The workplace diva has arrived

Edie G. Lush says that ‘Generation Y’ – youngsters now entering the workforce – are a sensitive bunch who need very special handling by their employers

While hopes for such rapid advancement can obviously lead to disappointment, there is a demographic shift that may be in these workplace divas’ favour. As Britain’s 19.1 million baby-boomers start to retire, there are only 11.2 million Gen X-ers to replace them. According to Tarnowski, this means Generation Y’s 9.7 million members ‘will be pushed faster into more high-powered jobs to fill this skills shortage.’

Another source of conflict between Generation Y and their older workmates is technology. Tarnowski says, ‘this is a generation for whom technology is a native language. They know how to use computers, mobile phones, the internet and their BlackBerries often better than their bosses. We’re in an interesting situation where technology is driving business, but the people at the bottom of the company are the most technologically savvy.’

According to NAS Recruiting, 75 per cent of Generation Y have a computer at home, and 50 per cent have internet access at home. They spend more time on the computer than watching television, and are likely to use instant messaging and social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Bebo or Friendster. They blog, use wikis and have a significant online footprint.

Of course technological ability isn’t always a good thing, especially when Gen Y-ers are applying for jobs. With almost two-thirds of British executives signed up to the same social networks as their potential employees it has become accepted practice to not only Google applicants but also to check out their MySpace (or similar) page. Networking site Viadeo’s recent survey showed that one in five employers said they used the sites to search for information and candidates and how they projected themselves. Almost two-thirds said the information they found influenced recruitment decisions and a quarter said they had rejected a potential employee because of what they’d found online. Some of these reasons included, ‘His MySpace website showed a negative side to him including excessive alcohol abuse and disrespect for his job,’ and, ‘we found that the candidate was personally into some activities which did not fit ethically into my company.’ And definitely a deal killer, ‘we found the candidate was on the local police wanted list.’