Gen X recruits vs Gen Y recruits

[jzaidi1]

Gen X - those born between 1965 to 1979
Gen Y - those born between 1980 to 1990

In my line of business I see boomers, Gen X and Gen Ys all the time.  I find Boomers to be very "salt of the earth", loyal and will do exactly what is asked of them.  Gen X (me) are folks who like partnering with peers, generally want open door management and will do what they are told.  Gen Y folks want guidance, rapid advancement and generally have a sense of entitlement.

Having said the above "general" statements.  What has your experience been with Gen Y recruits vs Gen X recruits?  Do you find differences at a micro/macro level?  I'm not only curious but this has been a challenging issue with civvie organizations for the past couple of years and I'm right in the middle of it.

Thanks,
J

 

[evil drunken-fool]

Sounds like you are not getting the results out of the Gen Ys that you want.  I was going to do a big write up on the whole thing but I found the article below and it hit all of my major points.  There is some stuff not applicable to the military but you can weed that out.

Over the next two decades, 76 million Americans will be retiring and only 46 million will be entering the workplace to replace them, according to the American Society of Training and Development. The vast majority of those 46 million workers will be from Generation Y, also known as the Millennial generation.

There's been a lot of talk recently about Generation Y. Its members, born between 1982 and 2005, are known for their sense of entitlement, outspokenness, inability to take criticism, and technological sophistication. Fortune deemed Generation Y in its May 28, 2007, issue the most high-maintenance, yet potentially most high-performing generation in history because its members are entering the workplace with more information, greater technological skill and higher expectations of themselves and others than prior generations. In addition, Time described members of Generation Y in its July 16, 2007, issue as wanting the kind of life balance where every minute has meaning. They don't want to be slaves to their jobs the way their Baby Boomer parents are.

http://www.cio.com/article/149053/Management_Techniques_for_Bringing_Out_the_Best_in_Generation_Y/1

For all its worth though, I don't feel the gap between generations is that big.  I think every generation has its sore thumbs that stick out and it seems as though this is where the problem usually comes from.

 

[Grando]

I agree with the OP - but I also think the gap started to really change with people born in the mid '80s.

Kids nowadays (generally speaking of course) have little to no regard for authority, rules, or personal integrity.

 

[vonGarvin]

I wish I could find the link, but the CBC (radio) had a documentary on this in late May/early June on the varying work ethics of Boomer/X/Millenials ("Y").  I think that their general conclusions were similar to yours.

 

[babaganoosh]

Kids nowadays (generally speaking of course) have little to no regard for authority, rules, or personal integrity.

i agree, most kids nowadays are spoiled and only care about themselves.

 

[MedTechStudent]

i agree, most kids nowadays are spoiled and only care about themselves.

And thats exactly what your parents were saying when you were my age.  EDIT:  Umm wait, never mind, you were a "kid" 8 years ago...

Kids nowadays (generally speaking of course) have little to no regard for authority, rules, or personal integrity.

Agreed, however I think people my age (18) are just too bored now a days, as well as added pressure.  It's harder to do well in school, its harder to get a good job.  I mean back in "the day" or at least my parents day, you were out of school and working by 16.  So at an earlier age you were taught the foundations on being an "adult."  Today, "kids" are allowed to act as such for a longer period of time before joining up with the real world post college at around age 22.  As a result the negative connotations are easier to pick out.

In my defense we are not all that way, I kept busy all through my early teen years.  School, soccer, cadets, part time jobs.  Jeez I never had the time to "create trouble for the establishment."  Kids my age are bored, to all parents, make them do something constructive, and they just might take a shine to it. 
 

 

[Michael OLeary]

Agreed, however I think people my age (18) are just too bored now a days, . . .
 

I think the word you were looking for is jaded.

 

[MedTechStudent]

I think the word you were looking for is jaded.

Yepp, much better word.  I do believe it stems from their (our) lack of motivation to do anything.

 

[Loachman]

And thats exactly what your parents were saying when you were my age. 

Don't stop there.

People have been saying that about newer generations for millenia.

Some things never really change.

Adults forget too easily what they and their friends were like at the same age as those that they criticize.

 

[kratz]

Yepp, much better word.  I do believe it stems from their (our) lack of motivation to do anything.

Hence the age old advice to "join the military young man. " 

 

[MedTechStudent]

Don't stop there.

People have been saying that about newer generations for millenia.

Some things never really change.

Adults forget too easily what they and their friends were like at the same age as those that they criticize.

Exactly

Hence the age old advice to "join the military young man. " 

Nah that was my idea.  No one in my family has ever even taken a glance at the Military.  So maybe I'l start a trend.

 

[RCDtpr]

Problem with a lot of these gen Y people (which I happen to be) isn't all necessarily the kids fault.  Some (not all) has to do with parenting.  Over the years I've seen a lot of parents just give their kids everything and not make them work for it.  This has in turn led a lot of them to be 22, not gone to post secondary, not working, just living off mommy and daddy.  This wouldn't happen if the parents didn't allow it.  When I graduated highschool my father gave me a big hug, then told me I was going to college or joining the army and not freeloading off him anymore  ;D.

 

[Blindspot]

People have been saying that about newer generations for millenia.

"The world is passing through troublous times. The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all restraint. They talk as if they knew everything, and what passes for wisdom with us is foolishness with them. As for the girls, they are forward, immodest and unladylike in speech, behavior and dress."
- Peter the Hermit (1274 CE)

"I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words. When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of restraint."
- Hesiod (~700 BCE)

"The young are permanently in a state resembling intoxication."
- Aristotle

 

[derael]

Problem with a lot of these gen Y people (which I happen to be) isn't all necessarily the kids fault.  Some (not all) has to do with parenting.  Over the years I've seen a lot of parents just give their kids everything and not make them work for it.  This has in turn led a lot of them to be 22, not gone to post secondary, not working, just living off mommy and daddy.  This wouldn't happen if the parents didn't allow it.  When I graduated highschool my father gave me a big hug, then told me I was going to college or joining the army and not freeloading off him anymore  ;D.

I'm not going to say that parenting isn't a major factor in how a person develops but at some point I think we need to stop playing the blame game and realise that we are all responsible for our own fate. In my opinion the fundamental problem is victim mentality within society and especially within my generation. When something goes wrong in their life it's always someone or something else's fault...not theirs.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I agree with the OP - but I also think the gap started to really change with people born in the mid '80s.

Kids nowadays (generally speaking of course) have little to no regard for authority, rules, or personal integrity.

Well, that's what every older generation has been saying about the younger generations, isn't it? My experience has been that there are some Gen Yers out there who are pretty useless, and some who are great. The problem with this generation is that there are fewer of them than ever before, so we employers have far less choice nowadays than than in the past, and the employees are calling the shots in their 'sellers' market.

The solution? Leverage technology and outsourcing to get rid of jobs and turn it back into a market dominated by employer demands, what else? It worked for Japan, which has been suffering from a continual decline in birthrate since the early 1900s, thus forcing them to 'robotize' earlier than other industrial nations.

As Henry Ford said when he was asked why he eliminated jobs in favour of robots: "At least I don't have to deal with the Robots' Union".

 

[xo31@711ret]

+1 Loachman. I joined the infantry fresh out of highschool at the age of 17 in 1982 as a naive, snot-nose, know-it-all punk who looked at some of his 'way' older NCO's in their mid to late 30's as decrepit ol' b*stards (little did I understand that some of 'em came up from the states with experience from Vietnam; others from Cyprus 1974 etc,etc,). Now, as a 44 year old snr NCO, I'm sure the 'newbies' look at me the same way.  :crybaby: 'What goes around....'

I look at my 14 and 11 year daughters and sometimes think, WTF are they into?...Then I remember WTF I was into at their age in the 70's.....thank God they (most times) have better sense than I did (though I did have a good time LOL!). Some day (when they're into their 40's) I'll tell them what I was up to when I was their age. But for now, I'll let 'em keep on thinking that their mother & I were tea-drinkin', church-every-sunday, whatevers... 

 

[davidk]

Nothing has changed. A few generations from now we'll be hearing exactly the same arguments.

"The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority, they show disrespect to their elders.... They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and are tyrants over their teachers." -Socrates

 

[jzaidi1]

Wow...thanks for all the responses.  I guess I hit a chord with a few folks.  I'd say history does repeat itself every generation except our industry "experts" believe the Gen Y's are different.  Gen Ys are the first generation in history to be raised by parents that are exponentially more prosperous than the generation before them...leading to children with expectations of instant gratification.  They are the first generation not to have known life before computers.  They are the first generation to live from birth-death in a ecologically conscience society.  They are the first generation to be raised en-mass by single parent families or same sex couples.

I can't remember reading anything about such a huge seismic shift between one generation and the next.  The list goes on and on but see the link and associated articles relating to Gen Y.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y

J

 

[MedTechStudent]

I'm just please to read that everyone agrees that this has been going on for hundreds of years, and multiple generations.

When I'm 40 something I will be saying to my kids, "Oh you kids have it so good now with your I-pod brain implants, back when I was your age we had to plug earphones into our I-Pods.  You whippersnappers with your rocket boots, back when I was your age we had to drive to the 711."

 

[VM]

There are some generalizations that have been said about this topic throughout the generations. However, there is some truth to what the reports say about Gen Yers. I believe its mostly because of the ever increasing affluent society we are living in. I was born in 84' and i know I had it much easier as a child then my father ever had it; he had it easier than his father. Money changes people, most would agree with that, and with the affluence the generation Yers enjoy it changes the way they view the world. A good example is how easy it now is to not only get into university, but to graduate with a Bacholers degree. There are many students I went to university with who did not work hard enough, and who frankly were not smart enough to recieve a degree....yet they can pay, and thus they ended up recieving that degree (although with pretty bad marks.)

Now on the flip side, I would argue many of my generation grow up and begin to stop thinking like they are owed everything by the time they are mid 20's. I'm 24 now, and it probably wasn't till around 21 that I started to see that work ethic and respect are whats important.