Could you work for a Gen Y boss?
For most baby boomers, thinking about working for a Gen Y boss might seem like a nightmare. Could you work for your kid…or someone your kid’s age?
You might say that will be a rarity! Well …. Projections show that by 2014 millennials will account for 36% of the American workforce. In 2025, that number balloons to 75% of the global workplace.
I know, I know…you are saying that by 2025 you will be happily retired sipping on pina coladas by the pool. There are a couple things I want you to think about:
- The economy needs you to keep working. Particularly, the economy needs you to work past 70 years of age. The social programs of this country need you to keep working.
- More than 80% of boomers will work past 65 years of age. It should be no surprise to you that you will be working for a while past 65. Most baby boomers do not have enough money to retire.
What does this mean?
You WILL eventually have a Gen Y boss.
I now work for myself. My last two bosses have been Gen Xers. Both were nearly incompetent in managing people. They understood the business but when it came to managing people, well…. it was not pretty.
As a baby boomer, I learned to ignore them and get my job done.
Functioning in a workplace dominated by Gen Yers and having a Gen Y boss will be a very different experience for you.
Gen Y Characteristics
In my last post, Group Dynamics in the Multi-Generational Workplace, I wrote that Generation Y is very group or team-oriented. Thinking that you could ignore the group and just get the job done will probably not be acceptable. You will need to be a good team player even if your teammates are young enough to be your kids.
I also wrote in a previous post, Communication Style in the Multi-Generational Workplace, that Gen Yers have embraced electronic, just in time communications…whether this is texting, instant messaging, or using various social media platforms. Fully expect that social media-like platforms will penetrate the largest organizations by 2025. Collaborative communications will become normal. Face to face communications may be the exception and not the norm.
Listen to the most recent episode
Can you work for a boss that will have less work experience than you, BUT will have skills that you need you to learn and adapt?
Most of us baby boomers feel fine if we did not see our boss for weeks on end. What will happen when you are in contact with your boss on a daily basis, some of it by text and other electronic means?
What if your new Gen Y boss is not ready to lead? This has become an increasingly common phenomenon.
Will you be ready to help them?
Please read the rest of the Multi-Generational Workplace Series.
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yash boss
I’m going through the multi-generational workplace series, and I think some of your comments are over-generalizations. At least, in my experience (old Gen-Xer). For example, you had two incompetent Gen-X bosses, so you generalize to all Gen-Xers are incompetent managers. I actually consider myself a good manager and people person, and have gotten complements on my management style. Also, I agree that many Gen-Xers are self-reliant, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t team players. I grew up in a big family, and I always played team sports growing up. I am not someone who prizes individual achievement above all; I like working in groups and collaborating as well as doing things on my own. My sister, however, also a Gen-X, likes to do everything on her own.
You say that Gen Y doesn’t memorize things because they don’t need to, but I work with a bunch of Gen Y’s who have memorized all kinds of trivia, and they pride themselves on knowing the world capitals and all the countries in the world starting with T or what have you. My take on it is, great!. But I don’t memorize things myself, I just memorize where to find the answer. Sure, they carry their phones around and google anything at any moment when there is some kind of dispute or debate on a matter, but I’ve gotten used to that. I can do that too, if need be. Also, contrary to what you’ve said, my Gen Y supervisor also does not necessarily feel the need to be in touch at every moment. He is somewhat aloof and does not have a lot of team meetings or interaction and gives feedback in writing. In contrast, another supervisor, Gen X, is very hands-on and loves to give feedback to assignments in person rather than in writing.
I do agree that the economic and cultural conditions in which you grew up are a big factor in how you see the world, but I don’t know if that stays with you for your entire life. My feeling is that personality is a bigger factor, and also possibly your economic circumstances (ie. Some people are less self-reliant because their parents paid their way, but that is not exclusive to Gen Y.) Some people are introverts, and some people are extroverts. Sure, there are some generational differences, but I don’t see it in the stark terms that everyone else does. Or maybe, since I am Gen X, I am flexible and can adapt to either work style–Boomer or Gen Y. Or, maybe that’s because I am a multipotentialite!
Maggie,
None of these generations are homogeneous. There are a lot of variations in every cohort.
I will say you are the one who is over generalizing. Never did I say all Gen Xers are bad managers. My experience of having managers younger than me has not been a good thing and there is a learning opportunity in that experience.
You will find Gen Yers who like to memorize things but that is most likely an outlier.
I am updating one of the posts with an experience I had with the Dean of the University of Texas medical school. Several years ago at my breakfast club, he stated they were de-emphasizing the memorization of course material because so much information was at the physicians’ fingertips. The room was filled with baby boomer and there was a collective OMG that went through the room.
This kind of change in how we are educated has a long-standing effect on our behavior.