Gen Y @ Work Introduction Generation Y appears to value some of the same things from work that have been traditionally viewed as important by other groups, according to a recent online survey completed by Ivey Consulting in Boston. Although they do express confidence in some of their skills and abilities, they hold varied attitudes toward climbing the corporate ladder and expectations for promotion. Information collected from over 165 members of Gen Y with work experience who responded from April 2008 through September 2009 showed that overall job satisfaction was strongly correlated with key attributes of work life examined in the study. These work life specifics, such as viewing their supervisor as a mentor, showed significant and positive relationships with overall job satisfaction and offer clues about how Gen Y views aspects of their work life. While this study is by no means conclusive, it offers an initial look into Gen Y and their attitudes toward work and empirically examines some topics discussed in the current literature. More research concerning Gen Y at work is needed. Some of the key areas explored included: Overall job satisfaction, Whether work is what they expected it to be, Whether they viewed their supervisor as a mentor, Whether they perceived they were smarter than their boss, Whether they reported that their opinions were valued,
Expectations concerning promotions, Whether they would consider leaving if they couldn t make a real difference at work, and Climbing the corporate ladder. Key Findings Overall Job Satisfaction Nearly half of the respondents (49.4%) either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that they were satisfied with work overall. Roughly one fifth (20.1%) disagreed, and 9.1% of the respondents strongly disagreed. Another fifth (21.3%) remained neutral concerning overall job satisfaction. Expectations Concerning Work Respondents were mixed concerning whether or not they agreed or disagreed with the statement Work is what I expected it to be. While nearly 48% agreed or strongly agreed, almost 32% disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement, implying that many in Generation Y may have entered the workforce with inaccurate expectations. Although we cannot surmise from the question whether they had a more positive or negative view compared with the reality, it is still a fact to note. However, Gen Y perceptions about whether work was what they expected showed many strong and significant relationships with other key variables of interest in this study. Specifically, there was a strong, significant relationship between met work expectations and overall reported job satisfaction (r =.50). Moreover, correlations between met work expectations and other areas, such as feeling that their opinions were valued and that they
were learning new things at work, were also positive and statistically significant (r =.37 and r =.26, respectively). Supervisors as Mentors Respondents were mixed concerning whether they viewed their supervisor as a mentor. While 32.6% agreed or strongly agreed with that view, more than 45% of the respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed. Of concern is that within this sample, perceiving their supervisor as a mentor was highly correlated with overall job satisfaction (r =.53). Of particular relevance is that although having a supervisor as a mentor may be an important contributor to job satisfaction, reaching the status of mentor in their minds may be difficult to achieve. Over 41% of Gen Y reported that they were smarter than their boss. Moreover, viewing themselves as smarter than their bosses had a significant and negative relationship with overall job satisfaction (r = -.32). Opinions Being Valued at Work and Learning New Things at Work Many of the survey respondents (54.3%) reported that their opinions were valued at work and almost three quarters of the respondents (72.9%) agreed or strongly agreed that they had learned many new things at work. Additionally, both concepts, opinions being valued and learning new things, were significantly correlated with overall job satisfaction, with correlations of.53 and.49 respectively.
Perceptions Concerning Working with Older Employees While it has been reported that there are significant generational differences operating in the workplace, many respondents did not perceive that there is a problem working with employees older than themselves. Over 83 % of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they did not have a problem working with employees older than themselves. Knowledge of Technology, Balancing Career and Personal Lives, the Need for Feedback With regard to technology, nearly 85% of the respondents felt that they knew how to effectively apply technology to their jobs, and more than 83% agreed or strongly agreed that balancing their career and personal lives was of great importance. The majority of the respondents (62.2%) felt that they would like more feedback concerning their work performance. Feeling Better Prepared for Work than Previous Groups, Climbing the Corporate Ladder, and Expectations Concerning Promotions With regard to this set of topics Gen Y is a fairly moderate and mixed group. Interestingly enough, Generation Y does not feel better prepared for the world of work than previous groups. Only 18.1% agreed or strongly agreed that they were better prepared a bit of a dent in their seemingly confident outlook. Only about a third (33.9%) expected to be promoted within the next year, while another third (34.5%) disagreed or strongly disagreed with that statement. One half reported that climbing the corporate ladder was a key goal but nearly a quarter (24.4%) disagreed or strongly disagreed with that statement. Another quarter of the respondents (25.6%) remained neutral.
Completing Tasks on Time and Making a Difference at Work The vast majority of respondents (87.9%) felt that completing tasks on time was critical to success. Many (59.8%) felt that if they couldn t make a real difference at work they would consider leaving. About a fifth (21.3%) remained neutral on this topic and 18.9% disagreed or strongly disagreed with that statement. Discussion While it might be easy to dismiss Generation Y as a difficult and unrealistic group at work, our research does not support this notion. Our research tells us that they hold varied opinions concerning key aspects of work life, and that as a whole they may be much more like other groups than previously reported. They are a group that could be described as conflicted. Although many feel they are smarter than their own bosses, mentoring still seems to be a major contributor to overall job satisfaction, and over 80% feel they are still learning many new things at work. It appears that their reported confidence may not diminish the need for mentoring or the possibility of growing their skill set. One half would like to climb the corporate ladder quickly but others told us it is not a key goal, revealing to us that they are individuals with varying needs and aspirations. Additionally, they do not appear to be a group who would ignore convention and organizational mores. For example, they appear fully aware that meeting a deadline is important to success over 87% felt that completing tasks on time was critical to success and most feel that balancing career and personal lives is of great importance. Of key concern is the possibility that Gen Y holds a completely myopic view of how they are perceived by others at work. The majority do not perceive a problem working with older employees, a real gap when compared to the reported reality. In a way, Generation Y may be caught with a bit of a public
relations problem with the chance of being labeled in ways that may be untrue and counterproductive to organizational well being. Overall, there may be more than a bit of inaccurate information surrounding this group at work. Pinpointing exactly where the information gaps exist may help us to design organization recruitment and entry programs that allow employers to capitalize on Generation Y s strengths and address their weaknesses and knowledge gaps at the same time. How Can Organizations Apply What We have Learned? Be realistic and accurate in your recruiting efforts. Prospective Gen Y employees need an honest look into your organization and the role they may be filling. Knowing what is really ahead is critical for this group. Emphasize realistic job previews within all of your recruiting efforts. Attempt to bridge the perceived generational gap that is growing in the workplace. Let your managers know that Gen Y wants some of the same things that they want, such as learning new things and having their opinions valued. Try not to perpetuate some of the misconceptions about this group. Use mentoring programs as a way to boost job satisfaction. This could also include reverse mentoring programs that allow Gen Y to share what they know. Listen to what Generation Y says they want, but explain to them what they really need to do to further their careers and achieve success. Be sure there are defined career paths for them to follow which let them know where they stand. Take their feedback needs seriously, but structure feedback options so they are not disruptive to other employees and the flow of work.
Help Generation Y learn to apply technology to their jobs effectively. Help them to adapt and transform their real life tech skills into work behaviors that help to achieve organizational goals. Final Thoughts This research is only one glimpse into Generation Y at work. Those who visited the website to complete the survey may not be wholly representative of Generation Y at large. However, it is an honest look, with real data, into the work lives of this group. Hopefully, this glimpse can inspire more research into what really goes on in the minds of our younger employees. It is our hope that many of the things that Gen Y seems to need at work, things like the opportunity to learn new things and feeling that their opinions are being valued, become a consistent reality because of Gen Y, even if (and because) it s the case that all employees desire those things. The unique parenting experiences of Generation Y have made them more confident in certain ways, yet more skeptical about organizations in general. Many have learned not to trust, or commit, to one organization, which has a negative impact upon organizations overall. Topics such as developing organizational loyalty and commitment, and the development of organizational leaders, are critical areas to be researched in relation to Generation Y going forward. For more information, contact: Marla Gottschalk marla@annaivey.com (517) 349-6762