Q: What is the most dangerous challenge bosses have to face with younger employees?

A: Gen Y workers, aka Millennials, have been raised in a world where privacy is not valued.

This is the Facebook Generation – the YouTube Generation – the reality show generation.  If you’ve got it, flaunt it, text it, post on Facebook, or send it viral.  Gen Y workers – ages 30 and younger – are their own press agents.

Young workers have grown up in a society where sharing information with friends and even with strangers shows an astonishing lack of discernment.

Do young employees know how to act and dress appropriately?  Society has not discouraged Gen Ys from wearing flipflops at the White House, Britney jeans on the streets, and piercing themselves with tatoos and noserings .  (I try to skip those food servers.)  Most recently, Kate Upton’s stint as Sports Illustrated covergirl for the 2012 swimsuit issue got the A-OK from Congressman Uncle Fred Upton and the rest of her family.  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/kate-upton-a-great-gal-fred-upton-congressman-uncle-article-1.1024151?localLinksEnabled=false

Do young employees know how to keep a secret?  Employment counsellors encourage potential employees to clean up their Facebook pages.  However, once viral, always visual.  And, BFFs are a true danger.

For any company or agency that doesn’t want its secrets and strategies out and about, the first order of the day is to give a course on what not to say or do professionally.  For businesses, it can even be something as small as calling a customer by the first name before being given permission.  Or, it can be something as big as telling your BFF about upcoming products, services, or old office gossip.  In the world of Gen Y, corporate espionage has to go no further than friending the right person.

Word-of-mouth marketing – going viral – can be a Gen Y asset when it is used to spread the word about a great product or service.

But, it’s a disaster for corporations and government agencies who operate in both national and international settings.  Young workers need a crash course in keeping quiet.  And, then, they need to be kindly mentored in the difference between the world they grew up in and the real world where information is more valuable than gold.

Why?

Gen Y workers are unusually good at multi-tasking.  The history that occurs during the formative years of a generation creates its values, attitudes, and lifestyles – in this case, Ys’ ability to do several things at once, to handle many tasks at the same time.

Just picture the typical night of a young Gen Y worker (age 30 and under in 2012): talking on a speaker phone, with the TV on, music playing in the background, simultaneously surfing the Net, waiting for the pager to beep or an instant message to pop up, all the while still carrying on a phone conversation.

Growing up in the information age – using computers, at home and at school, and living in a 500-channel television universe – Gen Ys  receive an overwhelming amount of media messages everyday and they thrive on it.

However, when it comes to the job, one that requires long-term, in-depth research, there’s a down side to Gen Y’s multi-tasking love affair.  For example, if you assign to a Gen Y, a long, frustrating, intricate project that requires plodding along, trying to find and fit the pieces of the puzzle together, they’re not going to love it.

The solution is to break any long task into pieces.  Heap praise on this compliment-loving generation all along the way.  And, it doesn’t hurt to reward them at the end of each piece of the long task.

What does “going topless” mean to Gen Y workers?  It means no laptops, no IPhones, no digital tools of any kind at business meetings.

Boomer bosses may see this as a plus — there will be no viewing Facebook, no checking email, no texting “I’m bored” to another meeting participant, no playing Words with Friends.

But Ys – at topless meetings – lose one of their most valuable skills:  the ability to multi-task in their favored language — digital.  And, that means there will be no information gathering done at warp speed, no intra-meeting brainstorming, and no note-taking that may serve as a catalyst for future creative thought.

Personally, I like digital tools at a meeting.  If I need some info, an X or Y can supply it almost instantaneously.  I can tell if I’m losing the group’s attention or if they’re ready to move on.  And, after the meeting, as soon as I check my IPhone,  I receive feedback, suggestions, and creative thoughts, sent to me, digitally, throughout the meeting.

One additional hint for multi-generational meetings — if there are Gen Ys at a meeting, don’t read too much into their facial expressions.  Remember, they’re used to looking down at their IPhones, not at each other.  Look for non-verbal cues in the faces of Gen Xers or Boomers.

Young voters’ attachment to certain Presidential candidates demonstrates, in part, certain of their generational characteristics.

For example, Gen Ys are an optimistic generation.  When President Obama was running for the office, Ys liked his message of hope and change.  Ys are peer-driven, and President Obama, smart phone in hand, seemed like a peer.

But, in 2012, what is the Gen Y characteristic that is driving many young voters to support Representative Ron Paul, a 76-year-old libertarian?  Dr. Paul can be clever and witty, delivering great one liners about his libertarian policies, but – to attract such a die-hard following of Gen Ys – there’s got to be more to it.

So, here it is:  Gen Ys don’t like hype and spin when choosing products, services, and yes, Presidential candidates. They prefer authenticity.  Why?

• Having grown up in a 500-channel universe, Gen Ys have been exposed to media hype since birth.
• Ys are a large generation with disposable cash, so they have been bombarded with marketing messages all their lives.
• Ys are an interactive generation that votes for an American Idol, enters online marketing contests and surveys, and understands that companies value the power of Gen Ys’ word-of-mouth (mouse) marketing of a product or a service.

In other words – Gen Ys understand marketing and spin, so they value authenticity.  Dr. Paul’s appeal comes, not necessarily from his views about the Federal Reserve, even though his anti-regulatory stance appeals to an Internet generation, but – in Gen Ys’ eyes – he’s the real deal, the real McCoy, Kosher.  He’s an “authentic.”

“I can handle as many as you can throw at me,” answered Jessica, a physical therapist at a large New York hospital, when I asked her how many people she could manage at one time.

I’ve seen Jessica coordinate a 10 ten-minute warm-up on a bike, teach a new exercise, fill in a person’s chart, check that repetitions were being done properly, and ice down knees, backs, legs, etc., for four people at once, all the while, having fun, and occasionally making a funny remark to a co-worker.

A typical Jessica-ism: “Go schedule yourself at the desk for the next month while I’m printing out your at-home instructions.”

So, how did Gen Ys get to be so good at multi-tasking and why is it sometimes a challenge to bosses?  Check out Gen Y Data Snax – Snak #4.

GOAL:  This workshop helps you effectively incorporate younger workers into a multi-generational workplace.  Workshop participants develop new insights into the values, attitudes, lifestyles, and preferred methods of communication of America’s younger generations.

LEVEL OF COURSE:  The course is designed for managers from any generation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION:

In this hands-on workshop, managers are given an opportunity to learn what motivates Generation X (31-51) and Generation Y (30 and younger), and how to apply this new information to practical workplace solutions.

For example:  Gen Ys (Millennials) are great at multi-tasking.

Why?

Just picture a typical Gen Y: talking on a speaker phone, with the TV on, music playing in the background, simultaneously surfing the Net, waiting for the pager to beep or an instant message to pop up, all the while still carrying on a phone conversation.

Growing up in the information age – computers at home and at school plus a 500-channel television universe – Gen Ys receive an overwhelming amount of media messages everyday and they thrive on it.

However, when it comes to the job, one that requires long-term, in-depth research, there’s a down side to Gen Y’s multi-tasking love affair.  For example, if you assign to a Gen Y, a long, frustrating, intricate job that requires plodding along, trying to find and fit the pieces of the puzzle together, they’re not going to love it.  So, what do you do?

This course will enable participants to work out challenges like this one, tap into the strengths of young generations, and avoid conflict in the workplace.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

1.  Introduce participants to the values, attitudes, lifestyles, and preferred methods of communication of Generation X and Generation Y (Millennials)

2.  Introduce participants to a critical workplace challenge with new hires — the lack of the concept of privacy existing in Gen Y employees, the Facebook Generation.

3.  Learn techniques that ensure employee motivation and thus, retain the best young employees.  Learn how to motivate younger employees to want to move toward a common purpose.

4.  Give workshop participants an opportunity to add their practical expertise to generational insights in order to create new management techniques.

5.  Create a generational notebook that can be referred to and added to in years to come.

Gen Ys feel burned by Washington politics and they’re going viral about it, according to a recent poll commissioned by Generation Opportunity, a non-profit, non-partisan group that is engaging young adults to speak out about economic issues.  According to the poll:

• Young voters who self-identify as independents draw a tight connection between Washington’s economic policies and the lack of jobs they have experienced firsthand.
• An even larger majority of Millennial independents (59 percent) recognize that the economy grows best when individuals are allowed to create businesses without government interference.

To learn what Gen Ys/ Millennials think about Federal spending, jobs, the direction the country is taking, and what really matters to them, visit:  http://news.yahoo.com/generation-opportunity-poll-self-identified-independents-ages-18-191006477.html

So, Xers value a work culture that offers them a sense of belonging – a sense of family – a sense of tradition.  Gen Xers need to know that the people they interact with care about them.

For example, if they’ve done a good job, tell them.  Better yet, have a superior compliment their good work by email.  Give them a sincere pat on the back.

Recognize superior efforts by taking those who excel, out of their cubicles and into the real world.  For example, let a promising Xer attend important functions and briefings occasionally.

Xers just need to be acknowledged for work well done.

Trends originate with a small segment of young people, then, permeate society at large, one group at a time.  So Gen Ys are motivated by word-of-mouth marketing, or as it has been called:  word-of-mouse marketing.

Word-of-mouth marketing spreads so fast, it’s been called a viral stream of information spreading like a virus.

So, how did Oscar de la Renta launch his latest perfume, the one inspired by his daughter?  ON FACEBOOK!  He sent out wonderful samples of the first new fragrance he has launched in ten years to visitors who “liked” his Facebook page (which has 120,000 followers, I might add!)

That’s the power of Gen Y/Millennial word-of-mouse marketing!

A new Gen X employee walks into your office on day one.  It’s two hours into the morning of the first day on the job, and the Gen Xer offers you, the boss, an idea.  This is typical Gen X behavior.

The Gen Xer is not being disrespectful of your years of experience.  Xers are simply into “Internet thinking.”

Internet thinking means that it is only the quality of an idea that should matter.  Think about it.  In a chat room on the Internet, neither person knows the age, sex, education nor experience of the other person.  They only know the quality and logic of the ideas being offered to them.

To Xers, it’s the quality of their idea that counts, not the time served.

So, when an Xer asks you to consider something new, they’ll understand “No” as long as they think it’s not a knee-jerk reaction.  And, they’ll understand “No” if you give them a valid reason why it might not work.

That’s what Internet thinking is all about.