Orly's Opinion - Tying it all Together

“So what does all this mean? Well, for starters there is one commonality between millennials, Gen-Xers and baby boomers. They idealize the value of respect, positivity, friendliness and collective growth in the work place. But that's where the similarity ends. The degree to which different age groups accept that these attributes are absent in their work environment differs tremendously. For millennial, they will not take a job if the atmosphere is hostile period. For these young professionals, respect is expected not earned. For Gen-Xers, the preference is a friendly, positive team-oriented work environment but will make the best of a difficult situation or rather put up with a small degree of abuse if the position offers enough individual growth potential, challenge and prestige. The boomers are mostly untested in the bottom line. As much as friendliness, respect and collective harmony are wonderful attributes, it doesn't necessarily pay the bills. What's most essential is whether or not the job pays enough to support their families in the manner to which they have been accustomed. Their work ethos is slightly harsher. No one told them it was gonna be easy out there. Nobody promised them respect and team spirit. They grew up in a different time. It's a place where respect was earned and sometimes you didn't get what you deserved. And if that's the case, they are willing to put up with negativity and lack of respect. But only to the point where it doesn't get in the way of financial gain.

So how do we make sense of all of this? I would suggest that we take a look at how companies treat employees. Businesses should begin devising strategies about how to create atmospheres that have it all in a manner of speaking. Once we recognize that the tables have now turned and that employers have to earn the respect of their employees if they want to keep them around we might be able to re-instill a degree of company loyalty. There is no other alternative. The new up and coming professionals are taking a mercenary approach to employment. People aren't waiting around for company watches anymore. Nobody cares if their supervisor loves them. If the work place doesn't change to reflect the values of young talented professionals there will be a severe talent deficit by the year 2010. Only the adaptable organizations will benefit from all of this.”

Orly's Opinion - Millennials

“I interviewed 6 male subjects from the ages 20 to 26 about work place satisfaction. I call this cohort the millennial group.

The majority of respondents agreed that a happy atmosphere was most important to them. Yet, they couldn't tangibly define what one looked like. They did however describe a work place that was 'unhappy'. According to millennial, it's a disrespectful environment where co-workers are verbally abusive, cannot get along with one another and bosses were micro-managing. So I assumed that being given respect is why millennial would stay at their jobs. But that's not necessarily the case. According to millennial responses, the reasons they left previous jobs had little to do with lack of respect.

The first respondent was offered a more challenging career opportunity, another wanted a position with pay consistency, one even left to have more fun with another company and another just needed more scheduling flexibility. Only 1 of the 6 left due to lack of respect.

So does this mean for millennial respect isn't the most essential component of a happy work place? Not at all. I would argue that while it's still a top priority, it's far from being the only significant component of work place satisfaction. Happiness seems to encompass far more than the absence of conflict and abuse. And yes, while respect is a clearly a reflection of the millennial work ethos, it's not the deal-breaker when it comes to retaining these young talented professionals. It only lures them in for a while. Keeping them around is a whole other story.”

Orly's Opinion - Generation X

“I interviewed 5 male and female subjects from the ages 30 to 39 about work place satisfaction. This cohort is often referred to as Generation X.

So what do mid-entry, thirty something professionals look for in a work space? That's easy, a positive, team work oriented and friendly environment. Generation X strongly values the feeling of fitting in, team spirit and collective growth. One respondent even mentioned that "there's nothing worse than not evolving on all levels as an individual, a team, a unit and a company".

But when it came time for Gen-Xers to explain why they left their previous positions, only 1 of the 5 left because their environment lacked team spirit, friendliness and collective growth. The others spoke of stress, financial problems, the need for a more challenging opportunity at a position more relevant to their career. One respondent even mentioned that she left a prestigious job she loved in a hostile timeshare where she was welcomed, as a result of policy guidelines that prevented her from renewing her contract. If not for that, she would have stayed.

So does this mean Gen-Xers don't look really care about a positive, team oriented environment with close work relationships and collective growth? On the contrary, the numbers indicate that they value this strongly. The real issue is whether or not they’re willing to tolerate an unfriendly, negative environment with no team spirit if there’s room to grow individually, the position offered them enough challenge, financial satisfaction and other career-related benefits. I mean come on, let's be realistic here, there has to be some form of individual gain that out weighs an atmosphere that is socially unpleasant?

Orly's Opinion - Boomers

“I interviewed 4 male and female subjects from the ages 45 to 64 about work place satisfaction. This group is recognized as the Baby Boomers.

After interviewing two sales reps, a retired social worker slash film maker slash entrepreneur and a teacher for religious studies, it became clear that this generation was on the look-out for a good salary and benefits.

And when they were asked to state the reasons why they had left their previous positions, it was for better pay elsewhere and abuse that it caused health problems that got in the way of earning a decent living. Only one respondent left because there was so much tension and not enough growth potential. And even this particular baby boomer spoke about benefits and pay in response to a better opportunity.

As the daughter of a baby boomer, I find this not surprising in the least. Boomers are a generation who value the bottom line before they consider career satisfaction. Maybe it's because they are so close to retiring, have already reached the top or derive satisfaction in non-work related areas. Who knows, it's hard to say. What we do know is that they have the most financial burden, are accustomed to a certain lifestyle, have been socialized to be more humble and most likely have more than one dependent to support. According to baby boomer responses, the only thing that can keep a boomer from staying in an unpleasant work environment is the fear of stress-related illness. They are that grateful for a pay cheque.”

Are Millennials really different?

There are lots of articles about millennials – Generation Y – or the children of baby boomers. In the next few blogs, we will explore how they are the same, how they are different and why they will forever change the world of work – for everyone.

To start, we had a writer interview a number of people from three groups – boomers, Generation X and millennials – asking three simple questions: What do you look for in a workplace? Why would you leave? What did you leave? You’ll read “Orly’s Opinion” on this very short, unscientific survey. Orly is a Gen-Xer.

Then we’ll compare the results with other surveys that have a much larger sample size, and see if our small survey is representative.

Finally, in this series of blogs, we’ll look at how and why millennials will forever change the world of work.