Generation Y 2.0

Whilst our Generation Y colleagues provide significant commercial opportunity for many businesses such as advertising, shopping, gaming, and  e-commerce, and entrepreneurial benefits for others, they are also proving a headache. A headache for those who have yet to redefine their IT strategies in order to accommodate integrated media platforms whilst safeguarding company security and data protection.

In “IT Security’s Next Big Threat: Young People”, in Dark Reading, editor Tim Wilson concludes from three recent studies that our Yers “are engaging in online behaviour that could expose their organizations to data leakage and information theft”. The question being whether it is the behaviours or the company policies and training that are ultimately to blame.

More and more people are using Instant Messaging, social networking, open source technology, and other online applications rather than traditional tools and email, many of which are not supported by their employers. On top of this there appears to be a growing need for online learning suites.

Chris Sparshott provided the keynote at the Digital Technologies Professional Learning Symposium in Auckland, NZ,  recently, using a Generation Y persona to illustrate his perspective on the need for training and education to embrace the benefits of the computer/video gaming, virtual worlds and 3D UIs that our Y’ers and Generation Z have grown up with. David Williamson Schaffer long pointed out the benefit of educational games that can bring players together, promote interactive learning and help individuals absorb fairly dry complex topics, for example.  Also Daniel Sieberg from CBS News more recently reported on the benefits of the right games in education to help individuals learn, solve problems and overcome obstacles.  

Whilst some organisations are looking to revise their platforms to accommodate the new tools and new ways of working, others are tightening their policies whilst many continue to remain exposed in more ways than one. 

The three studies mentioned above came from Accenture, Intel and ISACA (a major IT users group):

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The UK’s CIPD, in association with Penna, recently produced a comprehensive report based on a survey of over 5,500 individuals across 6 European countries and focus groups within more than 30 major UK employers. Their findings confirmed that there are more similarities than differences between the generations and that it is the preconceptions between generations about each other that is more the problem.

The study shows that the differentiating factors setting Gen Y apart is the influence that the reward deal has, the close connection between socialising and work, their advocacy of the employer brand (nothing new there) and perhaps suprisingly a more common interest in staying with one employer for five years than many would expect. And yet many Gen X, although perhaps seemingly more career driven, will often job-hop to make progress.

The study appears to support the messages of articles we referred to in Part One, that generationalisations of Gen X and Y are becoming blurred, we are seeing Gen Y behaviours in our Gen X’ers, etc.

The report focuses on the need to foster creativity and innovation from generational interaction and that the risk of not managing generational diversity can lead to disengagement or even conflict. One common theme to all generations was the importance of respect and dignity in the workplace.  Harnessing capabilities across generations within organisations has never been more important; use of new media, social networking, entrepreneurism, customer service ethos and strong change management skills based on experience and wisdom, are sure surivival skills in the coming year.

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Time and time again we see comments about age sterotypes, whether they be baby boomers (BB), Generation X, Y’ers or the teen youth of today. As we’ve said before these boundaries are becoming blurred. What we see are behaviours not age groups.

People tend to follow cycles or stages throughout their lives, some more than others; adapting, embracing and making changes as they go.

Generation classifications were discussed with author Robert K Critchley in ‘Ageless Wisdom’ (hrmonthly, Australia, June 2006, Chaminade):

“I think the terms are useful for understanding the differences between people. The most important thing is not to run your life by ‘I’m a Gen X and I must live this way’. Understand that people are thinking differently, because so often the generational myopia is such that we think everyone thinks like we do. There is value in understanding the way different generations think and act – understand but don’t try to typecast.”

Another way of looking at classifying talent was outlined in Generation Gap (hrmonthly, October 2005, Chaminade), considering four different categories for talent rather than those of age:

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Y’er Bret Bernhoft from Portland, US, posted an interesting blog article recently, reflecting on the emerging number of generational consultants. Here we look at some of the extracts and take a perspective:

“Inside the world of Generational Consulting there is plenty of room for everyone to stretch out and really take their fair share of the pie. There are literally no restrictions, at this point, on the influence a Gen Y consultant can have on their clients and those who they advise.”

“There is a distinct difference between advice and insight when either giving or receiving consultation… the practical application of either type of information is simple, one is simply a collection of facts without perspective while the other is simply a collection of facts with an understanding of how to apply them. Today it is too easy for a Generational Consultant to provide advice and for it to be taken as either providence or truly valuable.”

“One of the primary rules for reaching Generation Y is to access Generation Y at their level, at our level.  Without direct experience of being a Generation Yer, a consultant cannot provide the insight, only the facts, this is damaging and ultimately misleading to a client… unless the consultant is a Gen Yer they cannot effectively and honestly consult on Gen Y.”

Bret has some interesting and perhaps understandable points here. Where have we heard before ‘you can’t understand our generation unless you are one of us’… the sixties, the seventies…another time perhaps?

However for some years now we have been trying to say that the ‘Y culture’ is not only something aligned to those of a certain age group, it is also a behaviour, a mind set or a culture. Of course it is shared by a large number of people in a particular age group, but not only by any means.       

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“In love, two is company and three’s a crowd, but in friendship ten is the magic number” according to a report by Fiona McRae of the Daily Mail. The question is how close are we to those with social networks and how important are these friendships in the current climate.

 The report highlights studies by Dr Richard Tunney of Nottingham University showing that those with 5 to 10 friends in their close circle will be happiest and content in life, some say potentially adding to our longevity.

It would seem that communities, teams, and above all close friendships not only give us comfort and moral support in troubled times but pulling together our resources and contacts can help with entrepreneurial activities and job hunting more than ever.

However, although it can help, it seems that adding more ’friends’ doesn’t particularly increase our happiness. Today’s GenY and upcoming Z’s take comfort in being seen to be part of a wide social network, giving them the acceptance and approval they need from their community and peer groups. But are the 200+ contacts on their Google Talk, Messenger, Beebo or Facebook superfluous to their needs? How well do they know them? How many have they met or spoken with on a regular basis? Many Generation X and Y are spending their evenings in darkened rooms, or with their Blackberry’s and iPhones on the train, texting and chatting online with their virtual community but as Ryan Healy commented earlier this year, there are a ‘plethora of weak ties’ yet few strong friendships in the social networking arena. Many are starting to ask just how superficial these connections are.

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What’s different about the US presidential election? The fact that there is a black American presidential candidate or a potential female vice-president? A chance for the democrats to win back what they believe is rightfully theirs after the Bush years? Maybe, but it is much more than that. For the first time in perhaps as long as forty years or more, Generation Y have been very much actively engaged in this campaign.

Record numbers of young voters have signed up to vote in the 2008 US election. For those who see our GenY colleagues as apathetic, this appears to fly in the face of those who believe in stereotypes. Something has gripped the American consciousness but rather than fuel the glamorous ideological aspects of the campaign, Obama’s crowd have tried to ‘non-ideologise’  and to involve and engage their voters in new ways.  They have brought the campaign into the 21st century with social networking, online forums, blogs, campaign youth volunteer groups, Facebook followings, approachability, cool branding, and real involvement of America’s youth.  So much so that Obama has surrounded himself with diverse advisors including twenty one year old Tommy Stadlen from West London.  In addition to probably the largest emerging teen population America has ever seen, these are the voters and citizens of the future and they have been placed  key in this campaign right from the party nomination rounds and endless university campus visits.

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A number of leading analysts and writers are forecasting their view on the impact that a downturn may have on Generation Y. Some day that this will have a sobering effect on these carefree individuals. Many say that it is Generation X or other generations that may suffer most but with the carefree spending habits of the Y, are we about to see who really is the going to make it through a ‘survival of the fittest’ ?

According to a National Survey of Young Australians ,  the Generation Y are likely to be taking the credit crunch pretty hard due to their dependence on credit cards and spending patterns.  But for a group of students interviewed by The Observer newspaper in Birmingham, UK where affluence is potentially at a stretch, who were asked what the credit crunch meant to them, many were heard to reply “not much”.

There are also reports, such as that by the  UK Association of Graduate Recruiters that despite the gloomy outlook on the job market, they would still consider moving jobs to improve their work-life balance.  Complaints about managers pushing GenY employees into longer hours have also been increasing in recent months.

But all is not lost as author Ron Alsop believes that Generation Y will knuckle down and grab the perceived safer jobs in public and not-for-profit sectors and hold back on starting their own businesses.  Or will they?

The upside? With an increasing number of retiring baby boombers, there are still skill shortages. Our GenY are often still mortgage and family free, making them potentially mobile.  Creativity, teamwork and social networking never became more important and these guys have such talents in spades.

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Generation Y will be found at the centre of Online Educa Berlin 2008 in December, the biggest and 14th International Conference on e-learning in the private, education and pubic sectors. 

The conference opens on 4th December with a plenary session by keynote speaker Michael ‘the explainer’ Wesh, a cultural anthropologist and specialist in the effects of new media on human interaction. His works on ‘digital enthnography’ have been seen around the world, regularly on YouTube. Wesch took over from Norbert Boltz, professor at the Technical University of Berlin, where he holds a chair in media sciences. He is known in Germany for one of the most important studies and trends review about the web generation.

Right from the opening of the conference, Generation Y will be presented as the principal theme of the discussions with examples from universities, colleges and training schools. Contributions will be provided from Belgium, Canada, UK, South Africa and Spain.

To find out more see Online Educa 2008