A couple of months ago, I co-facilitated a session for HR executives from across the country about engagement of Gen Y workers in the workplace. After a brief exercise to gauge the attendees’ initial perceptions of Gen Y workers, we ended up with the following synopsis of the comments:
A couple of months ago, I co-facilitated a session for HR executives from across the country about engagement of Gen Y workers in the workplace. After a brief exercise to gauge the attendees’ initial perceptions of Gen Y workers, we ended up with the following synopsis of the comments:
“They are tech savvy, terrible team players, lazy, and entirely disloyal to employers.”
Ouch! But the conversations we had about those perceptions were incredibly powerful for the entire group. You see, we all have assumptions of the different generations – what they want, what they need, how they communicate, etc.
Based on pre-workshop surveys of both the panelists and members of the Cooperative Trust, Gen Y workers are planning to stay at their current employer three times as long as what the panelists assumed – a disparity of almost 10 years. Could these perceptions be contributing to why Gen Y workers are not being engaged in their jobs and companies? Furthermore, is it only Gen Y employees that aren’t engaged in their jobs?
Study after study that I read in preparation for this event said that workers today want more flexible schedules, the ability to work remotely, a more fun and casual environment, and opportunities for professional advancement. Interestingly, the biggest difference between Gen Y employees and their predecessors is that they are more willing to ask for things they want while their Gen X and Baby Boomer counterparts (while they, too, want those same things) felt like they needed more time under their belt before making such requests.
You see – it’s all about engagement. According to a recent studyby Kenexa, almost an equal percentage of employees from all Gen Y, Gen X, and Baby Boomers said:
- They aren’t paid fairly
- They are excited about their work
- And, surveyed at the same age over two decades, the same percentage of Gen Xers and Gen Yers said they were considering leaving their job
And if that hasn’t gotten your attention, here is a staggering statistic: another studysaid that nearly three-quarters of employees aren’t fully engaged at their jobs. That is across all generations.
Repeat: 75% of the workforce in your company isn’t as engaged as they could be.
So what can we do to increase engagement?
- Empower employees by challenging them with new projects
- Provide them with development opportunities
- Recognize them publicly for outstanding performance
- Provide opportunities for co-worker interaction and teamwork
- Encourage supervisors to lead, coach, and mentor employees instead of just managing tasks and projects
While doing these things will engage Gen Y in the workplace, making them more loyal to your organization and better employees, these are smart practices that will benefit all of your workers. After all, your employees are your company’s greatest assets.
Amanda
