If you’re an aging Baby Boomer like me, you’ve probably got a couple.
They’re confident, tech savvy, bore easily and know more at their age than any generation that’s gone before them.
Gen Y’ers were born and grew up in the post-Cold War era. They were swaddled by the internet, weaned on MTV and coddled by their parents.
By comparison to their predecessor generations, they’re demanding consumers. They've come to expect top-notch customer service such as free shipping and easy-to-navigate websites. They're drawn to lifestyle brands that help them define and project who they are.
Name, Rank and Taste Most of All
Generally born after 1985, Generation Y is also referred to as the Millennium Generation or Echo Boomers. By some calculations, Gen Y’ers number 60 million in the U.S.; nearly three times the size of Generation X, and just shy of the 72 million Baby Boomers.
Gen Y’ers are mostly in their late teens or early twenties, flush with cash and hitting the American workplace by the millions.
This age group is moving into the labor force during a time of major demographic change, as companies around the U.S. and the world face an aging workforce. Sixty-year-olds are working beside 20-year-olds. Frequently, freshly minted college graduates are overseeing employees old enough to be their parents.
Unlike the generations that have gone before them, they grew up in child-centric households. While they may dispute the notion, Gen Y’ers have been pampered, nurtured and programmed with a slew of activities since they were toddlers; meaning they are both high-performance and potentially high-maintenance.
Because Gen Y’ers have been conditioned to think critically and question authority, employers are finding that they are less likely to respond to the typical command-and-control type management style still prevalent in the American workplace. Gen Y’ers grew up questioning their parents. Now they are challenging their 50-something employers.
Much to the frustration and consternation of their parents and employers, Gen Y’ers are born multi-taskers. They can juggle instant messaging while trolling online while talking on their cell phones. While boomers may expect a phone call or in-person meeting on important topics, younger workers often prefer virtual problem solving.
Who Wants to be Tied Down?
In sharp contrast to their boomer parents who tend to put a high priority on career, today’s youngest workers appear more interested in building jobs that can be adapted to their lifestyles. They wants jobs that have flexibility, allow telecommuting, and the ability to go part time or even to temporarily leave the workforce to accommodate life changes such as the addition of children. Recent survey data has shown that Gen Y’ers don’t expect to stay on any job too long or to embark on a lifetime career.
Several otherwise staid employers are adapting themselves to attract members of the Generation Y workforce. For example, Aflac, an insurer based in Columbus, Ga. — best known for its duck spokesman — is highlighting such perks as time off given as awards, flexible work schedules and recognition.
Rochester, NY-based Xerox is using the slogan “Express Yourself” as a way to describe its culture to recruits. The hope is that the slogan will appeal to Gen Y's desire to develop solutions and change.
Many demographers view Gen Y as the ultimate rejection of the 1960s counter-culture. Money and style drive their choices. After witnessing the financial insecurity that beset earlier generations stung by layoffs and the dot-com bust, most Gen Yers are already thinking about savings.
More than their progenitors, these new entrants into the workforce care about such benefits as 401(k) retirement plans. In other surveys, many Gen Y’ers said they plan to start saving for retirement by the time they reach age 25.
Believing in Themselves
Not surprisingly, the confidence of Gen Y’ers has not been daunted by this recession. While Gen Y’ers may have curtailed their spending during the downturn, their consumption was reduced less than other generations’, including their parents’.
Most psychologists and economists agree that fear is what causes people to reduce spending. Partly because of their age and sense of entitlement, members of Generation Y apparently felt less fear associated with this massive economic dislocation than other generations.
Their attitude and spending habits have not been lost on manufacturers, retailers and advertisers. Generation Y is drawn to all things tech and styles that underscore their undaunted sense of self-worth. While their parents and Gen Xers remain tepid about buying, Gen Y has returned to the malls faster than any other age group.
Race is less of an issue to Generation Y. According to current census data, one in three is a minority. Hip-Hop defines them, and President Obama has their voice.
Generation Y is coming of age as the first man of color now occupies the Oval Office. Barack Obama is their President, and they largely identify with his message about re-shaping America.
As we Baby Boomers age, our relevance, our voice and even our buying power is being challenged. We can fight changes and join AARP. Or start grooving to Beyonce and Jay-Z.
As one Baby Boomer to another, I’d rather groove than fight. Bring on the horizon.
John Cohn is a senior partner in the Globe West Financial Group, based in West Los Angeles. He may be contacted at www.globewestfinancial.com
