Twentysomethings (twen-tē sŭm'thĭngs) n.: Generation Y. Individuals born between 1977 -1995. Newbie’s to the workforce. Soon to take over the jobs of the baby-boomers when they retire.

So what is all the excitement about? According to Fortune magazine, these twentysomethings, a group I just happen to be apart of, are “ambitious, demanding, self-absorbed, gregarious, multitasking, loud, optimistic and pierced” individuals and are frightening corporations and CEO’s all over North America. The problem is that Generation Y is now coming into the workforce with a whole new attitude, while their parent’s generation is completely perplexed with how to control them. Fortune magazine states that this generation of workers is “the most high-maintenance workforce in the history of the world. The good news is they’re also going to be the most high performing”, and that I couldn’t agree with more.

Being brought up in the 80s and 90s, my generation has a completely different perspective on work. As it was in the past, work is still considered necessary, however our priorities have changed. The parents of Generation Y, the baby-boomers, did everything in their power to make money for their children’s security. Scared by the post WWII effects and often a childhood in poor conditions, the baby boomers became workaholics, driven to get as much money as they could, as fast as they could. Brought up with these overworking parents, Gen Y came to the realization that there is more to life then work, shifting the emphasis on maintaining a secure job to gaining a healthy lifestyle.

This allows for my generation to feel comfortable to speak up to their employers, as they often do not fear losing their jobs. In addition to this, Gen Y is more educated. In Canada alone, the number of people with a degree from a post secondary institution has increased by over 100 per cent between 1981 and 2001 , creating intelligent individuals who know what they want and are not afraid to say it. This can also be translated into annoying, positive, confident, questioning individuals, who are less willing to conform to the typical corporate regulations.

So basically, what I am saying is that I agree with Fortune magazine’s claims. However, I have one bone to pick. The article mentions this generations tendency to be overly needy and goes as far as stating that the companies should be pitching jobs offers to the parents rather than the children. In my opinion, that is absurd. On behalf of the twentysomethings I would like to say that although we may be more egocentric, talkative and assertive individuals, we are in no way equivalent to five-year-olds. If anything I would argue that Generation Y is the opposite. Yes, it is true that the age to stay at home after graduation has increased, and yes our generation does have more of an explicit loving relationship with our parents, but we also do everything in our power to assure them that they cannot control us.

A major characteristic of Gen Yers, is the need for individuality and independence. We strive for this in our attire, our hairstyles, our homes and even our friends. This also effects our occupations. With an insecure future consisting of talk about melting icecaps, hurricanes and uncontrollable epidemics in Africa, more and more people are living in the now rather than the future. This causes people to go for jobs that they want, rather than what their parents want them to have. More and more students are ditching the traditional occupations, spending years on end traveling and working for non-profit organizations while going against the baby boomer parent “need to succeed” mentality.

Nevertheless, I agree that children today do value their parent’s opinions more. As well, compared to the past generations, we indeed become independent later in life. The twentysomethings are slow to start. However, in order to make up for this, we also keep it longer. When we finally gain our independence, the twentysomethings do not rush into marriages or secure jobs. They take risks and rebel as much as they possibly can. With later marriages and more and more people living on their own, there is clear proof that this “needy” behaviour does not effect all aspects of our lives.

All in all, the twentysomethings are something that employers need to be concerned about. Most importantly because we are not willing to change, thus it is the organizations that need to adapt to this aging population. Which CVI does quite well, if I might add.


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