Gen Y or Millennials often receive a lot of flak from the earlier generations for their professional attitudes. They’re not committed to their work (and so they job-hop), they’re not disciplined enough, they have their priorities all mixed up — these are just some of the complaints you hear against Gen Y every so often.
However, the truth of the matter is that these “complaints” are simply an indication of the changing perspectives and attitudes about work and the workplace among Millennials. These perspectives are starkly different from those established by earlier generations, and that’s the source of conflict essentially. Gen Y is now changing the rules of the workplace rapidly and taking their older counterparts by surprise.
This new world order looks set to enjoy a prolonged existence, as more and more people joining the workforce share the same ideals. Curious to know how exactly things are changing at the workplace? Read on.
Work-life blend, not work-life balance.
Gen Y doesn’t think in terms of work-life balance like the previous generations did. They instead prefer work-life blend, which means that they prefer to have a kind of flexibility that allows them to access their personal lives while at work and their professional lives while at home. Gen Y doesn’t believe in waiting for a particular time in the day or week to meet with friends or family, or do their office work. They’re up for it anytime as long as neither one suffers because of the other.
Focus on performance, not presence.
In the past, employees were paid salaries for being in the office for eight hours every day. So two people were paid the same salary, and were thought of as clocking the same performance, if both spent the same amount of time at work, even if one actually added more value than the other. Gen Y sees things differently. They believe in evaluating people’s performances based on skills, results, and value addition rather than the basic measure of how long they stay at work.
Workplace relationships in a new light.
Gen Y doesn’t distinguish between their colleagues and friends. They place high importance on relationship building and develop good relationships with people both inside and outside the workplace. They don’t worry about being friends at work — and they don’t dismiss them as “work friends.” They treat relationships everywhere in the same way. Even workplace hierarchy is not limited by such old perceptions as boss knows better than the employee. It all comes down to respect and emotional intelligence.
Image Source: Stirling Institute of Australia
Quick adaptability to new situations.
If there’s one thing that you can count on Gen Y to do, it’s to switch between roles and do what’s required of them rather than fuss about how they’re not supposed to be doing a particular role. Gen Y is fluid in this way, and it’s beneficial for both them and the company. They get to expand their skill set significantly and establish their expertise while the company gets their work done without having to hire a new person for every small role that comes up temporarily in the organization.
Working with quick, regular feedback.
Gen Y don’t waste time waiting for a weekly or monthly performance meeting to take feedback from their managers and improve their work. They’re switched on with their work all the time, seeking quick and regular feedback so they lift the quality of their work and deliver the best possible output. This is again beneficial for organizations, as managers don’t have to run behind their team members to give them feedback and ask them to improve. Gen Y are driven and self-motivated.
The changing nature of workplace interaction.
Communication at the workplace is more likely to occur over social media channels, like the brilliant Slack, and instant messaging rather than through formal channels like the email or letter. Even regular workplace communication is being carried out informally, like catching up with team members at a cafe or on the terrace rather than in a meeting room or conference room. This is a dramatic turnaround from how organizations interacted internally till about a decade ago.