Y Volunteers
We are presenting a workshop at the Volunteering NZ Conference – Wellington, Thursday 29th October @ 10:45 – to present the idea that online media is an effective way to reach out and engage with young people and encourage them to volunteer.
I’d taken for granted that non-profit organisations were already using online media to engage with potential volunteers. In fact, I know several that do www.350.org.nz is a great example of a non-profit that applies social media to good effect.
Yet, when we asked Otago University students recently where they would look for volunteering opportunities we recieved answers such as; in the newspaper.
Clearly, there’s a perceived notion that the non-profit world is still marketing via the old school methods which presents the opportunity to raise awareness and engage with Gen Y volunteers, online. And that’s not just my bias speaking either, it’s advice straight from the horses mouth.
“What do you think is the most effective way for organisations to promote or advertise to students?”
We’ve been asking Gen Y students variations of this question for weeks now and the following answer, reflects the opinion offered by more than five out of every nine students
“For students I think the internet. Internet for us, is our demographics best marketing tool. It’s what we do…social networking sites are pretty key… and get out to a lot of people really quickly”
Many Gen Y would describe themselves as always online “…’cause thats were everyone is, all the time…” The online environment is such an integral element of our life now days that we’ve begun simply to assume that if we seek information, answers or opportunities they can be found at our fingertips.
So despite having only 20 minutes, luckily, both students and the online usage statisitcs support our proposal that; online is a great way to connect with the next generation of volunteers. If you’re in Wellington on the 29th and interested in talking volunteering and / or time trade we’d love to talk.
There’s an old school mantra that advises “do not underestimate the competition” because knowing your competition is necessary in order to build strategic advantage. Yet from a Gen Y perspective, many of those same competitors are potential collaborators.
If we were to offer a mantra of advice in regards to competition it would be to “seek opportunity to collaborate rather than compete” which makes it ever more frustrating that the older generation, people we would also like to collaborate with, continue to deny the talents and capabilities of my generation.
Even an over educated, under experienced MBA student knows that success comes from being able to climb the greasy management pole. You don’t do that by trumpeting that you know it all or that Facebook is the interface proxy for enterprise applications.
Try that in this economy and you’ll be at the head of the queue when the next round of pink slips are distributed (sic). You can only know that from having worked in enterprises, experienced the nuances of management practice and negotiated the politics of power. Source
This comment completely fails to recognise that management hierarchy’s are not the future. While they might have worked for the industrial revolution, entrepreneurship, collaborative, mobile, networked teams are the future of our knowledge economy.
Political Hierarchies vs Collaborative Teams
Sorry, old guard but we don’t actually need to climb your “greasy management pole” because with today’s technology we can connect and circumvent your traditional hierarchy’s to collaborate and build businesses of our own.
Rather than politics, power and vainglorious titles we aspire to work together as co-founders in recognition of our interdependent need for each others talents, skills and trust.
Our entrepreneurial spirit makes us increasingly willing and able to take risks, our education has armed us with knowledge and insight and today’s technology allows us to connect, share and collaborate in new, more effective ways.
Dismissing the fact that we are tech natives, and assuming that we need to be “employees” fails to recognise that we are creators of our own future.
Love us or hate us 10 years from now we will represent almost 40% of the New Zealand workforce. Perhaps it’s time to accept that aspects of our work ethic, like our collaborative spirit, may be the best form of work organisation for a knowledge based economy.
The Financial Times has labeled us as ‘every employer’s nightmare’; while Fortune magazine claims we are destined to be the most high-performing in history.
Although leading opinion appears polarised with debate begins the development of a more balanced point of view which in turn moves us towards finding the common ground.
Yet, the scales still tip in favour of identifying problems, so as a solutions focused, Gen Y entrepreneur I’d like to suggest there is promise, despite existing “problems”.
Workplace Culture & Innovation
PROBLEMS of Workplace Culture, will occur for anyone expecting us to conform to the old school culture. Hierarchies, no matter how you construct them, be they pyramid, open or flattened, are simply not flexible or open enough to facilitate the collaborative learning and the construct of shared knowledge.
It’s time we reinvented the way we construct our organisations. Here at Worknow we used interconnected circles vs. square tiered boxes to represent our organisation because I believe the PROMISE of workplace culture is that a collaborative and communicative culture inspires innovation.
Leadership & Potential
It’s true, we have high expectations, which some characterise as making us demanding and needy but let’s consider the education system from which we are not far removed.
It’s an environment where variety, challenge and change are the status quo. Where performance expectations are established at the outset and tested, measured and rewarded.
Is it unrealistic to expect that work might present a greater opportunity for such variety and challenge? or that work expectations be established at the beginning for us to work towards.
PROBLEM is while many of us Gen Y recognise in ourselves a wealth of promise – we’re talented, enthusiastic and educated, connected and informed – in many cases, we lack the planning, time management skills, discipline and experience to fully realise our potential.
Therefore PROMISE exists for those leaders who can inspire, support and encourage the growth and personal development of the Gen Y workforce and in this way provide guidance and reason for us to stick around.
Worknow, Aotearoa NZ
We are gathering a community of talented people that seek more collaborative and flexible ways to work together.
We believe networking technology can help foster and harness the collective potential of existing communities and distributed groups
We encourage and support a more flexible and entrepreneurial work ethic.
We work to connect all that share this philosophy so that together we can build a more entrepreneurial and innovative work culture for NZ.
We are a generation influenced primarily by peers and friends.
It’s a fact. In a world awash with information we’ve become adept at questioning the messages feed to us by the media so in order to make informed decisions we turn to those we trust and know. Traditional advertising, barely even registers with us.
Instead of watching TV you’ll find us engaged online and on the move. While the odd Facebook ad might generate a click through (relevant to our social profile) in general, unless it’s funny, sexy or otherwise “hot” it probably won’t even measure on our radar.
Unfortunately, the non profit sector is one where these “general” rules can’t be applied because it’s probably not funny, selling sex can be a crime and hot involves sub Sahara living conditions.
Where traditional advertising and marketing don’t apply it becomes even more important to engage Gen Y through peers, friend and the communities in which we interact. Here at Worknow we rate online communities and networking tools as the most effective way to reach and communicate with Gen Y and luckily for us, we’re not the only one’s backing online community.
The approach we recommend involves creating and maintaining a community – a permission asset if you like – that attracts, captures and leaves a legacy of goodwill around the interactions that occur for your brand or organization on a daily basis. Source
Champion of a cause
Time Trade is a tool to help empower recipients of charity, by valuing their experiences as a means to help others – to provide recognition for the Champions of a cause. As you can watch below, empowering champions is a common theme in of Youth Marketing for Non Profits
If you’d like to hear more about how Non Profits can engage with Gen Y we are holding a workshop at the biennial New Zealand National Volunteering Conference on the 28 – 29 October 2009 in Wellington Town Hall. For more information on this years conference check out the Volunteering New Zealand Website Our abstract aligns with the one of two conference themes:
Volunteering Tomorrow: New Opportunities – new ways for volunteering
And will incorporate concepts on:-
* Generational diversity
* Volunteering in community development
* New and interesting ways of doing volunteering
I am a fan of the solution orientation of think small as a way to address national issues and this morning, reviewing the ever popular issue of “The Recession” I came across the following solution which necessitated a supportive yet alternative response, except I ran out of room there to comment so decided to share my thoughts here…
Some graduates may have found lately that in their respective field they cannot get a job. As the economy is as it is, companies are more reluctant to hire even experienced staff as they do not feel they can afford it, which unfortunately means it’s very difficult for an inexperienced university graduate to get a job. To this end, it may be wise if you are in this situation to consider going back to university and doing a post graduate degree, not only will it give you something to do to fill your time, but it will also give you that advantage over other candidates when the economy settles down and companies are looking to hire again.
My Comment
“We are already the most highly educated generation in the workforce (+) yet the study work transition dilemma still exists. Further education doesn’t solve the problem for graduates it merely postpones it. Wait to be hired!? Guys, we need to think Entrepreneur vs. Employee. Why wait in line to be employees when we can determine our own future?
While education is undeniably an advantage the issue which compelled me to comment is simply that the problem as stated “it’s very difficult for an inexperienced university graduate to get a job” is not solved by telling them to continue on the same path, further education.
We need education applied in combination with our natural strengths our entrepreneurial spirit and tech know how.
As a combination we then have:
With education – the knowledge to create and transform ideas;
With entrepreneurship – the ability to risk and achieve and;
With technology – the tools to find connect and work together in new collaborative ways
Why be dependent on traditional “employment” when we can determine our own future in the workforce by becoming the next generation of talented entrepreneurs vs. employees? With the right team and a good idea building a company need not be as risky as it has been made to look. Begin by finding and connecting with talented others, somewhere like a talent community
With John Keys announcing a $152 million package to create new work, education and training opportunities for unemployed young people we’re feeling even more confident that our vision around helping the youngest working age generation transition into work will find support on many levels. Well, we hope that it does but at the very least we’re reassured to learn that our mission aligns with the concern of our current Prime Minister who said yesterday:-
I am concerned for our young people.Those aged 18-24 are the fastest growing age group on the Unemployment Benefit, representing a third of all those who receive it.
The number of young people who wanted a job but couldn’t get one has more than quadrupled in the past year, leaping from less than 4000 in June 2008 to nearly 17,000 by June this year.
My concern is that for a young person starting out in their working life, a long period of unemployment could be very damaging. Source
Quid Pro Quo: Using Time Trade to Encourage Young People to Volunteer
When we looked at solving problems relating to work it was quickly evident that young people are the demographic most in need of solutions. So we got together to identify ways we could help them transition from study to work.
Lacking the work experience needed to gain value from our contractors’ marketplace we focused instead on ways that we could help them build the necessary work expereince, skills and references.
By incorporating unpaid work into our formula and encourage volunteering through the concept of Time Trade, we identified ways to:-
1) provide a measure of value and recognition for the development of a peer mentoring scheme, using time credits.
Enlisting alumni to mentor upcoming graduates about work life and career paths. Those graduates, in turn, trade their time to perhaps tutor fellow students who in turn again volunteer in their community and build valuable work skills.
2) provide incentive and reward to encourage more young people to volunteer, using time credits.
We believe volunteer work develops a service orientated work ethic and skills that assist the study to work transition. Some of the skills we know volunteers can develop include:-
Leadership & team building skills
Relationship building skills
Communication skills
Negotiation skills
Creative thinking skills
Organisation & time management skills
As Social Development and Employment Minister Paula Bennett points out encouraging Gen Y to become involved in our communities creates win-win situations. Her comments about the Community Max Scheme could as easily apply to Worknow:-
“This is all about providing opportunities – we see this as a very positive approach to addressing youth unemployment while helping fund useful community projects… I believe this is a win-win situation.”
Where we differ is that we intend the growth of youth volunteers to be a permanent fixture of tomorrows communities hence the development of out Time Trade platform.
I had an interesting conversation with an intelligent gentleman, yesterday afternoon, who held the belief that Gen Y does not exist. We are, he said, “the same as any generation”.
Now I don’t like to be stereotyped on the basis of my age but I would sooner be Gen Y than merely the “same” as the old. Yet there’s always the option to perpetuate a more accurate describer – Gen We.
Y Generation We, not X or B.
That we are different is what we, Gen X & Boomers have in common. Each “generation” has in some way or form changed the status quo on those that came before, it will happen to us too. So this “generational” issue and blame game is more about people’s inability to adapt and accept differences than it is age.
Yes, ideally, people shouldn’t be stereotyped by age. Yet we are simply not that same, and somewhere a line has to be drawn to help us build a clearer understanding of our differences, so that we can all work together.
That I don’t want a 9 – 5 employee role does not mean that I’m lazy. I just know that my most productive work hours are from 10am – 3:00pm and 7pm – 1am but I’m happy to work 10+ hours to suit my lifestyle.
That I constantly seek new challenges and ongoing feedback around expectations and performance, I know seems demanding and needy to some. But I grew up in a world that has taught me to be performance orientated and continuously improving.
& sure, I’ve had more than 5 jobs in five years because I know what I want and if my plans can’t be achieved or my values respected then there’s no mutual benefit and it’s time to move on. I’m instinctive, goal orientated and I adapt quickly to change.
Same Planet, Worlds Apart
Back to yesterdays conversation. I can be a bit of the antagonist, when given cause to express my own beliefs. It’s the same characteristic that made becoming a lawyer the only career option I was ever advised to follow.
I wish I’d had access to more advice before pursuing that education path but oh well, live and learn. Thankfully, I’m not a lawyer and I’ve learnt lessons in tact so I simply asked:-
“OK. Do you use LinkedIn?”
“Yes,” he answered.
To which I replied, “I don’t”.
Point proven. We are not the same.
Worknow Community
If networking involves building connections amongst peers, then clearly LinkedIn has much more to offer the over 30 demographic. With millions of members LinkedIn is indeed a brilliant concept. Yet it is time to tailor the idea for a more entrepreneurial and lifestyle orientated generation.
Here at Worknow, we are gathering a community of talented people that seek new more collaborative and flexible ways to work together. Why? because we believe networking technology can help foster and harness the collective potential of existing communities and distributed groups but we simply don’t connect with LinkedIn
