Thursday, October 25, 2007

Gen Y: Are They Creating a Revolutionary or Ridiculous Work Environment?

Although I am not a Human Resources professional by trade, I do have a Master's Degree in Systems Management (with a focus on Organizational Behavior) so I am always interested in discovering and understanding the "bleeding edge" of trends and developments in workplace cultures and management. To stay current, I read many HR publications, both print and online.

One of my favorite such publications is Business and Legal Reports' HR Daily Advisor (http://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com). Yesterday's edition was particularly interesting, with its discussion of the new trend in management: ROWE (Results Oriented Work Environment).

As reported by HR Daily Advisor and according to the website workforce.com, Best Buy's ROWE program allows employees to set their own hours and decide whether to work at home, at the office, or at Dunkin' Donuts (or their coffee shop of choice).

Meetings aren't optional, but they are virtual: Participants can attend in person, from home or from their coffee shop of choice. Exempt employees have few restrictions on how much they work—-as long as they get the job done. (Nonexempt employees do have to track hours for Fair Labor Standards Act pay purposes.)

So far, the program applies mostly to staff workers, who (in a blinding flash of the obvious) seem to like it. They say they don't have to spend any energy appearing to work--a la George Costanza appearing uber-busy in his Yankee Stadium office. No more surrounding themselves with random piles of paper or making sure the computer screen always shows complex charts whenever the supervisor walks by.

Astonishingly, managers also like ROWE. They say their job is now actually management—-that is, measuring results and assisting, training, and mentoring as needed. No more policing whether people are on time, how long they take for lunch, or when they leave. Management says the system works: Turnover is down and productivity is up.

According to abcnews.go.com, ROWE participants especially appreciate that they have time for family obligations without looking like they are shirking work. Thanks to ROWE's flexibility, a manager who was going to quit over conflicts with family obligations, has been able to remain at Best Buy.

Attention "old-school" managers... Here is the 4-1-1: As increasing numbers of Gen-Y'ers enter the workforce, leaders had better change their management styles to adapt to the priorities of new workers, new technologies, and more fluid organizational structures.

Born between 1977 and 1997, Gen Y is the first to have grown up with the internet, be technologically savvy, and have career ambitions that go well beyond earning a high salary. (Business Week, 2005)

As these "youngsters" penetrate the workforce, well established corporate cultures are being forced to change: Not only the way employees are recruited, but also the way new recruits are treated. Gen-Y'ers expect to be treated with respect, be constantly challenged with new and innovative tasks, and have the freedom to set their own schedules.

As Duane Paris, president of Eastern Consolidated points out, “They want to be able to create their own situations and do it their way.“ Gen Y'ers don't feel obliged to stay working for a company that makes them uncomfortable or that doesn't suit their own particular needs.

Though deemed self-centered and self-interested by former generations, Gen Y has a strong desire to help and protect the larger community; ranging from environmental concerns to human rights activism. (Business Week, 2005) They consciously seek jobs that allow them to work toward these larger causes while simultaneously satisfying their own personal growth needs.

What exactly does this mean in terms of corporate culture? In Management (2005), Stephen P. Robbins and Mary Coulter cite nine criteria that comprise a successful work environment for Gen Y:

Assertive - High: The ability to be confrontational and tough, particularly with higher-ups, is an essential component for Gen Y. They want their opinions to be heard and respected, as well as for their ideas to be taken seriously.

Future Orientation - High: Gen Y'ers are highly motivated by organizing, planning, and creating “the next new thing”.

Gender Differentiation - Low: Growing up on the heels of the 1970s feminist movement, Gen Y believes that gender should NOT be a factor in the workforce. Both genders should be equally heard and represented.

Uncertainty Avoidance - Low: Gen Y'ers enjoy breaking and opposing social norms and conventions. They hold innovation and change above tradition.

Power Distance - Low: Although there may be “leaders,” everyone’s ideas should be taken seriously, and a friendly (rather than respectfully reserved) work environment should be fostered.

Individualism/Collectivism - Both Low and High: Although highly individualized in the sense that they value personal success over company loyalty, Gen Y'ers are largely collective in their desire to work toward larger societal causes such as environmentalism.

In-Group Collectivism - High: Gen Y'ers value being part of a “team.” This can be leveraged through group projects and a strong company culture. They want to be proud of where they work and what they stand for.

Performance Orientation - Medium: Although it is important to be successful in the end, Gen Y'ers also believe that how they get achieve success is also important. Tryingis considered just as valuable as succeeding.

Humane Orientation - High: More than previous generation, Gen Y'ers are concerned with being fair, tolerant, and embracing diversity. They believe equality is crucial to success.

If your organization is trying to attract and/or retain Gen Y'ers--and as more Baby Boomers leave the workforce, most organizations are competing vigorously to replace these workers--your leaders should carefully consider each of these attributes.

Because Gen Y'ers have grown up in a culture where job and family stability is a thing of the past, they don't think twice about leaving jobs they dislike. Catering to their expectations--rather than trying to impose existing company values upon them--is vital for companies seeking to reduce turnover and increase new employee retention.

Writing in FastCompany.com, Danielle Sacks offers this commentary about Gen Y:

"Gen Y'ers are disruptive not only because of their numbers (76 million children of baby boomers, born between 1978 and 2000) but because of their attitudes. Speak to enough intergenerational experts who study such things (and we spoke to more than a dozen of them), and you begin to get the picture: Millennials aren't interested in the financial success that drove the boomers or the independence that has marked the gen-Xers, but in careers that are personalized.

"They want educational opportunities in China and a chance to work in their companies' R&D departments for six months. "They have no expectation that the first place they work will at all be related to their career, so they're willing to move around until they find a place that suits them," says Dan Rasmus, who runs a workplace think tank for Microsoft.

"Thanks to their overinvolved boomer parents, Gen Y'ers have been coddled and pumped up to believe they can achieve anything. Immersion in PCs, video games, email, the Internet, and cell phones for most of their lives has changed their thought patterns and may also have actually changed how their brains developed physiologically.

"These folks want feedback daily, not annually. And in case it's not obvious, millennials are fearless and blunt. If they think they know a better way, they'll tell you, regardless of your title."

You "old school" managers--you're out there, you know who you are, how you treat your employees, and what they say about the work environment you've created--you're going to have to change your ways.

And if you don't want to, you're betting on the future of your company: Because this is our future workforce. Over the next 25 years, 80 million boomers will retire. And with only 46 million gen-Xers to fill half of those spots, Gen Y'ers are set to dominate the workforce for the next 70 years.

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