Monday, June 30, 2008

The Gen Y-Friendly Workplace

The other day, I posted a blog (and perhaps the longest blog in history) about understanding the subtle---and sometimes not so subtle---nuances regarding gender, culture, and age when leading people.

Here's an article in Computerworld about how to make your workplace Gen-Y friendly. Some key points:

- Offer good healthcare and retirement benefits
- Offer freedom about when, how, and where to work
- Have clear and quick paths to growth
- Have/Be an understanding, open-minded, and supportive manager
- Create opportunities for social interaction and collaboration

It's interesting that, despite accusations that Gen Y-ers are obsessed with texting and email, they still strongely value interacting with others. The article wisely cautions against stereotyping.

5 ways to make your company Gen Y-friendly

posted by Jerry Manas @ 6:08 PM, Read More...  
3 comments links to this post

3 Comments:

At 9:34 AM, Anonymous John Reiling said...

Just wanted to clarify based on the quote

"It's interesting that, despite accusations that Gen Y-ers are obsessed with texting and email, they still strongely value interacting with others. The article wisely cautions against stereotyping. "

I would say the Gen Y-ers are obsessed with interacting with others, and that's why they are so often texting and emailing, not to mention other technology-enabled communications.

Sorry if I am being picky!
__________________
John Reiling, PMP
PMcrunch

 
At 2:36 PM, Anonymous Jerry Manas said...

John, great point! Some people look at texting, twitter, etc. as just "playing around" and this is not the case. It's just an additional, technology-enabled medium. These things have a natural tendency to regress toward the mean, just like the stock market, so people will find the right balance.

There's a time and a place for phone discussion and face-to-face as well, and I think Gen Y-ers understand that. I think it's just that organizations need to become more savvy as to the options, and the ways in which people work, which can sometimes be generationally determined.

Needless to say, there's an impact on communication awareness training.

 
At 2:44 PM, Anonymous Christine Collins said...

What makes you think that only Gen Y-ers want these things?
- Good healthcare and retirement benefits
- Freedom about when, how, and where to work
- Clear and quick paths to growth
- Have/Be an understanding, open-minded, and supportive manager
- Opportunities for social interaction and collaboration

This sounds like a list of what every worker wants, regardless of their generational stereotype. By the way, all these "generation" labels are stereotypes and the best way to have a friendly workplace is to get to know who you are working with on an individual basis.

 

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