I have adopted my father’s method of instruction when I helped him on the farm as a child which runs along the line of – Do this – If you didn’t understand the instructions listen harder next time I tell you what to do – You are not at school now with school teachers - Do it quickly . Luckily Dad never had to contend with cellphones and texting – I can however imagine what would have been said but cannot print it here.
Gen Y – quite obviously see things very differently from the rest of the world and react accordingly. I have recently come across a table that attempts to explain the differences between the generations. (Thriving & Surviving with Generation Y at Work Peter Sheahan, 2005)
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Influence
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Baby Boomer
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Generation X
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Generation Y
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Role Models
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Men of Character
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Men & Women of Character?
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What is Character?
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Television
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I Love Lucy
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Happy Days
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Jerry Springer
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Musical Icons
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Elvis Presley
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Madonna
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Eminem ( I must admit I love Eminem and went to Twilight – maybe that makes me Gen Y )
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Music Mediums
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LPs & Eps
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Cassettes & CDs
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Digital (iPods & MP3s)
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Computer Games
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Pong
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Pacman
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Counter Strike
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Money
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Earn it
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It is not everything
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Give it to me
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Loyalty to Employer
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Work my way to the top
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Shortcut to the top
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Give me Saturday off or I’ll quit
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Respecting your elders
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Automatic
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Is polite
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Whatever!
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Change
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Resist it
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Accept it
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Want it
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Technology
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Ignorant of it
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Comfortable
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Feel it in their gut
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In a future article Brian Richardson will suggest ways that employers can manage Gen Y’s . – it will be of more assistance to you than what I have set out above and will be less likely to result in a personal grievance claim.
