Millennials – our managers of today and tomorrow

Gen Y is the generation born between 1980 and 1995. The older ones of this generation have already settled into family life, while the younger ones are just entering the workforce right now. However, it is challenging to come up with a precise definition, and science is divided as to which years are now right.

Gen Z folks were born between 1995 and 2009, whereas Gen Y folks are also known as Millennials.

Other names for them include Generation 'Why' or Digital Natives.

Nomen est omen. This generation was raised in a "cozy nest," and as a result, they have a lot of questions. They are well-educated and have access to many opportunities. THE element of this generation is going deeper and demanding a clear grasp of why we do things in a company. Time Magazine wrote in 2013, that this generation is all about ‘me, me, me’ and describes them as the ‘most excited generation since the baby boomers started their social revolution’.

We may also say that this generation places a strong emphasis on developing individually and establishing the lifestyle they genuinely desire, is self-assured, and is all about optimizing their own profession and life. Of course, not everyone fits this picture. Professor Friedericke Hardering from the FH Münster (University of Applied Sciences) did research on different types within Gen Y, so it is always hard to generalize problems, challenges, and values.

It's critical to comprehend the historical context in which Gen Y was born in order to understand them. The Dotcom-Bubble in 2000 was felt by the older members of the generation. They do recall what they were doing when 9/11 happened. After 9/11, one crisis followed another: the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the banking and real estate crises, the pandemic, and the rapid climate change.

For many years, this generation has been trained to continually adjust to the unpredictable.

The millennial generation is difficult to manage; they are alleged to be entitled, narcotic, self-centered, unfocused, and lazy...and when organizations create the eco-system for them to be seen, heard and challenged, this generation lifts the problems of the future. - Simon Sinek

Simon Sinek brings so much clarity into the crisis of this generation. Watch this video and his interview: Simon Sinek on Millennials in the Workplace

Compared to previous generations, Generation Y has substantially lower self-esteem as they get older and is already immersed in a filtered environment. Instagram demonstrates to us how wonderful life is and how well we are all doing. And yet, for so many of us, this is not the case.

This generation is THE most adaptable one. They are viewed by the outside world as autonomous, receptive, inventive, and engaged. And they genuinely respect diversity in the workplace and inclusiveness.

‘I need more purpose at work’, ‘Why do we do things, how do we solve problems from tomorrow in a much more creative way?’ - this generation challenges the status quo.

As the younger generation – Generation Z, they live in a social media world and are highly digital affine. BUT this generation did not grow up with smartphones, YouTube and Facebook. The first iPhone was born in 2007, and one year later the first Android phone. The youngest Gen Y people were just 12 years old and were growing up with old-school Nokia phones – if any.

As a result, we refer to them as digital natives. progressively experiencing the rise of the internet, globalization, and high technology. All of this takes place in a comfortable, established setting. Given that they have a strong educational background, we refer to them as high potentials or young leaders in the corporate sector. Always and forever, information is just a click away.

The abundance of opportunities available to this generation causes them to feel extremely overwhelmed. All opportunities are available to them because the world is their oyster; they can pursue a worldwide profession, study abroad, choose a company based on its perk package, engage in work that has meaning, take sabbaticals, etc. However, this state of possibility does not endure for very long. This generation is one that is constantly looking for pleasure, greater freedom, and better possibilities, both at work and in their personal lives.

Gen Y communicates a lot through Memes. It is a satirical picture or video commenting a status quo. Source and link to a fun Instagram account, which is all about memes.

This generation does not view job switching as taboo. This generation knows how to make strong professional movements because they invested in numerous internships before and after schooling to climb the career leaderboard.

The youth of the 1980s and early 1990s are renowned for their adaptability, desire to succeed, and deep engagement in the group. The foundation for either present-day or future leadership positions is this generation. There are around 1.5 million Gen Y workers in Austria, and the market needs them more than ever.

All members of Gen X, or those born between 1965 and 1980, are known as THE loyal workforce. They currently occupy high leadership positions, and a lot of authority, and get juggled by the young generation's flexibility and quickness. The so-called baby boomers, or the previous generation, who lived from 1945 to 1965, are already retiring from employment, and we are already feeling the effects of their departure.

We frequently read that Gen Y is continuously looking for meaning in their employment. having the best work-life balance and being willing to merge work and life: making an impact. It is crucial that their job makes sense and has a good effect on at least one person in the world. The combination of money, freedom, sabbaticals and flexible hours is essential to them and is non-negotiable. They have combined home and professional life and are willing to put in a significant amount of time. You cannot motivate them solely with money.

Scientist Friedericke Hardering studied this generation, and explored the following themes as essential for them:

• Having stability at work and a secure job – although this is only important when purpose and impact is given
• Work and life need to be integrated – it blends, but there is a huge focus on having a life outside of work
• Working very autonomously

The wish list is complex, and there is no one size fits it all solution!

The youth scientist Simon Schnetzer gives this advice:

My most important advice to be successfully collaborating with our Gen Y: Engagement. You need to engage and empower them! Create conditions together and involve them at all stages.

Companies need to truly understand this generation. Gen X needs to understand Gen Y – and vice versa.

• Create a space where asking for clarification is encouraged and clarity is valued: In such case, what do you mean? Let's reflect on our motivations for making those choices and determine how we can best support one another.
• You must make it crystal clear to everyone in the organization how their contributions support the organization's objectives. Again, the key is clarity and empowerment.
• Everyone, including Gen Y, needs to be heard, seen, and given immediate feedback in order to advance. An annual performance review and top-down communication are both immediate causes for resignation.
• Goals must be engaging, and everyone must understand the major why. Gen Y can explain it to their grandmother and the younger Gen Z friends or team members they manage since it is so simple.
• Because many of them already oversee Gen Z teams, this generation needs purpose, clarity, and direction. And Generation Z asks such questions quickly and puts a lot of pressure on people to fully comprehend the significance and effects of their work on the community.

Listening to Simon Sinek, the major issues affecting Generation Y include:

• Constant access to information and buying yourself happiness...Amazon, one click away
• Stress is omnipresent and thus we are not really trained to thrive in high-pressure environment since childhood...the pandemic shaped many of us, but also revealed the level of anxiety and worries that are going on in our very stable lives.
• There is so much social media offer, you do not even have to learn the social coping mechanisms.
• You can have everything NOW and in an instant moment, except for job satisfaction and deep relationships. Those processes take time, they are uncomfortable and messy.
• This generation needs to learn patience and that things that matter will take time to evolve, like love, job fulfillment, joy, self-confidence, a skill set...
• They need to learn to ask for help...it is a world of silos, and everyone has it all together. Breaking this myth is the task of all generations together.

Simon Sinek clearly sees a deep gap in the corporate world to teach the younger generations those skills...

• The ability to ask for help
• Finding balance in life, and true joy...and escape the pattern of ‘It is fine...lives’
• Foster a true culture of belonging, collaboration, and cooperation
• Doing radical things such as abandoning cell phones from your conference rooms so there is focus and time to form relationships again...and this takes time...

Innovation happens in spaces without constant interaction, but truly listening to each other, enjoying the moment, and then co-creating and finding a better solution together.

Gen Y is highly educated, and the workplace needs and fights for them.

As organizations, we must properly design an ecosystem that accommodates the many generations. Gen Y needs, in particular:

• Real benefits: The days of highlighting fruit baskets, table soccer, and laptops as fun benefits are gone. We discuss flexible scheduling, year-round flexibility, flexibility that accommodates new life chapters like becoming parents, and a health package they can't get anyplace else.
• Purpose: Create a clear picture of how the role affects the performance of the firm. Exists a social influence, or are KPIs, money, and profit the only things that matter?
• Identification: It's similar to dating when Gen Y and a company match. Values and expectations must be exactly in line. The employer brand must be felt by Gen Y, who will also quickly realize whether the brand only looks good on the outside. The secret to retaining employees is building an employer brand both internally and externally—at least for the next three years, when a new opportunity must present itself. :-)
• Working atmosphere and culture: This is one of THE most crucial elements. A top-down, highly hierarchical communication style, bullying, or toxic behavior are now completely unacceptable in the workplace.
• Flexiblity: Telling them that a home office is only doable for one day a week would cause you to lose them quickly. Key for a happy Gen Y team is to assist them create a work and lifestyle they love, that feels real and fits their life circumstances, company hours established on trust, part-time possibilities, and extended models as workation.
• Agility: There are no longer 5-7 years accepted to learn a role... Gen Y is eager to advance their careers, is always learning, and is prepared to put resources into their work. To build strong relationships with one another and avoid the possibility that this generation will "quietly quit," open communication, a personal growth plan, and leadership-enhancing activities are needed.
• Exploration: Engaging this generation can be done through job rotations, assignments, and the creation of communities within the organization.
• Diversity and inclusion must be more than just a trendy phrase. This generation will struggle with the status quo of a management style dominated by "all-white-old-men" and will fight for the ascent of diverse leaders at all levels of the corporate ladder. Characters serve as their source of inspiration; titles, high wages, and status are less impressive to them.

At Talentor, we continue to explore this generation and will soon publish additional insights on how Gen Y is changing the workplaces around the world. One of the most creative new generations we have ever seen is the youth that is growing up in markets that are extremely difficult...

What do you think of the statements about your generation?
I certainly see myself reflected in the descriptions 100%, both on a personal and work level.
If I have to highlight an improvement and a virtue I would say that patience is something that most millennials lack, but without a doubt being a generation that values the sense of purpose in life and work is worthy of admiration because of the passion that we put into what we do and the importance of the culture and the environment in which we develop always reflects our searching for improvement and positivity.

What of those descriptions about GenY have you experienced as really true and why?
As a millennial, one of the descriptions that I most identify with, that I have lived and continue to live by is "the ability to adapt to unpredictability/change". I love to experience new things and I'm not afraid of it! The greatest example is living outside my native country (Guatemala) twice, the second time where I am currently (Spain). This is something that not any person or generation is capable of doing (although of course there are always exceptions!).

What do you think are the greatest assets of Gen Y?
Based on my day-to-day work, the asset that stands out in this generation is that we are digital natives. Although we were not born with technology, we witnessed its boom, so we are a generation that has "the best of both worlds", the analog and the digital.
For example, we feel comfortable taking notes on a notebook as we do on our laptop.
As a personal anecdote, I also highlight the use of memes or gifs to represent what I want to communicate. I think that on a personal and professional level you know that I am a fan of these! ;)

What do you think is important when working with Gen Y?

Simon Schnetzer gave some great points concerning involvement and empowerment, in my opinion. By doing this, it can foster an environment where people and businesses can grow, uncover new and perhaps even better solutions, and drive greater accomplishments. Nevertheless, I do think that it is important and crucial for different generations in the organization to feel empowered and involved.