A few months ago I scoffed at a Colorado Business Magazine article that actively profiled Generation X and Generation Y worker as having a lower level of work ethic than previous generations.
Just recently, Harvard Business Review published on their blog an article by Tammy Erickson titled "10 Reasons Gen Xers are Unhappy at Work" detailing a set of reasons why Gen X workers are disassociated from their work in corporations. While the reasons are sound (it would be hard for any Gen X workers not to relate to at least 2-3 of them), what really caught my attention was this passage:
Many of you X’ers are not thrilled with corporate life. You tend not to trust institutions in general and deeply resent the Boomers’ confident assumptions that you will be motivated by the same things that Boomers have long cared about. Many of you have told me that you are planning to leave corporate life “soon” – to start entrepreneurial ventures or work for smaller companies – options you feel will suite you better than the corporate roles looming ahead.
I think Ms. Erickson has nailed my point from the previous entry. Motivation is the key, and both Gen X and Gen Y are not being properly motivated and in turn are not engaged in their current job. The article points to the aging corporate structure and environment as both the cause and where to solution will need to come. I agree, that corporations will need to reevaluate how they structure the work environment to account for how the following will change the current status quo:
- Social Networking
- Telecommuting
- The coming energy crisis
- Life/Work balance that emphasized life over work
And most importantly, intrinsic value. Every single employee should feel they are part of a copacetic employee/employer contract. The employer needs go beyond simple pay and benefits for services rendered, to work with employess in understanding how the job can match the employee's career path, goals, and possibly philosophy. For considering all of these needs, in turn an employee will be not only be actively engaged but will become a net promoter of the company's product/service and the company itself a place to work.
