Many Boomer managers are lost today for knowing how to motivate young employees. They’re certainly not like your older workers and don’t respond in the way that you’re accustomed. If this is you, learning a just a few things about them, things you might least expect, will help you let young employees be motivated in their work.
Here is a list of 22 strengths, challenges and other Generation Y characteristics that will guide you in motivating your new, young employee:
by Tinker Barnett
Motivation can be used to describe anything that “causes people to accomplish more than they would otherwise achieve”.
It was Frederick Herzberg who established that real motivation comes from within us. It that’s true, people can’t motivate other people.
The truth is that we can only understand what people want and then interact in ways that stimulates the good feeling of getting what they want most. For managers, it first involves getting to know employees and what each wants.
There are four generations in the workplace today. Generations are groups of people shaped similarly in values, attitudes and beliefs by formative events they experience in their young lives. In the workplace, they have a strong tendency to expect the same things.
The youngest employees, Generation Y, ages 16-33, are new arrivals to many workplaces and have the most surprising expectations.
This is one of the biggest challenges for managers today, knowing what motivates the youngest generation and makes them want to stay on the job.
The real truth is that young people want to help and are eager to learn. If they sense that you know this about them, they will be motivated to please you and excel.
I know young employees come with a load of challenges. They want quality companies with coworkers that are supportive and pleasant. They want to share their ideas, and they want to be heard and respected right off-the-bat. They don’t want to “waste time” working on meaningless tasks, they want to jump right in and be part of the important stuff.
All of this is a challenge and it requires your time and energy.
What you may not know is how Generation Y employees add value to your business. Continue reading
by Tinker Barnett
There are four generations in the workplace today and lots of frustration. Strained employee relationships impact work results.
Many business owners and managers don’t realize the potential benefits for helping four generations work better together.
Managers who understand the different expectations of each generation are able to manage those differences to motivate employees.
Motivated employee generate greater value for the company.
Here are 4 ways that organizations increase value by managing generational differences: Continue reading
“Technique and technology are important, but adding trust is the issue of the decade.” Tom Peters, Business Author
By Tinker Barnett
My Gen Y Tech Operations Manager shared a story with me the other day that I found unbelievable. What happened is a bit out of the ordinary and quite wonderful.
Employee mentoring isn’t being done so much today for new hires because of lean workplaces and less hiring. At the same time, there is conflict among four generations at work and mentoring is a great way to cool it down. Conflict costs you money and what you really want is to save your company some money, right?
Many coworkers of older generations believe Gen Yers are not ready and willing to give their best. Mentoring will get the “ready and willing” Gen Y employees energized and engaged. It works so well because it fits with what they look for in work relationships – the chance to ask questions, to learn something new and to get frequent feedback on how they are performing.
Here are three reasons why mentoring of newly hired Gen Y professionals works to keep conflict low for everyone. Continue reading
By Tinker Barnett
Do a little test; ask anyone over age 33 how it’s going with the young employees in their workplace.
Any time I’ve asked this question, I see eyes roll – up, sideways and around. People don’t want to say much but, they’re stressed about how to work with Generation Y and are trying to make the best of it.
Generation Y, the youngest generation of workers in the workforce now, is often blamed because the expectations they have for the workplace are so different from the other three generations. We hear about what they want, what they expect, how their beliefs and values are different, and how businesses and companies have to adapt to them.
In truth, it’s change happening in business and in the world that coworkers struggle with.
In many ways, Gen Yers represent that change. It’s impacting work relationships because they bring their values, attitudes, and beliefs into workplaces that haven’t changed much in the way they motivate employees.
Conflict arises when what is new in business butts-head with business practices that have not changed with the times. Continue reading
By Tinker Barnett
What do you do when your Gen Y employee, four weeks on the job, asks if she can present her new idea to the board of directors?
You’re kidding, right?
Nope. This situation has happened to more than one company supervisor. Many call it Gen Y entitlement.
What not to do
1. Don’t allow her to remain in her misunderstanding of how she fits into the company’s big picture. It takes time and experience to develop what I call “workplace credit”. It requires the fleshing-out-of-character-with-achievement. Many Gen Y seem to think that getting a degree gives them enough workplace credit but, most have not tested their “credit ranking” in the real world of work. Continue reading
The Boss
By Tinker Barnett
Hey, Boss, would you like to have Generation Y employees, ages 18 to 33, who generate value in your workplace instead of stirring things up and moving on after a year?
For some owners and managers Gen Y are puzzling, perplexing and difficult. Many report that they don’t want to do the grunt work and don’t know how to get things done with coworkers.
It seems they expect good pay with flexible hours and want their work to be meaningful and fun. In our day, work was work and we had to earn those things.
Because of differences in generations, the folks in charge – that’s you – and the newly hired young employees have different ideas about what it takes to be a member of the team.
We know that it takes time to be excellent on the job and yet, there are also a few things you can do right away with your young employees that will help both of you get what you want from work. Continue reading
It’s not your daddy’s workplace anymore!
It’s dynamic workplace change with four generations doing
the best they know how to meet your company objectives.
But you must know, they need your help or they will feel like they don’t fit in and look for career opportunities in other work environments.
In spite of the different values, attitudes and beliefs of Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Yers, there is the potential to manage differences in ways that create positive workplace change.
When you act on the 7 tips below, you will build trust with your employees and have agility for managing through all workplace change.