Generation Why?  Be cause We AREN’T YOU!  
Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR's interview with
Gen Y Kristin Kaminski

I was blessed this summer to have the best experience ever with a summer intern, Kristin Kaminski .  We shared many stories about the generations in the workplace but I’m here to tell you that all the stories you hear about the Gen Ys are fairy tales that should be placed in a bedside book for humor rather than told in a management 101 class. 

What should be taught in the management classes about Gen Ys is they are misunderstood and being managed inappropriately.  But, as Kristin puts it, she is only one person and Generation Y is a huge group of individuals with differing experiences and opinions (She loves that about her generation!).  You cannot assume they will all act and behave exactly the same.  But, I will tell you that Kristin was never late even in an environment where she could be.  If she thought she might be late, she called ahead of time.  She rarely left early but actually had to be kicked out of the office.  She needed very little direction and was extremely creative coming up with new ways to do things that I never would have thought of and I’m a Gen Xer.   If she didn’t know how to do something, she’d ask but she definitely wanted to try to figure it out herself rather than being told exactly how to do it first.

To try and help you get to know the Gen Ys so you may have as good of an experience as I did, I interviewed Kristin.  Below are some of the questions I asked and responses Kristin shared.  Keep in mind, each Gen Y may have unique perspectives; the key will be to respect each Gen Y and find out if their answers to these questions are any different and if you should modify the way you interact with them to ensure you have the same great experience I have.

[Robin] What entices you to join an organization?
[Kristin] An opportunity to do something important and that will make a difference while still being able to have a life.  A job is not something that you do for just eight hours everyday, I want to join a company that encourages me to interact with my coworkers both in the work place and out, whether it is through company outings, sports teams, etc. I want to join a company that isn’t just in it for themselves; I want to help them to succeed but to know that they are looking out for my best interests as well.

[Robin] What makes you stay?
[Kristin] Flexibility.  My generation is used to being involved with several organizations at once, we don’t just want to go to work and come home everyday.  We might have different clubs or volunteer organizations that we help out and we want to know that our job is not going to run our life.  Yes I will stay late if I think it is necessary for me to get something done but I am not going to sit at my desk and do nothing when I feel like I could be making a difference somewhere else.  My job is a part of my life and not the other way around.  My generation has looked at the sacrifices that the prior generations have made and how that has affected their family life and we have evolved.

[Robin] What makes you show up to work on time?
[Kristin] A reason.  People call my generation “Generation WHY” so just tell me why is it necessary for me to be at work at a certain time?  If it is because I need to be accessible to our customers at a certain time or accessible to my coworkers then tell me that, however if you want me to be in at a certain time because “that’s how it is” then you are just highlighting the fact that you don’t have a reason.  My generation has learned when it is that we are able to work at our best, whether we are morning people who want to come in early and leave a little earlier or if we know that we are going to be in the daze in the morning and would be more productive an hour later then we would rather do that.  We realize that we have to work to get paid but we would rather put your money to work when we are at our most productive and most beneficial to you.

[Robin] What shaped your perspectives growing up?
[Kristin] Personal relationships, whether it is with my family or friends, have shown me how different decisions affect personal growth and happiness.  With school shootings and terrorist attacks it has been brought to everyone’s attention that you won’t live forever and tomorrow isn’t a guarantee.  As negative as that sounds I believe it has impacted most people in the positive.  People my age take advantage of every opportunity they have and are less willing to skip an event “because there is always next time.”

[Robin] What do other people say about your generation that bothers you?
[Kristin] Wow!  Is that a loaded question or what!?  Let me start with work ethic, apparently we don’t have any!  We may not believe in the traditional 8-5 workday, but if you give us a project and a deadline then we will get it done.  If we can get it done before five then why should we sit around and act like we are doing something until that time, this is not the age of Fred Flintstone  where when the bell rings everyone jumps in the car and goes home.

The other HUGE issue would be respect.  I have heard on numerous occasions that “kids these days they don’t have any respect.”  This brings back into play our generational name, Generation Why, show us that you deserve our respect and you will have it but realize that we deserve respect as well.  Respect due to age or status is a thing of the past, we don’t believe that just because you are older than us or claim to be an expert means that we will blindly follow you.  This blind respect without question that the older generations believe is necessary has given rise to Hitler, Stalin, Cults, Presidential Scandals, Church scandals, etc.  Why would we look at all of the devastation and pain this has caused and say, “You know what, they are right.  I need to do whatever this person says because of who they are because they MUST be right.”  With all of this being said I must also add a quick disclaimer that we will not openly disrespect you unless you have proven to us that you deserve it.

[Robin] What do you want others to know about your generation?
[Kristin] We aren’t just “Punk Kids” we have good ideas and we work hard for what we believe.  Don’t discount us because we are different, the fact that we are different should add more value to your company because we have new and innovative ideas and we know the technology to help make those ideas a reality.  Just because we like to work from home or work flexible hours or dress more casually doesn’t mean we don’t take our job seriously.  We take our job very seriously and so we don’t see the need to waste time dressing up and we try to get a project completed as efficiently as we can while still maintaining the integrity of the project because we know how valuable everyone’s time is.

[Robin] How do you define work ethic?
[Kristin] Work ethic is not defined by the number of hours you put in at the office but rather by your productivity during your work hours.  Work ethic is essentially an idea of how to measure the best employees by how they go about their work, which doesn’t work well with a generation that is used to handling multiple tasks and approaching them from a different point of view.  This doesn’t mean that Generation Y does not have work ethic, it just shows that how we align our values compared to the previous generations is slightly different and therefore may appear to be a lack of work ethic.  I believe my generation puts in the work where it is needed but will not waste useful energy on mundane tasks and therefore we appear to be lazy.

[Robin] What do you have to add to the workforce?
[Kristin] Plenty, not only are the more recent generations more technically savvy, but we were also brought up with the idea that we can do anything which means that we believe that we can try to implement even the most outrageous of ideas.  We are a group of multitaskers who know how to plan out our time and work to complete several objectives at once.  Not only that, but we can offer more diverse ideas into the workplace to help everyone succeed.

[Robin] What is the best way to manage a Generation Y? 
[Kristin] We thrive on feedback, tell us what you like, tell us what we need to change and we will do it better the next time.  If there is a conflict, approach us but don’t talk down to us or accuse us of wrongdoing without asking us first.  When you give us an assignment, tell us what it is you want us to do and why you want us to do it.  Do not tell us step by step how to do it, you can tell us if we have any questions or want to talk to you about how you might approach it to feel free, but do not give your unsolicited “this is how you should do it” advice. 

[Robin] What is the best way to train a Generation Y?
[Kristin] Ask us how we prefer to be trained.  Personally I am a more hands on learner, if you stand in front of me and tell me how everything is done without giving me visual aids and a hands-on experience then I might as well be sleeping.  I personally believe that interaction is necessary to be well trained in whatever it is that you are teaching us but the key is to be adaptable.  If a Gen Y has a question or is confused we will ask, there is no stigma for us against asking questions.

Ask and you shall receive!  Sharing an office with a Gen Y, I did a lot of asking and I learned a great deal about the Gen Ys and how to work as a team with Kristin.  She was extremely productive and did an excellent job in every area possible.  Even more exciting for me was to find out how much she learned from me.  As a mechanical engineer interning in an HR consulting firm, Kristin confessed that she learned a great deal about how to embrace the older generations (yep – I’m an older generation) but also communication skills, project management, deadlines, and life in general. Don’t shy away from hiring and working with a Gen Y; I’d encourage you to do the same thing that I did by stepping out and working with a Gen Y, ask a lot of questions, be open to new ways, and you too can learn and reap the same success.

Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR is a Sr. Human Resources Consultant with Strategic Human Resources, Inc. (http://www.StrategicHRinc.com).  If you have any questions, contact Robin Robin@StrategicHRinc.com.  If you have a need for an outstanding Mechanical Engineer for a summer internship in 2008, contact Kristin at kristin.kaminski@uky.edu.