i don’t know if anyone else has noticed this, but a trend in the world lately (esp. the business world) is discussion about how generations are interacting and what motivates “gen Y"… people born around 1980 or later, I think.  I’m sort of on the fringe of this generation, trying to decide if what they say about us is true :)

here’s the gist of it: gen Ys are never going to be excited about, say, a trophy from our company saying that we’ve completed so many years of service, unlike the “baby boomers” are.  we change jobs more.  we have shorter attention spans.  we accept diversity is a normal part of life, not a change that’s coming.

I can’t decide if the things I read are real facts about gen Y, or just stuff applied to any normal person in their 20s.  have you looked at this at all?  do you work with different generations as part of your job, and do you think it effects the way they use technology, interact, view team functions, etc?

I can see this is a topic not many really want to touch, I don’t know if that is because they don’t understand it or don’t want to offend others out here. IMHO I think they are correct. gen Y’s aren’t really into the whole company spirit, they are more likely to change jobs if they don’t like anything about it instead of sticking it out to try and make things better overall. I personally feel the gen Y’s are not as supporting in the community, it is more about what can you give me then what can i do to make things better for the company\community.

I work with people of all ages, doesn’t bother me at all but I do see a difference based on age on all facets of normal work interactions. I would have to say in general that the gen Y’s show less respect for their peers, are more likely to think and say they are correct and only their way is right, and really don’t think of the repurcussions of their actions. This is just an observation - many of the gen Y’s I work\have worked with are very responsible, respectful and careing individuals. I am just saying that these are my overall impressions of the gen Y’s as a whole.

PsyscoGirl