Do Gen Y’s want fun – really?
Young people care a lot about a lot more at work than what they are being paid.
Generation Y longed for feedback, recognition and a job that was fun and provided quality friendships and fulfilment. That’s why Gen Y’s want fun.
To attract, engage and retain Gen Y’s, organisations will need to be aware of the different motivators that drive this cohort. They will need to have policies and programs geared around meeting those needs and embed into the organizational culture the strong values that differentiate this group.
Career choices of Gen Y’s will be driven by the need to play meaning roles in meaningful work, where they can see their contribution adding to the bigger picture. They also want the potential to achieve this outcome sooner rather than later.
How important is feedback…?
Whilst young people were independent and empowered, they valued feedback highly. Together with this empowerment and self-confidence has come the need to collaborate and seek feedback from peers and friends to get consensus on issues both personally and professionally.
Employers who are able to create workplaces that include team-based structures will be very appealing to Gen Y’s, who have the confidence to contribute independently in the workplace, but also enjoy the engagement of the team. Gen Y’s want fun, engagement and being inclusiveness. The best way of attracting your staff was through their friends already in the workplace, even offering a “finders fee” to employees who found a new worker.
Research has shown that those in the labour market are more likely to trust the “intel” within their own personal networks and the views of those already in a company. Less credibility is given to what is written on web pages and company annual reports. Leveraging graduates and current employees in the recruitment process at job and career fairs and other media events can provide a credible voice of the company.
Being the children of the Baby Boomers, Gen Y’s are confident and ambitious, but the differentiator here is that they are ambitious, but not at any cost.
Many Gen Y’s have seen and experienced burnt-out Baby Boomer parents in stressful jobs impacted by restructures and retrenchments. Gen Y’s want flexible working conditions and to be able to enjoy work life balance. While the adage for Baby Boomers may have “live to work”, Gen Y’s in “work to live”. Hence Gen Y’s want fun.
Learn to ask Y
The reality is hitting just about all bosses – if you don’t keep the Gen Y staff happy, you will lose them.
Baby Boomers managers could have plenty to learn. Rigid management styles were probably a product of Baby Boomer upbringings. The generation before the Baby Boomers were very strict and very military and that was where original management theory was generated.
They were brought up with those ideas and they think that’s how it should be done. But if businesses aren’t willing to work on some change, then they’re going to start cycling through staff quite quickly, as a lot of Gen Ys are happy to change jobs.
Gen Y staff could relate to their bosses better if they were more like a father figure or role model, rather than telling your staff to “just do as you’re told!”
There are seven key management traits that hinder the motivation and morale of proactive Gen Y’s being:
Close mindedness
Ineffective delegation
Lack of knowledge and organisational skills
Inability to training or facilitate training
Disrespect for young people
Intimidating attitudes
Over emphasis on outward appearance
Not listening to ideas or points of view of the Gen Ys is certainly an unattractive quality.
That is the importance of learning to ask Y!
