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The workplace diva has arrived

Edie G. Lush

Monday, 5th May 2008

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

On the other hand, information found online can also work positively for applicants, if the content is appropriate and presented in the right way: 13 per cent of HR decision makers said they had been affected positively by information found online about a candidate, and would not have taken the decision to recruit them otherwise. One HR director said: ‘We found out that the candidate had more to offer than she was revealing with an inadequately designed corporate application form.’

The worry for organisations who have managed to recruit Generation Y employees worth keeping — those who have passed the Facebook test and don’t drive their managers crazy with constant requests for feedback — is that a lack of an inbred sense of loyalty means these employees may rapidly move on. How do you keep kids brought up on Playstation – that is, over-stimulated and easily bored – entertained in a modern working environment? Companies such as accountancy firms KPMG and Price Waterhouse Coopers and the Atkins engineering consultancy are responding to some of the challenges presented by Generation Y by offering some enticements such as early international career opportunities, social-responsibility initiatives, development and educational opportunities within the company and flexible working. Jean Martin- Weinstein, Managing Director of the US Corporate Leadership Council, says that key to retaining Generation Y staff is keeping the camaraderie they feel at work positive and having a real commitment to social and environmental responsibility.

A lot has been made of the ‘work-life balance’ and Generation Y. Many surveys indicate that this is a generation that works to live rather than lives to work. That salary may not be a prime motivator for this group of workers may, however, be overstating the point. This is not a generation entering a world where a high standard of living comes cheaply – housing costs alone mean that unless they want to continue to develop their close parental ties by living at home forever, then at some point they may have to sacrifice some of their values for a bit of hard cash. The workplace divas are going to have to knuckle down like their elders, demand a little less attention and face real life.

Edie G. Lush has been a reporter for Bloomberg Television and a political analyst for UBS. She is a member of Generation X