Self-obsessed, fickle ... it's nothing new

Cartoon / Rod Emmerson

They're known as Generation Y - today's older teens and 20-somethings, regarded as a self-obsessed lot who blow their pay packets as quickly as they text their friends.

But two Waikato researchers say Generation Y is no more self-centred and fickle in the workplace than the generations before them.

Waikato Management School student Rachel Jens, who has been interviewing engineering industry managers about working with Gen Yers - born between 1980 and the mid-1990s - says they cannot be easily categorised.

"We may be too quick to deride them as fickle, self-focused and transient - the gimme generation," she said.

"They are certainly interested in money purely to buy their toys, but managers have told me that so were all the other generations before them.

"The other generations were almost as self-obsessed as Generation Y when they were the same age."

Mt Maunganui psychology student Krisy Thurston, whose research examined similarities and differences in work attitudes between the generations in organisations in Tauranga and Waikato, reported similar findings to Ms Jens'.

She said differing attitudes to work were determined by age rather than categories.

"The reason Baby-Boomers stayed in their roles tended to be because of their age. Generation Xers [older than Gen Y] tend to look for childcare options, which is their biggest concern, and Ys look for instant-gratification types of rewards like a coffee shout or lunch from the company,"she said.

"It will be interesting to see in 20 or 30 years if Generation X is staying in a role because of age, which is exactly the same reason Baby-Boomers stay in their roles these days."

Ms Thurston doubted that Baby-Boomers - those born between 1945 and 1965 - were any different to their younger peers at the same age.

"They probably did very similar things and their work attitude might have been more in line with what Gen Y is now, although Baby-Boomers perceive Y more negatively."