Gen Y: Self-entitled Narcissists Or Open-minded Do-gooders?
They dare to drop out of Colleges; Jump at least 4 Companies by the time they are 32 and move around the world resonating the need for change. They take pride in being self-expressive, confident and tech savvy multi-taskers. But the Time Magazine calls them Narcissistic, lazy and coddled and even a bit delusional. — Love them or hate them this generation is here to stay and will continue to make ground roads within business. Welcome to the world of millennials!
The term Millennials generally refers to the generation of people born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s. Perhaps the most commonly used birth range for this group is 1982–2000. The Millennial Generation is also known as Generation Y, because it comes after Generation X — those people between the early 1960s and the 1980s. As expected by their birth years, Gen Y makes up the fastest growing segment of workforce in the 2010s with numbers estimated as high as 80 million or more. The 2015 data from US Census Bureau confirms that millennials now number 75.4 million and are expected to grow further as young immigrants expand its ranks. Millennial population is projected to peak in 2036 at 81.1 million (USA). The stats alone reiterate the need to understand young workforce of Gen Y who worship change as their only constant.
Millennials have been characterized in a number of different ways. On the negative side, they’ve been described as lazy, narcissistic and prone to jump from job to job. Positives adjectives to describe them include confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and receptive to new ideas and ways of living.
Busting Myths: Millennials deep down are…
· Multi-taskers and tech savvy
They are really good at this and can juggle many responsibilities at once. Technology has allowed this generation to multitask and find shortcuts in achieving tasks. Texting, instant messaging, social networking, and Web surfing have all made Generation Y workers more competent, efficient, and productive (if not sometimes overwhelmed). They are attracted to organizations where technology is the forefront of the company’s ethos. Traditional companies are less of an attraction for the millennial generation. The key for employers is to accept that there may be multiple ways for workers to accomplish their tasks.
· Collaborative, Team players and transparent
Working as a team is high on the agenda and regular team meetings and collaboration with colleagues is preferred. Generation Y wants to be involved and included. They are team-oriented and enjoy collaborating and building friendships with colleagues. They will take a hit for the team; assume responsibility for situations at an emergency. They expect openness and transparency from management and colleagues and seek for this team playing mentality within an organization.
· Job-hopping, ambitious & little respect for authority
A potential downside of Generation Y workers is that they’re always looking for something new and better. They are ambitious. They are happy to change job roles more often to find the right organization to work within.
The resumes you as an employer receive for open positions will no doubt demonstrate this. Stats show that by the time they are 32, they would have changed at least 4 job roles. They do carry a variety of experiences with them, which could be an asset.
While some people refer to this cohort of people as Generation Why for a reason, it is not so much an issue of a lack of respect for authority as much as it is that this group has been raised by their parents to question everything and raise questions when they don’t understand something. This generation is very independent and not afraid to challenge the status-quo. They don’t believe in hierarchy as such as they worship the internet for most doubts and approach their superiors as equals.
· Work-life balance & Flexibility, Values and Goals.
Millennials aren’t as willing as former generations to sacrifice their personal life in order to advance their careers. They like to “work hard — play hard” and want to be at a company that appreciates this desire for balance. They also expect a more flexible work environment than previous generations and want to work for a company that supports various causes.
They would even work for a company for free or volunteer for a cause provided it fills their logic. They would value learning, exposure and experience over job positions and perks. They are not afraid to take chances in life and are more family centric than the previous generations. If they don’t love what they are doing, they would walk off.
Conclusion
Every generation presents its own challenges and, clearly, Millennials are no different. There is a spirited, if not tiresome, debate about whether Millennials are self-entitled narcissists or open-minded do-gooders; surely the truth lies somewhere in-between. Scholars have pointed out that the attempt to make generalizations about an entire generation is a futile effort.
In the end, of course, every person — every worker — is judged on his or her merits, not on generalities or misconceptions. It shall help in formulating a better HR strategy to handle Gen Y lads at the company, as our employees are our largest assets. As George S Patton said, ‘A good plan violently executed now is much better than a perfect plan executed next week’. With Gen Y resumes crowding the recruitment drives, you got to make a deliberate attempt to know them, assess them and above all accept them for what they are!
