As someone who earns a living by helping people “work and play well with others”, I have been spending more time lately helping members of the different generations learn how to work together.
I remember when I finished college I would hear my parents and their friends talk about “the generation gap”. These parents (aka “Traditionals”), who were born just as World War I ended, finished school during the Great Depression, and became young adults during World War II, just could not understand their long haired, hippie, “make love not war” children – who came to be known as the Baby Boomers. The difference now is that there are four generations in the workplace: Traditionals, Boomers, Gen Xer’s and the Millennials, Gen Y or Twenty-somethings. So the diversity tension among the generations is amped up.
The purpose of www.workingwithtwentysomethings.com (and yes, I know it is a l-o-n-g URL) is to create a community dialogue for and about this newest generation in the workplace.
Let’s start with what this site is not about. This blog is not a repository for complaints, diatribes, and rants about any generation.
Instead, this blog will focus on four areas:
First, in my humble opinion the education system in the United States – particularly the public education system with its “you can only give positive feedback” philosophy, has done a great disservice to the Millennials in preparing them for the world of work. So the first emphasis of this blog will be to offer a kind of “things nobody taught you in school” mentoring.
Second, there is an emerging body of research and surveys about the twentysomethings – some of it is thorough and some of it is scandalous. There are also a lot of online resources. All of it needs critical analysis and that will happen here – using a straightforward, no nonsense approach. So look to this blog for reviews.
Third, in the tradition of its sister site www.workingwithothers.com this blog will offer commentary on generational issues in the workplace – usually from a humorous or lighter side perspective.
Finally, it is my wish that this blog serves as a vehicle to create a conversation – more appropriately a community dialogue – where many – especially twentysomethings share their views and insights about the changing world of work and what it means to them. From time to time I will posed a question that I trust will encourage such a conversation.
Thanks for checking out this blog. I invite your participation.
What exactly were you trying to say CBS?
In researching media coverage of the Millennial Generation, I just came across this CBS News video that aired on November 21, 2008. Titled “Gen Y Social Misfits?”, I am still trying to figure out the point of the story. Is that Gen Y is the most techno-savvy generation? Is it that twenty-somethings spend so much time online that they have lost the ability to communicate face-to-face. Or is it that the Millennials spending so much time online has altered their brain wave patterns?
In general, I found the title of the piece to be inflammatory, the overall tone of the video to be negative, the focus unclear, and the net result to be one that perpetuates the “we (all of us well-adjusted people) vs. they (the Millennial Generation that needs to be fixed)” diversity tension.
Here is what I see as relevant:
1. The fact that twenty-somethings are “native” technology speakers is a good thing. That is their gift.
2. When a Millennial texts his or her friends, they are engaging in their version of “face-to-face” conversations.
3. Yes, by the year 2011, Gen Y will make up between 50 and 60 percent of the workforce. Ernst & Young is a company ahead of the curve in recognizing this demographic fact.
4. Why not make training in generational differences and face-to-face communication required for EVERYONE? Finally, visit any organization today and I think you will agree that it is not only the Millennial Generation that could benefit from a refresher course on face-to-face communication