I recently read the book Gen Y Now. Great book that described the seventy million born from 1977 to 1992. They are called Generation Y, as opposed to my generation, Generation X, and my father's generation, the Baby Boomers. There are seventy million Boomers, forty million X'ers, and seventy million Y's.
The book examined this current younger generation, and explained that we must, at the least, understand them. As the Boomers retire and die, the Y generation will have us, the X generation outnumbered about 2 to 1. So, we may not like how they are different, but we must understand that they are different because they will be our workforce and also in charge. With the upcoming work shortage, Boomers retiring, we have to deal with the Y generation and not just stereoptype and "write them off".
Some of the key points that the book brought up about Generation Y is that they are a group that feels a sense of entitlement more than any other previous generation in U.S. History. They are not disloyal, yet it comes off as selfish, being treated unfairly or if you aren't doing something that can relate to a greater good, they will quit on you. And they are communicators.
Gen Y has a sense of entitlement because they are the first generation that has been given almost every whim from the moment of their birth. They have been given more toys as children than X'ers and Boomers had their entire lives. They have had every moment photographed and videotaped and treated as supremely special most of their entire lives. Their parents have taken care of them and allowed them to make mistakes with the option of always falling back on them, whether it be defending them when they are clearly wrong, or allowing them to move back into home when marriages or jobs fail.
If you as a boss or a coach do not make Gen Y feel special or that you are working for a greater good, they will leave. Whether it be physcially or psychologically. The reason why is that their parents will allow them to. This generation is allowed to quit teams, work and know that they will be supported by their parents. There is no negative stigma attached to quitting or moving on with this generation, and often it is seen as them standing up for what they believe in.
This generation is also great communicators. With the Internet, twitter, facebook, cell phones, texting, instant messaging, computers, television, cable, DVR's and many other technological advances this generation is communicating constantly. If you as a leader do not communicate with them, they will feel as if something is wrong. X'ers and Boomers almost stayed away from leaders and the only time they did communicate with leaders was when they were in trouble. Y'ers crave communication. They need feedback. It doesn't necessarily have to be positive, but they want to know where they stand, almost daily.
Very detailed book on Generation Y, and above I have written only a few of the items discussed. The biggest obstacle for Generation Y is the thoughts and stereotypical beliefs of the Boomers and X'ers. I did not always agree with what the book offered, but it did help me to first understand that this generation is different, and also why they are. If you are a coach or "boss", I would recommend this book. Even parents or grandparents could get something out of this book to try and understand their children or grandchildren.
