Les attentes professionnelles des travailleurs de la génération Y (en anglais)

Avant de lancer ce blo, j’en avais parti un similaire en anglais. Ça, c’était avant que je ne me rende compte que je n’aime pas beaucoup écrire en anglais car c’est beaucoup plus long et moins confortable. Mais comme j’avais beaucoup travaillé pour essayer d’identifier et comprendre les attentes des travailleurs de la génératiobn Y quant au monde du travail, je crois que je peux me permettre de faire de la récupération et vous communiquer ici le contenu de mon article en anglais. Sorry, mais je suis convaincu que vous pouvez lire et comprendre l’anglais…

Generation Y and the workplace : description and stastistics

The generation Y will have a huge social and economic impact, especially on the workplace environment. They represent the workforce of the future. In order to understand the scope of the challenges faced by the corporations that will desperately be trying to adjust to the generation Y workers entering and taking their place in the workforce, here is a list of facts that will help describe this important social group. As I pursue my research on the subject, I will be updating this post.

I realize some of these comments are subjective and might sometimes be guilty of simplistic generalization, but we need to make an effort to describe 80 millions people, there will certainly be exceptions :

1. They are as numerous as the Baby Boomer generation : born between 1977 and 1994, they represent 70 million people in the United States, more than 20% of the population and tree times the size of the generation X (ouch, that makes me a a member of a minority generation);
2. Family wise, many of them grew up in single parent situations, yet they still received a lot of attention from their parents and they were always the main focus point of their parents. We could say they lived in the era of the child;
3. In the workplace, they are focused on their needs, not the company, and they have high expectations : “what’s in it for me?”. That does not prevent them to have a strong social conscience and expect their employer’s culture to be in line with their values.
4. They are obviously very technological and they enter the workplace with great self-confidence, feeling they are more productive than any other generation around them and they can accomplish anything;
5. They value family more than work … but they are also very carrer-minded as it represents an important feature of their social image and networking;
6. They are very tolerant towards diversity as they were used to interacting with members of different ethnicity, sexual orientations, beliefs, etc…;
7. They are very well educated and they love to learn;
8. They need to build social networks and receive some form of public recognition, which can respond in part to their strong need for reward.

Generation Y : their workplace behaviors

The generation Y comes to the workplace with a very specific set of behaviors that will greatly challenge the corporations who badly need their skill sets, energetic approach and technological knowledge. Because the demand for their expertise will be so strong, generation Y workers will be convinced that they can behave with a certain level of freedom, certainly not with the fear of not having a job that their predecessors (generation X) felt entering the workplace.

Here is a list of specific behaviors related to the Millenium generation :

1. They want to learn, improve their skills and they have a hard time with repetitive tasks. This behavior, obviously present in other generations, is accompanied by a certain lack of patience;
2. This lack of patience translates in a lack of loyalty. Generation Y workers will not tolerate dissatisfaction very long. Since the demand for their expertise will be very strong, expect a lot of employee churn.
3. They were used to receive the best treatment and the most attention in their families. They think everybody deserves that same special treatment and attention;
4. The generation Y’ers are not used to executing orders without personal involvement in the decision making process. For that reason, they will question workplace regulations and probably challenge things like dress codes and schedules. If they could afford it, they would all be self-employed to keep a maximum of freedom;
5. Expect them to look for instant gratification and to be skeptical towards people higher up in hierarchy as they saw so many public scams in the media. They will also be blund and expressive while always cautious about their image;
6. Their workplace forces include a high adaptability level, good multi-tasking capabilities and an ability to grasp new concepts and learn new things;
7. The generation Y is ambitious and does not intent to stay at the bottom of the hierarchy very long, that is why they will show competitive behavior to advance rapidly;
8. The generation Y worker needs his job to make sense, to make him feel that what he is doing makes a difference. That is why companies will probably need to pay special attention in communicating the full picture in an effort to provide extra meaning.

Generation Y and the workplace : required adjustments

The rise and integration of the generation Y in the workplace will require substantial adjustments from the corporations. This will be needed for the employers to be competitive as their capacity to attract and keep this new workforce will make a huge difference on their potential to innovate and be ahead of the curve. Failing to recognize and leverage the fundamental differences of the generation Y workers will probably mean the end for many companies.

Here is a partial list of what will need to be done to make the workplace a suitable environment for them :

1. Baby Boomers, the actual managers higher up in the hierarchy, will have to work hard on their coaching and mentoring skills to help new employees learn about workplace norms and ways of functioning. Also, these managers will have to :
   1. help them adjust their expectations to the reality
   2. always have good and opened communications, especially when explaining the meaning and importance of the required tasks
   3. respect their family values and help them achieve balance in their life in creative and flexible ways
   4. show fairness at all times
2. Generation Y workers have learned to build social networks and they expect the workplace to provide some real opportunities in that sense;
3. Employers will have to provide flexible work hours and be loose on rules like dress codes and other non-performance related questions to recruit the generation Y workforce;
4. Employers of the generation Y workforce will need to offer constant stimulation and the opportunity to develop skills via continuous training that will be part of a predefined career path;
5. It would be wise to use genereration Y employees to communicate and participate in recruitment of other generation Y workers;
6. Employers will have to find ways to appreciate individuals and make time to let them express their opinions … and action on them.