Oh, Y Do They Have to be in My Workplace?
Career advice for anyone having difficulty working with Gen Y
There’s nothing wrong with being ambitious. In fact, it’s a good thing to start an entry level job with a great company and dream about one day being promoted to supervisor, manager, or higher. But there’s a lot wrong with believing that these promotions should start happening within the first six months of employment. As in the military, rank has to be earned; it isn’t bestowed upon anyone (generally speaking).
According to psychologists, Nicole A. Lipkin and April J. Perrymore, in their book, Y in the Workplace: Managing the “Me First” Generation, the Gen Y notion of instant promotion is just one of many complaints that their Gen X and Baby Boomer employers and coworkers have about their young team members.
Lipkin and Perrymore feel the key to working harmoniously with Gen Y employees is understanding them. That’s true for everyone, really, but it seems to be especially true for Gen Y because they were raised so differently from the way Gen X and Baby Boomers were brought up. For instance, most Gen Y employees grew up being told that they could do or be anything they wanted, they never lost because “everybody’s a winner,” and if anything ever went wrong, they were told that it wasn’t their fault. Period.
“Growing up winners without the option or experience of failure, results in a huge disadvantage in the workforce. We know that mistakes and failures happen in all areas of life. Although these mistakes and failures can be devastating at times, they also serve as important lessons, building blocks in the development of coping mechanisms, learning tools to enhance the self, and they provide opportunities to learn how to accept feedback and constructive criticism,” say Lipkin and Perrymore. The only thing worse is the helicopter parents who hover around their children ready and willing to fight every battle for them. Their “good intentions of protection result in the stunting of their children’s independent growth and ability to make mistakes and learn from them,” they caution.
Lipkin and Perrymore don’t solely focus on the negative aspects of Gen Y. They also point out the many good qualities, some of which are derived from the same sources as the negative ones. For instance, because they’ve been raised to believe that they can do or be anything, Gen Y employees aren’t afraid to take risks. They work well in teams because teamwork has been an integral part of their lives since elementary school. They have grown up with computers, so they are well versed in using the Internet and a variety of software applications, and many of them don’t mind sharing their knowledge with others.
To help frustrated co-workers and employers, Lipkin and Perrymore have packed their book with what they call “coaching solutions.” And for their readers’ enjoyment, they have interspersed each chapter with quotes from human resources representatives, executives and professionals who have supervised or worked with Gen Y employees, and some Gen Y’s, too. Although Lipkin and Perrymore wrote their book to help Gen X and Baby Boomers to better understand their Gen Y team members, the book could be beneficial for Gen Y, too. Since lack of self-awareness is another flaw among this group, it could help the Gen Y employee get a better understanding of himself and his coworkers’ frustration with him.
The challenges of working with Gen Y are many, but so are the rewards for supervisors and managers who are willing take the time to accentuate the positive and (carefully) eliminate the negative behaviors of their Gen Y employees. Entry level jobs are just as hard to fill as they are to find, so taking the time to figure out how to co-exist with a talented Gen Y new hire is well worth the effort.