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Safety Economics

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Topic: Dealing with Gen Y

February 3, 2009

Glenn Demby, Esq.

Kids. What’s the matter with kids today? The chic and modern way to ask this age-old question is to talk about the challenges of dealing with Generation Y, roughly those born between 1978 and 2000. To the extent any generation can have characteristics, Gen Y’ers are tech savvy, smart, global in their thinking, open minded and very ambitious. The bad news for employers is that they’re demanding and harbor incredibly high expectations about their work environment.

Are Gen Y’ers worth all the effort it takes to make them happy and productive? Or should employers save their resources for other parts of the workforce? The mega accounting/consulting firm, Deloitte, has just published a cool paper summarizing the pros and cons. Here’s an overview:

GEN Y Pros	GEN Y Cons
Gen Y is too big to ignore.	Right now, older generations make up the bulk of the workforce.
Gen Y has qualities—confidence, tech savvy, global mindedness—business needs.	Business really needs experienced, steady workers with traditional work values.
Gen Y has the tech savvy critical to business success.	Baby Boomers and Gen X’ers are tech savvy too.
Like every generation, Gen Y’ers will grow up and realize they don’t have all the answers.	We’ll hire them when they do. In the meantime, we’ll stick with older, more reliable workers.
Their high expectations and self-confidence will lead Gen Y’ers to do great things.	Gen Y’ers expect too much, too soon and should pay their dues like everybody else.
Gen Y’ers think outside the box and don’t settle for the status quo.	Gen Y’ers don’t understand business and the real world.
Gen Y’ers are less interested in job security or pensions than in rewarding work experiences.	Gen Y’ers aren’t likely to stick around in one job for more than a couple of years.
A company’s ability to tap into Gen Y will be crucial to long term success.	Investing in Gen Y is a luxury that companies can’t afford in this economy.