By Kenneth W. Gronbach

Youth will have its way; and that is as true in the workplace as anywhere else. Generation Y is an interesting study in contrasts, and should prove to be an exciting management challenge in a corporate environment.

But before we can explore this incredible idiosyncratic generation, let’s review a few of the demographic givens. Remember that Generation Y was born in the 20 years between 1985 and 2004 and currently includes people aged 8 to 27.  Generation Y is a nice bell shaped curve with its peak in 1990 when about 4.2 million live births occurred in the United States. Generation Y is actually bigger than the Baby Boomer Generation, born 1945 to 1964, by over one million. It will easily rival the Boomer Generation in consumption and influence.

Can we make some assumptions about Generation Y’s corporate behavior without pretending to be experts in psychographics? Yes, we can. Why? Because generation size relative to the size of the generation that precedes it precipitates predictable behavior, so demographics are the driver. Generation Y is a huge generation (79.5 million) that follows a small Generation X (69.5 million). This means that the job footprint left behind by Generation X as it advances past entry level into midcareer is too small to accommodate Generation Y as it enters the labor force en masse.

Couple this with a down- turned economy and Baby Boomers who should, but can’t afford to, retire and you have dismal job prospects for millions of Generation Y young people. This creates an employer’s market for the first time in 20 years, and an environment where applicants are competing for positions. It would logically follow that the best and the brightest Generation Y applicants will accept skinnier offers, work harder, make fewer demands and, in general, be grateful just to get the job.

A tough time finding a good job – for now

Wonder why you are seeing perky, energetic young people behind the McDonald’s counter for the first time in decades? It’s all about supply and demand. It was the exact opposite when Generation X entered the labor force 20 years ago following the huge Boomer Generation. For every 10 jobs there were only 8 Generation X applicants. This created an employee’s market where employers were forced to pay more for labor that was difficult to find and hire. This scenario brought in entry- and menial-level immigrant workers like a vacuum and sent manufacturing off-shore.

Employers can now hire the best, brightest, and most attractive young labor in 20 years. Will this create management issues? Yes, more than you know. We will have three distinct generations in the workplace and they are from different planets. The obvious difference of course is age, but it doesn’t stop there. Cultural issues come into play.

Let’s explore some examples. Boomers are immigrants in the cyber world. They know enough to get by but they speak with a thick accent. Generation X is bilingual. Generation Y is native born and moves about the cyber world with a natural ease. They will be able to hack weak employer IT systems routinely. They will shock their Boomer co-workers as they text each other during meetings. Email and telephone are embraced by Generation X and Baby Boomers but they are foreign to Generation Y.

What we have here is a failure to communicate

Generation Y will be stunned by a hand written thank-you note especially if it is written in cursive, which they cannot read. Hold a meeting at a quarter of nine and Generation Y probably won’t show because they don’t know what that, or even the phrase “clockwise”, means. Are the “times a changing…” 

Appearances will be a real issue. Yes, Generation Y does believe that their piercings make them more attractive and they are not concerned with the long-term consequences of covering their bodies with vivid tattoos. They are also very aware that their hair is messed up. It is the way that they style it, and so what if it is blue? Generation X and Boomers basically dress alike but Generation Y men will add a new look and fashion statement to the workplace: pants that are falling off.  This might meet with some opposition.

Generation Y will not be tolerant of intolerance. They do not see a difference in race, color or ethnic origin. They don’t even think about it. They will date and marry interracially in numbers that previous generations wouldn’t. They will demand transparency from their employers regarding humanitarian and environmental issues and it will be impossible to hide anything from them. Even a Generation Y worker who really needs the job will probably not stay with a company that he or she considers mean spirited or disingenuous.

 Consider this: Boomers will begin to retire by the millions as the housing crisis eases up and they can sell their homes and access their equity. This will create a void in the United States workforce in the mid and upper levels.  Generation X, currently 28 to 47 years old, does not have the critical mass to satisfy the labor demand or fill the void.

Employers will be forced to hire more Generation Y and accelerate their career advancement into midlevel and even upper-level management. Young people will manage older people and in some cases much older people. This will require special attention and training on the part of Generation Y managers in dealing with age-related conflicts. A group of straitlaced Boomers being managed by a young Generation Y woman with spiked green hair, covered in tattoos and multiple body piercings is not at all out of the realm of possibility. Imagine the Mouseketeers being managed by The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo. Should be fun.