Earlier this week, the North East Texas Workforce Board’s 2006 Revolution Forum discussed issues related to Gen X and Y in the workplace. In that part of the world, young people under the age of 40 account for more than half of the workforce. Issues that were raised by various speakers and experts related to the 20-something workforce include:

  • Generation Y workers have high expectations and can be “high maintenance,” they can also become the most productive work force seen
  • They have an entrepreneurial spirit – more teenagers than ever before have their own businesses
  • When Generation X first entered the work force, the economy was in a downturn and those workers realized that “jobs may come, jobs may go.” They do not expect job security.
  • They have also developed a different sense of loyalty, that includes their own lives and families just as much as their jobs.
  • Younger workers won’t follow policies and procedures just because they are told to do so.
  • Give recognition and reward in the moment.
  • They think their co-workers should be sources of learning.
  • This generation wants training, social responsibility and ethics in the workplace, and what they seek from older workers is respect, opportunity and wisdom.

Read the report here.

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