Tweeting About My Generation - How to Manage Gen Ys in the Workplace

They are the most talked about generation in history and yet when it comes to managing the youngest generation in the workplace, myth abounds.

Generation Y, born between 1978 and 1995, grew up in a world complete with computers, mobile phones and helicopter parents. This makes managing their expectations at work and uncovering their true potential a true challenge. But businesses that learn to manage young workers successfully are well-positioned to unleash the skills and talents of the most educated and technologically savvy generation in history. 

Academic studies and business reports on Gen Y appear in the media regularly, with most concluding they are a very different generation from others in the workforce. Much of the emphasis tends to fall on Gen Y’s apparent know-it-all attitude, short-term thinking and need for generous praise. While these conclusions may line up with some employers’ experiences, it’s worth testing this picture to see whether it’s complete and accurate. 

Most of the early studies into Gen Y focused on the downsides but more recent work puts these early findings into a more considered light. Yes, twenty-somethings crave rapid promotion and harbour a belief that they can do it all. But hasn’t that always been true of younger workers? After all, it’s now sixty years since the debut of Broadway musical, How to succeed in business without really trying, which plots the rise of a 20 year old recruit from copy-boy to board member in just a week.

What our experience working with Victoria’s largest property employers reveals is that managing Gen Y staff means encountering both age-old truisms about young workers and brand new insights. 

Younger staff members have always eagerly sought opportunities and promotion. The real difference today is that younger workers tend to voice their desires and disappointments out loud.  After all, this is the first generation never to experience high unemployment so few of them fear the process of looking for opportunities further afield. 

Then there’s Gen Y’s unrealistically short timeframe when it comes to problem solving, borne from a world experience where changing the view requires just the flick of a remote control button. 

Gen Y workers may be more assertive and a tad impatient, but the flip side for employers is the education and skills they bring to work. The proportion of Australians completing higher school certificates, TAFE diplomas and university degrees has doubled in the last 20 years, making Gen Y the most educated generation in history. And despite what you may read from time to time, young Australians have higher levels of literacy, numeracy and comprehension than the workers of twenty, thirty or forty years ago.

Young workers bring another great advantage to the workplace - their enthusiastic embrace of technology. Growing up in the digital age means younger workers not only learn new software and applications faster, they adapt more intuitively and in a fraction of the time it takes mature aged workers to adjust. Gen Y’s fascination with online networking means they are naturals at coordinating with team members located interstate or overseas. And while some of them will take longer to fit in with workplace rules, their freer spirits tend to foster creative thinking and multi-faceted approaches to problem solving. 

Gen Y workers bring both opportunities and challenges to Australian business leaders. The answer to the challenge of managing this age group lies in focusing on accountability. While Gen Y’s long term vision may be in short supply, managers can train young workers to plan ahead with project plans that emphasise how concrete results create opportunities for the future.

When it comes to managing their expectations, supervisors should highlight tasks done well, while quietly showing in a non-accusatory way where completion is poor. Personalising a bad result may lead some Gen Ys to resentment but highlighting how improvements lead to a brighter future will usually be perceived as challenge to be mastered. 

Yes, Generation Y’s self-placed confidence can prove a challenge and it will certainly grate against traditional workplace cultures. But business leaders should bear in mind that this generation is nothing if not ambitious. These young workers understand implicitly that hard work and entrepreneurship are necessary foundations for a successful career. 

Managing young workers has always tested management patience but this generation’s shortfalls are more than matched by their impressive skill set, new insights and willingness to adapt to and rise to a challenge. 

Gen Y are, after all, the future of Australia’s workforce and all business leaders should consider how they  will grow their business with them. 

Mark Appleby is a Director of Buckmaster Hawkey, a Melbourne based property and real estate recruitment firm.