Doing some market research recently, I asked some friends born in the 1980s to give me a few cultural reference points from their age group. The conversation went a bit like this:
Me: So if you just tell me what TV programmes you liked when you were a kid?
Them: Sure. Why do you want to know anyway?
Me: I’m researching Generation Y.
All of them in unison: I AM NOT GENERATION Y!
Me: But you were born in the 1980s?
Them: No, no, no, you’ve got it wrong. I’m a late Gen Xer/Gen Z/early Millennial/something completely different that absolutely isn’t Gen Y.
Me: Okay …
At this point I should declare that I am well and truly a Gen Xer. No questions asked. Born in the 1970s, and brought up with three TV channels, Chopper bikes, and early Grange Hill when it was still controversial. I danced to Wham at school discos, and later the Happy Mondays. My cultural reference points are Mrs Thatcher, the Cold War, and Acid House. As the tee shirt says, I may be old now but at least I got to see the good bands. It could be worse (y’see — stoicism is a trait of my generation.)
Gen Z (born in the mid-1990s) are a different animal. In my previous HR career we were inundated with literature about how to approach recruiting them. They are caring, they worry about things, and they have a very feisty individualistic streak. They are an in-demand commodity as demographically the birth rate has fallen in Western Europe in the last 40 years, and they’re in a position to exploit this by demanding radical things from their employers such as flexi working and sabbaticals to go off and do charity work. I find them interesting, passionate, and a little infuriating. Gen Z are the children of Gen Xers. They have inherited our stubbornness, but tempered it with a far more open and progressive attitude to the people around them. And they are very different from Generation Y.
So why don’t Generation Y like identifying as Generation Y?
A quick Google search can perhaps shed some light on this. I say, “perhaps” as it’s difficult to even find agreement as to when Gen Y actually starts. In fact, some literature has even wiped from existence. While there is more or less agreement that Gen X finishes at 1980, what comes after is all rather nebulous. Where I can find references to Generation Y (which I am taking to mean born 1981–1995-ish), what comes back is a combination of:
Tech savvy — they were the first generation to grow up with the internet, cable TV etc.
Prioritising family over work — in complete contrast to the aspiring ‘Gordon Geckos’ of my generation.
Achievement oriented — they like to be praised and have high ambitions.
Team oriented — they value team participation and were part of a ‘no person left behind’ culture — or ‘prizes for all’ if you want to put it another way.
Wanting constant feedback — they are the generation who introduced and normalised a workplace coaching and mentoring culture.
So what’s so wrong with all of this? Well, if you’re being cynical, you might well interpret the above as follows; a typical Gen Y’er wants to stay at home playing on their X box, while surrounded by family, but at the same time achieving recognition at work, not being left out of anything, and receiving pats on the back. In other words, the perception is that they want all of the glory but without any of the work or the sacrifice.
If we look back at the era in which they were born, in some ways it’s hardly surprising there should be an element of ‘Because I’m worth it’ about this age group.
Raised by the ‘Me Generation’ boomers, Gen Y were first schooled in the progressive 1980s where sports days were adapted so no child would face the humiliation of coming last.
In the 1990s, higher education in the UK had quickly gone from being something only an elite 20%-ish of the population would partake of, to an expectation for Gen Y. This was fused with a boom in cheap credit, cheap mortgages, cheap flights to anywhere in the world you wished to go, and a large job market. It’s hardly surprising that this group grew up with what we now might call unrealistic expectations! It couldn’t last, and it didn’t (the world came crashing down in 2008) and it has left a group who have finally come of age and now seem to want to be as far removed from their defining traits as possible.
But this is all a bit unfair, isn’t it? Yes, of course it is. For all the negativity above, Generation Y — in my experience — are an insanely confident and positive bunch. They are open-minded and interested in new experiences and new ways of doing things. As with all generations, they have paved the way for next one. The activism of Gen Z, the importance of work/life balance, and the expectation that family should come before work is very much a Gen Y influence. As Generation Y reaches middle age and starts to take up positions of power in government and industry, it will be very interesting to see where they take us with this.
So to all the Gen Y’ers out there, get out and own your generation! Stop hiding yourselves and embrace that defining trait of confidence. You haven’t shown us the best yet.
