What's Up with Millennials?

What a great question! And I can't help but think that while we are all busy discussing how Gen Y should or should not behave, they are asking themselves "What's up with everyone else?". Reality is that with the arrival of Gen Y, things are changing. We better start talking about how to integrate this new generation into our work environments. What we are seeing is a generational shift that will question the values we have been used to for some time now. And despite all that talk around their sense of entitlement, Gen Y does in fact bring a few items on the agenda that Gen X in their own pursuits tended to ignore. Gen Y has been growing up thinking about the bigger picture. Sustainability, social and ecological responsibility are high on the list Gen Y will continue to challenge us with. By accepting our differences, there is a tremendous opportunity to re-evaluate how companies are conducting their business and how they are dealing with their employees. And those of us who still have a hard time accepting Gen Y are reminded that the overall shift in the work force will leave us with no alternatives. With the baby boomer generation starting to retire we are approaching a substantial labour shortage, especially in BC. In the end it's all about supply and demand. Either way, we better start listening to Gen Y...

This is an interesting article with some valid point and I've read so many that make our generation seem like lazy, demanding workers but I don't believe it's true for the majority in the least. We Generation Y types have grown up in a very materialistic world and many of us crave to sustain a lifestyle that some of us don't fully understand how to provide for. We are demanding only because we have grown up with technology that become first nature to us and just so happen to be implemented heavily in the workforce and therefore make us feel a sense of entitlement to ask for better benefits and pay (ie: I can work a computer better than you can, so hire me). However, it doesn't take long for the majority of us to wake up and realize getting to the top still takes hard work, time, and settling for very little pay. Almost all the 20 something year olds I know right now are struggling to find their place and willing to start at the bottom of the totem pole. Many of us have realized the state of the economy and started up our own very successful businesses, and many of us have taken unpaid internships just to get some experience. We'll work hard, but only if we knew there is a clear benefit at the end. We are a goal oriented generation and we have a wealth of knowledge available to us through that makes us feel entitled to ask for more. A pat on the back isn't enough anymore but there are other ways to keep us motivated. Point is, we'll bust our butts for you to work as long as we know there is something in it for us within the foreseeable future. That's probably the biggest difference between Generation X and Y. Patience, our lack of it and their expectation that we should be willing to wait for it.