I've been working a lot this summer with the Generation Y, soon-to-be employees of the future. As I get to know these 18-21 year old interns, there are certain values their generation embraces that I both respect and encourage. It's my pleasure to get a glimpse into our future co-workers. (And, I can't believe that I am no longer the newest generation!)
I think it's important to take the time to really get to know these future business leaders...their dreams, their goals, their fears. I am honest with them about their strengths and am encouraging about what they need to learn. Although I usually am optimistic by nature, I always tell the truth about corporate life, as I have experienced it so far. In return, they tend to open up to me about what they want and expect out of life. Surprisingly for their age, they have given it a lot of thought.
One common value I hear them say over and over has to do with work / life balance. One student told me that her parents worked 60 hours a week her entire life. She said that her family is very close and that despite their busy schedule, they always made time for her. However, they never had time with each other or for any other interests.
Although she has career goals that include challenging jobs and taking on more and more responsibility, she never wants to work more than 40 hours a week. She was clear about how hard she would work during those hours, but refused to work for a company that expected anything more. To her this is a fair deal for both sides and it is not negotiable. I love it! I encouraged her to hold strong to her values and told her that, although flexibility is key to managing a career, to never compromise her principles. I am fiercely proud of her and her generation. I am excited to see how they will "shake things up" in the work force.
I welcome them with arms wide open.
1 comment:
I love learning more about Gen Y from your experiences with the internship program. There was an interesting program on NPR talking about Gen Y in the workplace and how they were raised to believe they could do and be anything they wanted. Some of the key points were that these employees really expected their work to have a deep sense of personal meaning and they they expected a much higher level of recognition. The popular parenting style was dominated by building self esteem and so many in this age-group rely on external recognition to a large extent and want frequent feedback. Often times someone saying a "job is well done" and feeling appreciated can go further than a bonus. Anyways, when I listened to the program and read your blog, I really feel a kinship with this group and I'm so excited about how they will transform the workplace. For sure, I'd rather have a job on my own terms with frequent praise and work judged by quality rather than quantity. I admire how Gen Y seems able to pursue their passion and trust that the paycheck will follow.
Here's the link to the article that inspired the show on NPR:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/05/28/100033934/
Enjoy your busy time with the interns!! I love how you embrace different people as an opportunity to learn new things.
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