Generation Y

Nobody seems to quite be able to agree on what, exactly, Gen Y is. I've seen date ranges for birth years ranging from the 70's up to 2010, depending who you ask. Just about everyone includes those born in the mid 80's, so there's no doubt where I end up in that equation. Right now it seems to be pretty trendy to write about Gen Y in the workforce, and how different we are. The number of articles out there floating around the interwebs that talk about how to deal with Gen Y in the workforce, what we think and why we act how we do, is actually kind of astonishing, I think. Granted that my perspective is from the inside, I just don't understand why it seems to be such a big issue.

The first result when you google "Gen Y Workforce" is this article. It's titled "Perception vs. Reality", and the first of the ten truths deals with the perception that Gen Y has serious issues with entitlement. We are also apparently perceived as lazy, with a poor work ethic, little respect for authority, too self-centred and individualistic, not committed to work, no loyalty to our employers, lacking in social skills, and being needy.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not writing about all this in order to whine. I think that this characterization is pretty negative, but not necessarily any less accurate than any other generational generalization. I see examples of this kind of behaviour all the time, and it drives me nuts. That said, I also see examples of people who work very hard to get where they want to be and don't expected everything to be handed to them on a silver platter. (I'd like to consider myself one of the latter, but I'm likely to be a little biased on that front.)

That said, I also think people are people. I don't think Gen Y are so difficult to see and work with; like any other generation, we are a collection of individuals with different skills and opinions. Clearly, we've grown up with very different technology than our parents, and are quite comfortable with it, as a rule, but otherwise, I think a lot of this 'OMG, what to do with the millenials?' is a bit silly. What to do with us? Why, put us to work and treat us like people. The linked article states that Gen Y need careful, constructive criticism that reflects confidence in them. Okay, well, I get that. But frankly, who doesn't need this kind of criticism? Isn't that just good management?

Anyway. I could go on for hours about this, but the long and the short of it is that I just don't buy it. I don't think Gen Y needs special treatment; if you treat people well, regardless of generation, you will get better results. Maybe Gen Y is more likely to hop from employer to employer, but happy employees are more productive and less likely to leave. This is not unique to those under thirty, by any means. Some of these perceptions are things that were said about the boomers when they first joined the workforce. Yes, we are more comfortable with technology (as a rule) because we grew up with it. So what? Most of my twitter follows and followers are older than me. Some are Gen Y and some are not. I just don't quite understand what all the fuss is about.

Is that just because of my age?