Greetings from an over-entitled, conceited, Generation Y know-it-all! Nice to meet you , I’m the twenty-four year old guy on your team that Bossman just brought on board and you’re not quite sure how to work with¦

I get it , I understand that Generation Y gets a bad rep. We’re not willing to settle , we are habitual askers of “why” and we always want our work to have meaning , and yes, sometimes we think we’re smarter than you and don’t give you enough credit where credit is due. But hey, maybe we deserve a little respect as well.

Inter-office politics are never fun , I’ve seen my fair share of drama and gossip in the workplace, even in my short term in the “career world”. It can get ugly, even uglier when you don’t take time to understand what your team wants and needs, and how to best get everyone working on the same bandwagon together.

For what it’s worth , I’m here to help , I’m here to tell you that all youngin’s like me aren’t that bad , that we can bring a lot to the table , but we want you to bring just as much. Here are three MAJOR points to focus on when working with the Generation Y community.

Stop stifling our creativity

Four words: Micromanagement sucks, encourage innovation. People my age want meaningful work , we want something we can invest our all into. The minute you start breathing down our neck , the minute your stop trusting us to do good work , is the minute that trust is breached and the creative juices come to a screeching halt. This isn’t so much a Generation Y thing as it is an “everyone” thing. When you hire someone , you hire someone assuming you can trust them to do their job, right? So what’s the point in hand-holding and micromanaging every step of the way? Loosen the reigns a bit and, until you have to, give your team some freedom to think creatively, set goals, and meet them on their own.

We want to learn from you

We’re young, we’re brash, and we think we know everything. Well heads up , we don’t. Not at all. And to top it all off , we actually want to learn from you. Generation Y (speaking collectively here) is hungry for knowledge , we read , we blog , we network with others, and for what? To learn – challenging ourselves to try new things and think in new ways. So when you bring us on board, you’ve got to be willing to help us learn. Not only will it help someone like me mature and grow into the role , it will help you by developing your team , setting them up for long term success. Don’t shrug us off as know-it-alls, be open to helping your younger team members learn and grow.

We’re the same as you

Really , I get tired of hearing that Generation Y is so different , that we are the ones who want meaningful work, wanting to be trusted and craving freedom. Come on…that isn’t Generation Y, that’s everyone. This post isn’t even about Gen Y (are you starting to get it now?) , it’s about effectively running any business with any demographic. The number one way to build a successful business is to establish outstanding relationships , both internally and with your clients/customers. And every relationship starts with trust. You trust me , I trust you , and we all live happily ever after.

What thoughts do you have about Generation Y in the workplace? Do you have any examples from experience?

On Tuesday January 5, 2010, The Conference Board released the results of a survey that indicated the lowest level of job satisfaction among American Workers in the last 22 years. Survey results showed that only 45% of Americans are satisfied with their work. What is even more significant is that 64% of workers under age 25 are unhappy in their jobs. In some workplaces, it is challenging to work and play well with others on a good day; it is particularly difficult to do so when you hate your job.

The last time job satisfaction was this low was back in the late 1980’s when most American workers were experiencing the results of the Reagan Administration’s “trickle-down economics”. And on October 19, 1987 (Black Monday), the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 508 points or 22.61% in ONE day. It was also a period that saw the beginnings of process re-engineering in which American Corporations began to systematically eliminate something called “non-value-added jobs”. The pessimism that stemmed from both events certainly took its toll on job satisfaction.

One of the conclusions of the current study is that this level of job dissatisfaction it could stifle innovation and hurt American industry’s competitiveness and productivity. And it may lead to older workers being less likely to share their knowledge and experience with younger ones. I find this last statement to be the most disturbing.

Jason Dorsey, the self-proclaimed “Gen Y Guy” talks about the fact that Gen Y does not want the Baby Boomers to retire because they know things Gen Y does not – like long division and state capitals! Now Jason’s talks are very entertaining and everyone usually has a good laugh. However, the reality is that Boomers do know things that Gen Y does not that directly impact the sustainability of American business organizations. If that knowledge transfer between the older and younger workers does not occur, it will be difficult for companies to continue to move forward. Yes, Gen Y workers seek the opportunity to “show what they can do”, however, if they lack an understanding of the context of how a company works and the rationale for why things have occurred in the past, they may truly be “rebels without a cause”.

On December 29, 2009, Alexandra Levit posted a video on Brazen Careerist in which Jason Dorsey shares his thoughts on how managers can engage new Gen Y employees on their first day at work. Known as the “Gen Y Guy”, Jason is a frequent speaker and corporate consultant who helps organizations engage and retain members of the Millennial generation.

Usually, the featured posts get a number of comments. To date, this particular post received only one – mine – in which I wrote that I thought Jason’s three ideas were great and that I could make the case that these tips apply to any new employee regardless of the generation – they are simply good on-boarding practices.

I am interested in others’ reaction to this short clip. I particularly would like to know from members of Gen Y if Jason speaks for you – do these three things matter to you on your first day at work. And from those Gen X and Baby Boomer bosses to whom Jason seems to be speaking, I am eager to hear your reactions. So what are your comments?

About three times a week for the past six months, a Baby Boomer or Gen X boss rants to me about a member of the twenty-something or Millennial generation who has done or said something that leaves the boss speechless. The rant usually begins with, “You wouldn’t believe what happened and often includes the words “slacker, “entitled, “uncommitted, and “Facebook junky. And with the same frequency, I also hear twenty-somethings, complain about their technology-challenged bosses who cling to outworn policies and procedures, who need to “get a life, and who don’t really care about the twenty-something’s career.

As someone who tries to earn a living by helping people to “work and play well with others, my cross-generational work is focusing more and more on helping Gen Xers and Baby Boomers understand the newest generation , the Millennials , and conversely helping Millennials adapt to a world of work that the generations that came before them created.

There is a major transformation occurring in organizations today. Baby Boomers are going to transition out of the world of work, as we know it , maybe not as fast as once thought given the decline in value of various retirement accounts. But they will move on. The reality is that Generation X, the next in the birth order, is much smaller than the Boomer generation. So future talent and a significant percentage of the leaders of tomorrow are going to come from this Millennial or twenty-something generation of flip-flops, nose studs, and tattoos.

So www.workingwithtwentysomethings.com is the new blog for and about the twenty-somethings in the workplace. I invite you to check it out.

I will continue to post blogs related to workplace issues from the current topic list here. However, I’ll address cross-generational workplace topics in the new blog. Thanks!

Fortunately, there were two twenty-somethings in the training session. One responded: “For us work and play all run together and we don’t adhere to a rigid work schedule or work from 8 , 5 and then play. We have a work ethic , it’s just different from that of older workers. Just give us the assignment, tell us when it is due, and let us do the work.

This is exactly how Google works. They have a preponderance of young workers (20 and 30 somethings) and they make the workplace very fluid. And¦they hold people accountable.
Over the last few months, I hear a lot of older workers and even some Gen X’ers bashing the Millennials or twenty-somethings saying they don’t work the way we do and that they are not prepared for the world of work. That statement begs two questions.

The first is, who says that Millennials need the same attitudes toward work? Isn’t work about getting results on time? Why do we still need rigid, out-dated policies about when one has to work? Take the advice of the Millennial in my training session: give an assignment with clear expectations, tell the employee when it is due, let them do the work, and hold them accountable for the results.

The second question concerns why is the youngest generation in the workplace unprepared for the world of work? The answer is a seriously flawed education system that only permits positive feedback, rewards just showing up rather than results, and gives so much latitude to students about when assignments are due that they have very poor time management skills and no clue what a deadline is. It is time for revolutionary thinking in education to better prepare students not only for work but also for life.

Then this article appears today in the NY TImes – “Dear Parents: Relax, It’s Just Camp”. MSNBC coined the term “helicopter parents” about eighteen months ago. These are parents who “hover” over their children’s every move. They call the school constantly to check on their kids, confront teachers if their child did not get an “A”, and show up at job interviews to negotiate compensation packages for their budding executive. Now we have these upper income parents – who obviously don’t have enough to do – calling residential summer camps multiple times a day to check on their child.

Here is what is wrong with this picture, as noted in a comment to “Another Frustrated Boomer”, the behavior of these helicopter parents is contributing mightily to producing a generation of self-absorbed people who cannot function or think independently, and who lack discipline. The NY Times article talks of parents who give their camper-children TWO cell phones (the use of which happens to be banned at these exclusive camps) and tell their kids “if they take away the first one you still have a back up to call me every day”. So we have parents who are condoning rule breaking and then we are surprised when this generation grows up, enters the work force, and ignores the policies and procedures that a company puts in place. Something is very wrong with this picture. How much of this ludicrous behavior are we willing to tolerate?

I think they do. However, most are products of a seriously flawed education system where passing standardized tests has replaced helping students to learn how to think.

The tension between the generations in the workplace is increasing dramatically and the reality is that these twenty-somethings are the ones filling the pipeline of talented workers and future leaders as the baby-boomers retire. I am interested in hearing from others on not only their experience with generational tension in the work place, but also how we can better prepare twenty-somethings for the world of work AND how the world of work needs to adapt to this newest generation.

There is now an entire generation – the Millennials – who have grown up in a culture where everyone is wonderful, where only positive feedback is present, where everyone gets an award for just participating in an activity, and where outstanding achievement in school, athletics, or any other endeavor tends to get downplayed so as not to make others who did not achieve at such a high level feel bad – or worse yet, where everyone gets an “A”. So these twenty-somethings are entering the workplace expecting to get rewarded for just showing up.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a Baby Boomer. I grew up in an era when sometimes you tried out for the team, play, orchestra, or choir and DIDN’T make it; when teachers arranged seats in the classroom according to class rank; and when not everyone got into the college they wanted or got hired by the company where they really wanted to work. In other words, there was competition. And yes, a competitive environment can have serious flaws. However, this nonsense of not recognizing achievement because it will somehow segregate people has to stop. The reality is that in the workplace people get performance reviews – at least annually – and not everyone should get rated at “greatly exceeds standards”. Unfortunately, the twenty something’s saying “I’ve never gotten anything less than an ‘A’ in my life” will not cut it. This participation award mentality has created an entire generation who find negative feedback and dealing with adversity difficult. And adversity is exactly what businesses will have to deal with in the future. It would be a much better world if schools, community programs, and families helped young people find their talent instead of having them falsely believe everyone is great at everything.

I was in Minneapolis last week conducting a couple of days of training and happened to catch an interview with Coach Brewster on the local radio station that broadcasts the Gopher football games.  The interviewer asked the coach about the process of recruiting , supposedly the main reason the University of Minnesota Athletic Director hired this guy , and I was dumbfounded by the answer.  First of all, the over-the-top positive thinking platitudes have this guy sounding like a cross between a motivational speaker and a used car salesman.  More importantly, he showed how out of touch he is with the current high school generation, when he said “I’m not just asking a kid to make a four year commitment to Minnesota, I’m asking them to make a 40 to 50 year commitment because they will love living here.

A couple of things¦  I lived in the Minneapolis , St. Paul area for more than thirty years, return frequently, and think it is a wonderful place.  And some athletes do in fact stay in the Twin Cities after they finish their playing career.  However, to ask a member of the youngest generation to make a 40-50 year commitment shows a complete lack of understanding of this group.  Young student athletes see choosing a college where they will play football as a four year , or less if they are a blue chip player , commitment period.  Once they have lived in Minneapolis for a while, they may see its advantages, but to tell a high school athlete they are making a multi-decade commitment at the tender age of 18 may be a bit scary.

One of things a leader needs to recognize is that everything he/she says is magnified greatly and everyone pays attention , even alumni!

We’ll see what other things the coach has to say.

For better or worse, the millennials are a product of an educational and parenting philosophy that holds that one should only give positive feedback because the greatest fear is damaging the individual’s self-esteem.  Now the millennial who has received all of this positive feedback comes face to face with a Boomer Manager who very simply , and not in a mean way, I might add , tells her that her performance is not meeting standards.  The feedback devastates the millennial who says something that is the equivalent of “I’ve never gotten less than an ˜A’ in my life.

A good way to provide feedback to this praise generation is to use the what’s working , what’s missing conversation.  The manager begins by saying here is what’s working well in the millennial’s performance (e.g., your written reports are always very thorough).  Then goes on to what’s missing , in other words, what is the element that needs to be present for the millennial to take his/her performance to the next level?  In this case, the manager might point out that what needs to be present is turning in the assignment on time.  Sometimes this approach will work.  However, be prepared for a “helicopter parent to request a meeting with you, the manager, if that parent thinks their little twenty-something adult has not received the exclusively positive feedback they so richly deserve!