Generation Y - The Generation Born In the 1980s and 1990s

What are they looking for in an employer and what motivates them to work hard?

Much of the workforce today is composed of younger professionals in their twenties and thirties. The expectations and motivations for Generation Y are much different than what employers are use to from Generation X.

Entry level Generation Y workers expect and want the following when seeking employment with companies:

1. Fun work environments with opportunities to travel
2. Ability to work on wide ranges of projects to learn more and stay motivated
3. Company paid training to learn and develop new skills for future growth opportunities
4. Flexible work schedules allowing for work/family/friend balance
5. Competitive salary and benefits package

Employers need to be able to understand Generation Y workers and keep them motivated to stay and grow with their company. Here are some tips on how to motivate younger workers:

1. Generation Y workers realize that today’s trend is for workers to only stay with companies for about 5 years before moving on to another opportunity with a different company.

MOTIVATION TIP: Help them acquire skills that make them more marketable because the opportunity to learn more skills at your company will motivate them to want to stay.

2. Generation Y workers are generally more likely to want to work independently and have the ability to alter processes or procedures to fit their strengths.

MOTIVATION TIP: Give young workers clearly defined goals and the ability and freedom for them to achieve the goals in their own way.

3. Generation Y workers want and expect a lot of feedback as they work on assignments and projects.

MOTIVATION TIP: Provide constant informal feedback.

4. Generation Y workers are typically computer savvy and have the ability to link together data to solve problems.

MOTIVATION TIP: Give young workers access to various types of data and resources.

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Adapted from "Understanding Y: Learn how to recruit Generation Y workers and how to make them stay" by Christine Luporter, on the WomenConnect webiste.