Generation Y too "lazy & unfocused" to hire...

carolt

In my experience, that's a totally randon, ridiculous stereotype.

I know lots of oldies and youngies who are good/bad at their job.

Age just sn't a factor.

The idea of stereotyping an entire generation would be laughable if it wasn't so tragic.

And I'm more or less exactly Hamish's age.

sjaypink

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Could try shutting the laptop down, removing the battery pack and then reseating it.

Typical blimmin IT people. No more idea than the rest of us

Do you waer moby glasses, a cerise jumper & man bag to work GD

Thanks for the advice anyway, bt its stopped now. Think cos I shouted at it

InaPickle

Harsh! I'm 29, relatively clever and work hard - and get a lot more done that some of the older complainers where I work. My friends are all the same. Maybe it's more to do with those who have ambition and drive and those who don't, and that's not a generation gap; it's an aspiration gap.

Graham_Devon

sjaypink wrote: »

Do you waer moby glasses, a cerise jumper & man bag to work GD

No idea what any of those things are. But a man bag sounds useful

Cleaver

"Employees come to us about Gen Y, saying they're looking for a staff member but they don't want anyone in that 20s age bracket because they find they don't understand common courtesy in the workplace," Kristy-Lee Johnston, director of Footprint Recruitment told The Courier-Mail.

Any company doing this is ingoring many of the qualities that come with generation Y. The research shows that generation Y are no less harding working, innovative, creative or diligent than any other generation, including boomers. But what distinguishes this generation in the workplace from others is two main things: they are not really motivated by money and they generally will only stay in jobs where the tasks excite and interest them. Research also shows that generation Y need to feel a real affintity with the organisation or company they are working with, in terms of their ethical and moral stance and the products / services they deal with.

Talking about generation theory is a minefield, because you have to make sweeping generalisations. But companies need to take the rough with the smooth. And in the spirit of generalisations: if companies want someone who wants a good paypacket and in return won't question too much, gets their head down and does the job then they hire gen x or baby boomers. If you want someone who is more honest about your company, speaks their mind, is quite hard to deal with and is always questioning (which could easily be seen as moaning) but in return works a lot harder on tasks that interest and excite them for less money, then hire gen y.

The above is a real generalisation, but it summerises what research shows. I was actually recently chatting to a guy who is one of the leading lecturers in generation theory. He said you could sum up generation y in the workplace very simply. Bascially, if generation x or baby boomers were in a job they didn't like they would just get their head down and worker even harder to get a promotion or to move to another company. Generation Y would send a memo to the chief exec telling them in no uncertain terms everything that was wrong with the company (which would probably be correct), quit, and go travelling round Peru instead.

Any company ignoring the way Gen Y operates and not adapting somewhat to them is doing so at their peril as all organisations will become shaped in this way as they become the biggest group in the workforce.

Cleaver

carolt wrote: »

In my experience, that's a totally randon, ridiculous stereotype.

I know lots of oldies and youngies who are good/bad at their job.

Age just sn't a factor.

The idea of stereotyping an entire generation would be laughable if it wasn't so tragic.

Pretty much all the research out there shows that there is a massive difference between Gen Y and what has gone before. A lot of the major employers in the UK, especially those of graduates, are spending a hell of a lot of money on learning how to adapt, train existing managers, looking at new technologies etc. to make sure that they are still attractive to young workers. Companies that have taken an attitute that age isn't a factor are really struggling to attract and retain staff.

You have a generation of people out there that aren't really that motivated by money. They are also very intelligent, stuffed to the eyeballs with academic qualifications and bursting with potential, but all of Gen Y have grown up never knowing economic hardship and many are lacking work experience and are therefore pretty clueless in a work environment. This is a generalisation of course, as there will be many not like this, but companies are finding more often than not that they are dealing with a very different bunch of people.

You're right, you can't stereotype a whole generation. But generations do have certain characteristics and personalities that are shaped by the environment that they grew up in. For example, big salaries tended to motivate a lot of Generation X. Generation Y, on the whole, couldn't care less about how much they earn, it's more about the excitement and 'value' of their job. For industries like management consultancy or banking that thrive on burning out young people it's quite a cultural shift and a bit of a shock to suddenly find that a lot of your workforce don't really care that much about their bonus and are instead more interested in taking three months off to go and work in an orphanage in Asia.

Sapphire

Graham_Devon wrote: »

I should think for a lot of the younger 20's, this is the first time the workplace has had to experience the "I know my rights and have my expectations" culture.

The worst thing is that so many of them seem thick (even the ones who have 'degrees' can't spell or write properly), spoiled, and uninterested in anything beyond the material world.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Cleaver wrote: »

For example, big salaries tended to motivate a lot of Generation X. Generation Y, on the whole, couldn't care less about how much they earn, it's more about the excitement and 'value' of their job. For industries like management consultancy or banking that thrive on burning out young people it's quite a cultural shift and a bit of a shock to suddenly find that a lot of your workforce don't really care that much about their bonus and are instead more interested in taking three months off to go and work in an orphanage in Asia.

I'm Gen X, and I think the generalisations hold true.

Our business culture is that of work hard, work long hours, be ambitious, and reap the rewards. Both financially and lifestyle wise later on in your career. "Burning out" youngsters is a form of Darwinian selection, as only the best and most driven get to progress to the next level.

So certainly in my field, we have taken a hard line with Gen Y, and are willing to churn the ones that don't hold our ideals.

So far, we've found plenty to take their place, and have improved our recruitment processes to weed out the intransigents early on.

Given the record levels of youth unemployment today, I rather suspect some of them are learning a lesson the hard way, and may emerge from it with a healthier respect for good old fashioned hard work.

Graham_Devon

Sapphire wrote: »

The worst thing is that so many of them seem thick (even the ones who have 'degrees' can't spell or write properly), spoiled, and uninterested in anything beyond the material world.

See now I feel victimised!

Personally I feel the younger generation do have a serious issue with the whole ethics thing. We, and those just 8 years younger than myself have been moddicoddled beyond anything realistic. Told our rights without any reference to responsibilities.

Just in the amount of time I have been out of school compared to now, things have gone crazy. We wouldn't have dreamt of phoning up some "body" and complaining that the teacher had assaulted us after we had been fighting to the death with other students. It's rife now, with the teacher being the victim in most cases.

However, plenty of the older generation have taken on this new era of rights and laziness.

Theres hard working in all generations. There is also lazy, grabbing, shysters in each generation.

But the generation gap between what I would class as the boomers and my generation is seriously strained, and I think, only going to get worse, which will only spill over to the workplace.

Sapphire

Cleaver wrote: »

But what distinguishes this generation in the workplace from others is two main things: they are not really motivated by money and they generally will only stay in jobs where the tasks excite and interest them.

My experience has been entirely different – and I find it astonishing that you say they are not motivated by money, when most of that generation have been brought up to be incredibly materialistic, possibly more so than any preceding generation!

Moreover, the 'education' system has produced some really badly educated people, who expect to be handed a highly paid job the instant they leave college, rather than starting from the bottom, gaining experience and working their way up.

Perhaps it's different in different professions...