Companies must learn how to adapt to Generation Y expectations

While organisations look forward to the birth of a new decade, an evolving workforce paints an interesting picture, posing a potential challenge for employee engagement levels within organisations.

The next 10 years will see a shift in the generational makeup of our workforce.

With baby boomers (aged 45-64 years) currently comprising 43 per cent of the workforce, compared with Gen Y (aged 16-30 years) at 17 per cent we will start to see the emergence of this younger generation while our current leaders exit the workforce.

Perhaps most startling is the contrasting engagement levels between the two groups in 2009, with baby boomers being 16 per cent more engaged than their Gen Y counterparts.

On the flipside, these baby boomers are only half as disengaged.

So the question remains of what impact this has for our workplaces if our future leaders harbour much lower levels of engagement?

Dr Neal Knight Turvey, Research Director of JRA (NZ) says that "these generational differences appear consistent, even tracking Gen Ys from their 20s to now just entering their 30s, this group remains the least engaged. This doesn't appear to be a 'career stages' psychology effect or a simple length of service effect," says Knight Turvey.

When looking at what drives engagement in our Gen Y group, it appears that learning, career and personal development opportunities stand as the most important factors to which they can then build a likely more 'mobile' career around.

Traditional careers within one organisation are now less prevalent, being replaced by sideways career paths to other organisations and new skill sets becoming the norm.

In light of these shifting trends, how will New Zealand's economy be impacted by an increasingly larger group of less engaged Gen Y employees compared to the baby boomer group about to retire?

"Organisations need to look at how they can manage this in the future. If the Gen Y group have different expectations, that of no lifetime career with one employer, and therefore have different expectations accordingly, then shouldn't employers change their expectations too?

"This could be recognising that people moving on in 2-3 year bursts reflects reality in getting ahead these days, not lack of loyalty," says Knight Turvey.

JRA will be running the 2010 JRA Best Workplaces Survey in association with the Herald from June 1 to August 31. Registrations are now being taken.

www.bestworkplaces.co.nz