It is hard to go on line and not read an article, blog, post or tweet on Millennials. There is, if you will, Millennial mania.
It is true that Millennial employees are now about 1/3 of the workforce and that percentage is rapidly growing. But even I can figure out the math on this one: 2/3 of the workforce is composed of non-Millennials. There is another way to describe them: older employees.
Move over Generation Y, Generation Z is set to take your place as the youngest generation in the workforce.
And if a new study is any indication, the latter have a stronger entrepreneurial spirit, are less motivated by money, are less entitled and will be better prepared for jobs than their Generation Y counterparts.
Generation Y, those born between approximately 1978 and 2000, currently number 76 million in the U.S workforce today (Financial Post). By 2016 they will be 100 million strong (Genup). This group, also called the millennial generation, are stirring things up in the workforce.
Much like how the Baby Boomers are reshaping retirement, the even bigger Millennial generation is causing organizations to rethink how work is accomplished. Employers can benefit by listening to Millennials, said Joe Weinlick, vice president of marketing at Beyond.com, a job board and career-advice website.
Summer interns come and go, and some are so wonderful that you feel the need to write about them.
This summer, I had the pleasure of working with Lindsey Allen. Lindsey is the social media summer intern in the Public Affairs Department and, as a soon-to-be senior at Virginia Tech, she will be leaving SHRM on Aug. 21. She helped manage the We Know Next campaign this summer, among several other projects within the department -- and she is awesome.
Generation Y’s desire for transparency and near-instant feedback will mark the end of recruiting as we know it, predicted Doug Douglas, managing director and partner of Texas-based Providence Partners, which helps companies with strategic recruitment plans.
Every 12.6 seconds, a blog about generational differences is written. Ok, I made that up, but you get my point. Much is written about what is wrong with the expectations of generations, but there needs to be more action around what we can do to make it better. As HR and business professionals, we need to take a more active role in preparing future generations for expectations in the workplace.
On May 8, @weknownext chatted with Crystal Miller (@TheOneCrystal) and Carrie Corbin (@TheAlphaFemme) about "Leaning In and Opting Out."
In case you missed it, here are all the great tweets from the chat...
For the past 40+ years, Boomer and Gen X women have “leaned in” to balance work and family in order to have it all. Many have done so with great success. However, that success seems to drop off significantly somewhere between the levels of “management” and the “executive offices.”
On May 8, @weknownext chatted with Matt Charney of Talemetry and Lizzie Maldonado of Starr Conspiracy about "The Next Generation Workplace."
In case you missed it, here are all the great tweets from the chat:
Where do young professionals see themselves in the next 10, 15 … 25 years?
Where do their employers see them?
We know that the next generation of workers has already initiated a historical shift in the workplace. They’re demanding cultures that are mobile, flexible, collaborative, and learning-focused. They view top-down organizational structures as obstacles for accomplishing goals and prefer networks of peers over hierarchy.
But what do they think about leadership and ladder climbing when their vision for the future doesn’t really have any ladders?
GenY wants to run the world and there is nothing wrong with that. Baby Boomers and GenXers need to be willing to step up and mentor this group. For 2013, I boldly predict the generations will come together and get this right.
As new college graduates continue to inundate the job market and economic concerns have caused older employees to stay in the workforce longer, today’s companies often have employees representing four distinct generations. With more than 50 years separating some employees, managing these multigenerational teams can be incredibly challenging.
In case you missed it, here’s what happened on We Know Next this week.
By the year 2020, approximately 50 percent of the US workforce will be composed of Generation Y workers – those born between 1976 and 1991 – and only 25 percent baby boomers. The US workforce will change dramatically in the next eight years. "We are facing a huge generational shift as baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) leave the workforce, and that means we have to rethink our workspace," says Michael O'Neill, senior director of workplace research for Knoll, Inc.
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