Gen Y@Work 2 - Generation Y and Intergenerational Conflict

The current generations at work

This is the first time in history that we have four distinct generations in the workplace.

• Traditionalists Pre 1946 (youngest is 64)
• Baby Boomers 1946 - 1964 (youngest is 43)
• Generation X 1964 - 1979 (youngest is 28)
• Generation Y 1980 - 1994 (youngest is 13)

The workplace clash - the intergenerational conflict

Thoughts about Generation Y at work...

"...Companies are now waking up the havoc that the newest generation is causing"

"...These people are so smart it is sometime unbelievable...and here is the cool part, they don't know what they can't do..yes, they are pampered by their parents...but they are smart, fast learners who love to please"

"...70% of older workers are dismissive of Generation Y"

Reference article 34 provides a comparison of how the different generations work & reference article 35details the conflicts due to the different generations in the workplace.

What the demographics are telling us

• Currently Generation Y make up 20% of the workforce
• In 3 years time (2010) Generation Y will make up 40% of the workforce
• Baby Boomers are starting to take early retirement and in 5 years time a large proportion of Baby Boomers will be eligible for full retirement
• This will result in a tightening of the labour market with a severe skills shortage
• The UK will not be able to solve this problem with migrant labour and off shoring because this demographic problem is a global phenomenon
• The government are predicting that work capacity that is not currently being utilised (stay at home mothers, disabled, sick people, carers, retired workers, students etc) will need to enter the job market to keep the UK economy on track
• The job market should be be looking healthy for Generation Yers who are graduating in the the period that employers should be preparing for the future shortage of workers

The transition period and the difficulties being experienced by Generation Y

The demographics should be good news for the UK's graduate population. However, this is not the experience that most graduates are experiencing:

• Many employers do not seem to be aware of the demographics time bomb...their Baby Boomers still have not left and they are experiencing a large influx of new graduates on the job market that they do not have the facility to cope with. Employers are reacting by raising their employability standards to make recruitment manageable, forcing many graduates to resort to taking sub-graduate jobs in order to be employed
• Employers are expecting that they will be able to hold onto their Baby Boomers heading into retirement on a part time because they still need to earn money to support the lifestyles that they desire
• Current graduates are now being advised to not make the "demographic" mistake and prepare even more rigorously for employment in the job market by:
  • not letting their helicopter parents have contact with employers
  • making sure that their "My Space" is suitable for employer viewing
  • networking to raise their profiles
  • being courteous
• In the USA, the story seems to be different for graduates because the market is tightening up at faster pace because of higher rates of early retirement. Organisations are typically increasing their graduate intake rates by 20%
  • Here the demand for young graduates is already outstripping supply
  • Employers are having to pander to the employment needs of Generation Y in order to be competitive in the recruitment market

Reference articles

Click on this link to access the links to the following article: (1), (4), (17), (18), (23), (25), (27), (28), (34), (35)

Generation Y articles in this research series (in date order)

• First Steps conference - research background
• Generation Y research strand
• Generalisations & Generation Y
• Generation Y articles used for research
• Gen Y1 - role of Generation Y parents
• Gen Y2 - role of technology
• Gen Y3 - other factors influencing Generation Y & the Generation Y divide
• Gen Y4 -Generation Y characteristics and values in life
• Gen Y5 - the marketing view of Generation Y
• Gen Y at work 1 - characteristics and values at work
• Gen Y at work 2 - Generation Y and intergenerational conflict
• Gen Y at work 3 - Generation Y - vision, good work, work ethics, work-life balance
• Gen Y at work 4 - how employing Generation Y will benefit business
• Gen Y at work 5 - how to manage Generation Y
• Gen Y at work 6 - Generation Y and career
• Gen Y at work 7 - recruiting Generation Y

Posted by: Hina Patel