By Erica Dhawan
This week, I am honored to attend and speak the World Economic Forum at Davos as part of the first Global Shaper delegation, a group of 70 millennial leaders from around the world to help leaders ‘think younger’ about today’s global challenges and the future of work. As I prepare for my panel on Leadership Across Generations, I wonder, how aligned is the vision of work for today’s world leaders with the vision for me and my Generation Y peers?
The recession has also influenced the way young people view work. Millennials who couldn’t get a college education or suffered after the recession have been forced to start in new ways, building online businesses or becoming freelancers. They know that pension and 401K plans won’t operate the same way anymore. They know that getting a job is about being innovative and working across fields.
What I’m noticing is that most corporate structures are out of sync with the lifestyle desires of Generation Y. Companies need to rethink the way their employees work, making major changes that will accommodate the unique work desires of Gen Y. What’s in it for companies? They will increase employee performance by reducing turnover and have happier, more productive Gen Y employees. A BPW Foundation’s Gen Y study published in April 2011 also noted that by 2025, Generation Y will make up roughly 75% of the world’s workforce. With this many millenials making up the majority of the workforce by 2025 -- only 13 years away -- employers can’t afford not to take notice.
Historically, younger generations have always stirred new ideas into the corporate world causing some expected ‘irritation’ for older generations. Yet this time it’s not an attitude problem, it’s a transition in business where globalization and technology have radically changed the game. Gen Y has grown up participating in this revolution and sees clearly how they can be creative and innovative in today’s world.
Consider my own experience: Last Friday, I had two work-related Skype calls, one to Nassau and another to England, during my Amtrak train ride from Boston to New York. For my work, I use Dropbox for online shared folders, Evernote to store and categorize information, and Skype videoconferencing or iPhone’s Facetime application to connect with my colleagues across the world. This flexibility and technology give me the freedom to operate my business anytime, anywhere.
Gen Y-ers don't mind putting in long hours so long as we can choose those hours, particularly after a typical 9-5 workday. As one ex-New York 25-year-old investment banker told me, “I hated the facetime in the industry and I wish I had more freedom on where I did my work in the evenings.” When he gets staffed on projects over the weekend, he uses his iPad to log into Bloomberg and edits Powerpoint presentations at coffee shops.
Many Gen Yers don’t see the need to be at work at the same time every day and want the freedom to pursue other activities during workdays. Of course the situation is different for some specific roles, such as on a trading floor, patient services, getting trained in the first months or year at a firm, or during team meeting times at large companies. Yet only in careers where a full-time presence is needed should it matter when you show up to do the job as long as the job gets done.
Some organizations offer this freedom. For example, Best Buy launched the Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) program, where employees in participating departments are allowed to work virtually anywhere, anytime, as long as they successfully complete their assignments on time. This shift increased productivity 41% at headquarters and decreased turnover by as much as 90%, according to Ferris’ Four Hour Work Week. Google designated 20% of employees’ paid time as time to work on creative personal projects. The company also offers unlimited fruit, Luna Bars and Vitamin Water, a gym, and playroom to keep people energized and to take breaks when needed. But such programs are still the exceptions to the rule.
Gen Yers are self-directed, results-oriented, and seek advancement opportunities. As “digital natives,” we have a desire for flexibility, yet maintain a preference for speed and efficiency. We are also willing to put the time in to stay ‘digitally literate’ as technologies rapidly change.
So what are my thoughts for today’s world leaders? The Gen Y mindset isn’t going away as we grow older, we will be more difficult to recruit and manage. Yet if we can harness the wisdom and organizational knowledge of the older generation and the creativity of the younger generation, we have the possibility to create a very high-performing work environment for the future. I’ll be thinking about all of these things at Davos and blogging about the conversations I have there.
Erica Dhawan is a writer, speaker and consultant on next generation leadership. She is speaking at the World Economic Forum at Davos on “Leadership Across Generations.” Join the conversation at ericadhawan.com and follow her on twitter @edhawan.
