OCTOBER 2007: BIZ LIFE, HELP DESK
How to satisfy the Generation Y worker
THEY ARE YOUNG, smart and tech-savvy. Their high self-esteem
results from years of parental encouragement. Look out human
resources: Generation Y is entering the workforce 80 million
strong. This group of young adults, born between the late 1970s
and 1990, is the largest demographic after the baby boomers,
who are getting ready to retire in droves. (See LABOR
STRAINS)
Generation Y grew up during the corporate downsizing of the
1980s. Unlike their parents, they believe they’ll work
for many companies throughout their career, explains Rich
Meneghello, a partner at the Portland office of Fisher &
Phillips, a law firm specializing in labor and employment. This
group needs to feel connected and valued or they’ll take
their talents elsewhere. And forget the three-piece suit.
These are adults who grew up in the age of personal computers,
the Internet and child seatbelt laws.
Club membership isn’t enough for these workers; they
need reasons to feel loyal to a company. Meneghello offers a
few tips for companies looking to attract and retain Generation
Y:
Provide mentoring.
“They want access to the boss,” says Meneghello.
Companies with established communication networks enable
workers to feel their ideas are valued.
Allow autonomy. Gen Y
works best when creatively tackling a problem. Meneghello says
employers have to be open. “You can’t give the line
‘this is how we’ve always done it,’” he
says.
Embrace current
technology. This group grew up with computers and cell
phones and let’s face it, they’ve probably helped
you program yours. Gen Y workers will leave a workplace if they
feel they lack access to resources.
Be flexible. Employers
that are open to ideas such as telecommuting are more likely to
appeal to Gen Y. Meneghello cautions employers to recognize
this generation as a new group of people for whom the old ways
might need a little tweaking. It takes time to change the
paradigm he says, but in the end taking steps to appeal to this
group can foster greater competition between companies as well
as innovation.
COLLEEN MORAN
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