Essay on Gen Y in the Workplace

King Tut could have died in different ways. People believe he died in more than one different way.

The current business world is continually integrating technology into daily processes at a rapidly growing rate. The integration is having a major impact on the way that people within corporations accomplish their jobs and as such it is of significant interest as an area of study. The focus that was chosen was to attempt to gain an understanding of the issues and affects that new technology is having on a larger business via an interview with someone in either middle of upper management.

Growing up with parents and relatives who lived through the Vietnam War, I have many opportunities to hear stories about their lives during that period. Most of the stories told by my parents were about how, as young children, they learned to take care of themselves while their parents were working away from home or fighting in the war. Due to some circumstances, they sometimes had to move to another town. And Facebook did not exist at the time. They had no way to stay in touch with old friends, and their only option was to make new friends each time. Many of us who grew up in a peaceful environment are used to being surrounded by the same group of people all the time. Attending a college away from home after high school may be the very first time they are separated from their friends and families. I am an example. Living on campus meant I had to be away from my family and most of my friends while adapting to a new residence, a new community, and meeting new people. From this experience, I have learned to value my background, my friends, and my family even more than I did before.

Many employers are challenged with handling the millennial due to the lack of proper understanding of this generation since there is plenty of myths, propagated through anecdotes and assumptions. However the separation of the myths and the facts is important for an organization so as

The so called millennial generation, also referred to as Generation Y and commonly called the Net generation, due to the effect of the internet, are made up of citizens in the United States born between the years 1978 and 1999. This generation has become very familiar with technology because they have grown up with it. They were raised with this new technology such as e-mail’s, instant messaging, and even cell phones. Not all of these new devices have been helpful. In the workforce specifically things have changed especially with communication. Many business had to change their ways of “running the firm” to adapt to the new generation. Business are struggling to adapt to their technological ways, and the effects

Over the next decade, it will be a challenge for employers to attract, keep, and develop a skilled work force for numerous different reasons ranging from the evolution of technology to fewer foreign students coming to America for work. Adding to the problem, companies are finding themselves managing four generations of workers. Based on their generation’s life experiences, each group has its own diverse characteristics, standards, and attitudes towards work. The four generations are as follows: Silents (1925-1946), Baby Boomers (1946-1964), Generation Xers (1965-1980), Generation Ys or Millennials (born after 1980). It is up to management to relate and motivate employees of different age groups. The purpose of this paper is to inform readers

Older colleagues to this generation is the Y generation as lazy individuals who are more difficult to manage. This generation also has a reputation for leaving their organization of employment abruptly to seek new opportunities. Generation Y has been exposed to the world in a different way than previous generations, they are more racially and ethnically diverse and they are much more segmented as they have seen the rapid development of cable, the internet, etc.

Upon reflecting on the three main generations that comprise the workplace today, a few differences emerge. “Baby Boomers” grew up in a time when movements were prominent, the Vietnam War occurred, key figures were assassinated, the Watergate Scandal occurred, and television was introduced (Twenge et al., 2010; Schullery, 2013). Overall, “Baby Boomers” seem to exhibit a distrust of authority, value hard work, and want to enjoy their achievements (Robbins & Judge, 2015; Twenge et al., 2010). As such, they are results driven and give their utmost effort (Robbins & Judge, 2015). “Generation X” grew up in a time of computers, divorce, two career parents, MTV, and economic uncertainty (Twenge et al., 2010; Robbins & Judge, 2015). For the most part, they seem to exhibit the workplace behaviors of independence and a lack of commitment to employers (Twenge et al., 2010). They value a balance between work and life and place more focus on extrinsic rewards such as monetary compensation (Twenge et al., 2010). “Millennials” grew up in prosperous times with technology dominating the era and over-protective parents (Robbins & Judge, 2015; Schullery, 2013). Generally, they seem to place a greater value on employee benefits, leisure time, teamwork, and open communication (Society of Human Resource Management, 2004; Twenge, 2010; Myers & Sadaghiani, 2010). In addition, they have also been given the labels of “self-centered” and “entitled” (Myers & Sadaghiani, 2010).

“The number of employees over the age of 55 has increased by 30 percent; however, the number of 25- to 54-year-olds has only increased by 1 percent” (Claire, 2009). In 2008 the eldest of the 77 million baby-boomers turned 62. Estimates are that by the end of the decade about 40 percent of the work force will be eligible to retire. As people begin to reach the age of retirement there may be not be enough new employees to fill the gap (Clare, 2009). Companies need to find ways to attract Boomers and Millennials. Companies that want to attract Boomers and Millennials need to be creative in their culture, HR policies and work environments.

There are many challenges facing managers and leaders in current workforce. The variety of cultures, races and generations in today’s environment is making work harder. “Managing will also get even more difficult because of globalization, multi-generational workforce, dependency on technology, unethical behaviors and practices.” (Kaifi,2013,pg.217). In this paper I will talk about the three generations that we have had over the past sixty years – the Baby Boomer Generation, Generation X and the current Generation Y, known as Millennials. This rich mix of generations in the workforce can be attributed primarily to labor shortages experienced in many industries and the rising average age of retirement.

Being assigned to various roles from subordinate to assigned leadership positions, I have noticed that the work environment and project teams are not constructed in a manner to capitalize on the strengths of the current generation that are entering the workplace. This is not only true for USAREC, but also most mainstream organizations. I have witnessed symptoms and the results from not understanding how to benefit from creating the environment to capitalize on generational traits dealing with the millennial.

For decades there has been extensive research on generations to better understand characteristics such as personalities, motivations, and work ethics to help current and future employers better understand how to engage targeted demographics. As a result, in recent years there has been a lot of dialogue around Generations X and Y as employers have tried to understand what attracts, retains, and engages these individuals in the workplace. It’s evident that not understanding and respecting these differences can lead to misunderstanding, miscommunications, mixed signals, and possibly the loss of talent within an organization. Over the next couple of paragraphs I will elaborate on each generation and highlight their values as it is important to

Generation Y is gradually entering the world of business with each passing year. With each adult comes a necessary occupation that must be fit for the individual and the growing economy. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states:

Mattel was started in 1945 in a southern California garage workshop. It reached global share leadership through the growth of Barbie in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. During this time Jill E Barad leveraged her marketing talent to build Barbie from $250 million in annual sales, in 1980’s to $1.9 Billion in 1998. This success gave reason for Jill Barad to ascend to the CEO of Mattel in January 1997, which was the height of the company’s success. A little over a year later, Mattel’s stock reached a ten-year and record high of $45.625, which was a big jump from the $27.75 it was at when she took over.

Generation Y hold many core values when entering the workforce today. Some of those values include but are not limited to confident, optimistic, realism and highly tolerant (DeVaney, 2015, p. 11). Generation Y’s also enjoy the aspect of working in teams and are individualistic but also group oriented. Generation Y’s are innovative and think outside of the box and well as focus on change in the workplace using technology. Generation Y’s believe because of technology they can have more flexibly. Generation Y workers do not believe in working the long