Generation Y 2.0

Welcome to the English language pages of the Generation Y2.0 blog, featuring articles about GenerationY and generational working across English speaking countries.

Although the English speaking countries we mainly work in are UK, Australia, Middle East and South Africa, coverage about these issues will be as global as possible and we work across EMEA and Asia-Pacific.

About Generation Y

From time to time a new age group enters the workforce with new codes and values.

This new culture, associated with Generation Y (1978-1994), has brought new attitudes and new expectations. Way beyond age, the aim of the GenerationY2.0 blog (Generation Y two point zero) is to provide insight into this new culture. This “Y mindset“, culture, lifestyle, etc is found across a wider age range involving other generations.

A number of terms have been used to describe this Generation Y:

The Millenials Named after William Strauss and Neil Howe, the American sociologists and fathers of generational studies who believe that Generation Y ran until 2000 (or who entered the workforce at that point)
Generation Why named by Eric Chester, due to their requirement to understand the reasons before doing anything
The iGeneration in reference to iPod, iPhone, etc
The e-Generation in reference to the electronic world they live in as per e-mail, e-commerce, etc.
The Google Generation They studied with Google in the class
The MySpace or Facebook Generation for their use of social networks
The Followers/Nexters A Gen X denomination who don’t understand why all this fuss about them when they (the X) have never been listened to.
The Boomerang Generation They never stop coming back at their parents.
The Wallet Generation Used to being raised with money rather than affection
The Green Generation Due to their concern for the environment

and many others

The use of the term “Generation Y” is quite controversial. “Y” is used because this generation is following Generation X (those born between 1965 and 1977) described as lacking of meaning and living an identity crisis. making the term “X” quite pejorative.

This generation is familiar with technologies that today come under the term “Web 2.0”, having access to the kind of tools that previous generations could only dream about. In 1970 writing books was done with typewriters and an editor, an uncertain circulation. In 2007 you just need a computer and a blog and your distribution is immediate.

Whilst many across the generations are using the web, social networks and other online tools, for the Y generation, social networks and surfing the net are like using their right hand (or left of course); it is absolutely innate. Of course the ‘digital natives’, today’s teenagers and young children, were born with this and so we are moving into a different world.

But this culture is not only based on the computer-literate world of Generation X before them, who have experienced all the major upheavals of the 20th century but on the new elements brought on us with the world 2.0 :

Community : We can’t trust family, company, career, job or sills. Only thing left : Relationship.
Customisation : From igoogle to the “organisation à la carte”, everything has to be about me. Job description, work environment, retention program.
Collaboration : Information is not helping to get the power anymore. Innovation his so collaboration is easier.
Conversation : What about marketing ? Better ask to someone who used the product (or work for the company) to give me a first hand experience !

We don’t know what came first. Web 2.0 or Culture Y. We have still not solved the chicken and egg stuff anyway.

The work we have done since 2005 on the culture Y gave us four principal characteristics we called the “4 Is”:

Individualism
Not a secure family shelter – fragmented lives
Corporate instability – can’t rely on a long term employer
Job change. Employability instead of Employment. Meaning better than money.

Interconnection – Today a relationship can add up to a collection. Friends are colleagues and the other way round involving the massive arrival of emotions in the organisation

Impatience – I want it all and want it now…fed on the instant Google answer… My parents told me I could achieve whatever I wanted ! I want it ! Especially with a ‘one click’ away mindset !

Inventiveness – now we have tools to make creating ideas and sharing ideas in an instant - revolution now. We moved from the era of excellence to the era of difference.

What you should know about them:
If you want to talk about the “Y demographic”
.They are part of the Harry Potter era
In the UK they had Thatcher and Blair as their Prime Ministers but only remember Blair, nor recall that Nelson Mandela was ever in prison
They have never sung “Sunday Bloody Sunday” or know who Fred & Ginger were
They have always known AIDS and mobile phones
They have never used 5inch floppy disks or telexes and may not have seen a fax
They have never heard of or seen 45’s or 33’s
They have never known television without a remote, and may not remember life before satellite/cable
They don’t think about “Jaws” when taking a swim in the sea
And they are unlikely to understand why you would walk an internal envelope round to the department downstairs when they can send a quick note over MSN.

A definition of Generation Y according to marketing :

IT and the web is an integral part of their daily life. Often they speak cynically and with a certain disengagement against brands known as “classics” that they often find “outdated”, they prefer very young brands even if they do not last”. The era of digital information gives them permanent access to information and therefore they develop a sense of powerful community, in general, and of the principle of the tribe, they appreciate the possibility of having a language that is particularly their own. The work of branding to them is often difficult because they are busy and not necessarily aware of the true value of things and we try to get their attention, without being seen to dictate their choices.

Please note that these observations should not lead to the formation of stereotypes. This blog does not attempt to caricature the young but to reflect on the trends in behaviour attributable potentially not only to an age group but to a group of people following these patterns.

In any case we don’t particularly encourage you to attract, recruit, manage and motivate employees according to their age! Dividing the population into generations to study the diversity only from a particular angle is ok but not the only way. The purpose is not to minimise the importance of all the other elements that make a human being such as personality, values, culture, interests, religion, family structure, geographic location, ethnic background, disability, preference, etc.

Come join us on our journey and we hope you find our articles interesting, thought provoking, a reference point, or at least something to talk about.