Sandy Fok, General Manager of Staff Development at John Swire & Sons Ltd, gives her viewpoint on the role of Gen-Y in the workplace and tips for older generations on how to handle this asset effectively in terms of nurturing them in L&D programmes and on a day-to-day basis.
Breakdown of the four generations working currently:
Traditionalists: born before 1946
Boomers: born between 1946 and 1964
Gen-X: born between 1965 and 1976
Gen-Y: born between 1977 and 2000
Fok notes that given the slowing birth rate, retaining and attracting talent is becoming increasingly difficult—and this alone is reason enough for HR to pay particular attention to the needs of staff in Gen-Y in terms of L&D. She notes that management styles which may have worked in the past may not always work anymore. She also notes that most traditionalists have retired already and that boomers will begin to retire soon, meaning it is these very members of Gen-Y who will, all to soon, become their successors.
When HR considers training programmes for Gen-Y, Fok reminded HR that because this group tends to come from nurturing family backgrounds, they have high expectations from parents and seek reassurance. This continues over into the workplace where there can be friction between Gen-X and Gen-Y because of Gen-X managers’ more dismissive, more resilient attitude. Fok cited the example of a Gen-Y intern submitting a report, and being upset when a Gen-X boss accepted it without immediate feedback, with Fok saying that the newer generation often needs a pat on the back. “I’m not saying that companies need to restructure…but need a little bit more structure to give them a sense of security and balance,” she said highlighting that companies need to work on being more nurturing.
Gen-Y are often thought to be more free and easy, even more so than the preceding Gen-X, but Fok said that they tend to get married younger than Gen-X, often around the age of 25. As an aside, Fok warned that this could give employees issues with reduced mobility at an earlier age.
Fok highlighted the tendency for Gen-Y to be
socially conscious. Not just in terms of the environment, but in terms of equality within the company, the ‘I have rights’ attitude. This means that companies need to be more transparent about, for example how bonuses are calculated. Alongside this, they need to strengthen sustainable business practices, because their future employees will see this as important.
Gen-Y often have higher expectations bestowed on them by their parent’s—the ‘go on you can do it attitude’. Gen-Y are keen to learn and eager to grow, with a strong ability to multi-task. She said that harnessing the generation’s “I can do anything spirit” is valuable for companies and should be channelled for the good of the business.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
