Today’s demographic trend is impossible to ignore and has big implications for workplaces across America. Seventy million Americans who belong to Generation Y (born between 1977 to 2002) are entering the workforce in massive waves. Add Generation Xers, who are now in their 30s and early 40s, and you have millions of employees whose visions for their jobs differ from their parents’ and most of their bosses’ old command-and-control management theories.
According to research compiled by RainmakerThinking and quoted in USA Today, Gen Y—the millennium generation—has high expectations for itself and its employers, seeking highly engaged managers to help them grow and develop their professional skills.
This finding reinforces the insights I learned from a fascinating conversation with Adelson, who has given a lot of thought to motivating, inspiring, and engaging young colleagues.
Empower Them
Adelson argues that younger workers are transforming the workplace from the “get rich quick” attitude of the ’90s to a culture of empowerment and contribution. At the end of the day, he says, these employees want to feel as though they are part of something essential and that they have contributed to its achievement.
“Am I important, and am I offering value? Those are the questions young people are asking themselves,” says Adelson. A key to managing this generation is to create excitement about the company’s achievements, but more important, to help employees recognize their role in accomplishing that mission.