or a promotion, she’ll probably be
having kids soon.”
driving badly, this will be your default
reason – you won’t think about, or even
have noticed, the other 10 people in
Or (and this was from a Gen Y woman) hats that drove past you perfectly well.
“Don’t hire anyone who’s just got
married. They’re bound to leave and
Gen Y is not one organism. It’s like
have kids soon”
saying all white men can’t jump.
There are spoilt Gen Y and ambitious
And it’s not just female gender
Gen Y and hardworking Gen Y. And
stereotypes. How about “He gets away Gen X, and Gen Z.
with murder because he’s part of the
boys club”. I was guilty of this one too. And in each of these generations there
THERE WILL BE FIVE GENERATIONS IN
THE WORKFORCE BY 2020.
WHY ARE WE WORRYING ABOUT
THAT? THAT’S NOT SCARY,
THAT’S AWESOME!
But I should have been thinking about
why else could this guy be getting the
kudos? Was it because he played a
better game with the bosses, and made
sure he took credit where credit was
due?
Here’s the truth that smacked me in the
face with all the force of a frying pan:
you see what you’re looking for. If you
walk around thinking that all Gen Y
are the same, that’s what you’re going
to see. It’s a bit like my Dad’s rule that
‘anyone who wears a hat driving is a
bad driver’. If there’s a guy in a hat
are men, women, introverts, extroverts
and different personality types from
Direct to Dove.
We feel better when we can put a label
on things. I get that, as long as the tribe
you ‘belong’ to has a good reputation.
I’m not dismissing generational traits.
Generations’ work ethics and ideals
are the result of the times in which
they grow up; each generation has
different political, economic and social
experiences that ultimately affect who
they are personally and professionally.
GLOSS JULY 2015 39