A rude awakening for Generation Y
Friday, 13 March 2009 | The Australian Financial Review | Alex Boxsell, Katja Buhrer and Khia Mercer
“Generation Y may have met its match in the recession.”
In Friday’s edition of The Australian Financial Review, Alex Boswell, Katja Buhrer and Khia Mercer write about the impact of the recession on Generation Y.
“A certain feeling of satisfaction has returned to employers with the realization that Gen Ys will gave to be as humble and hard working as their bosses were when they first stepped onto the corporate ladder. Work/ life balance is yesterday’s mantra. Now anyone who demands to work from home might be told to stay there.”
“The Olivier Job Index showed advertisements for graduates in January slumped 73% in a year in the banking and financials services sector, 64% for accounting, 53% for law, and 41% for mining and engineering.”
“Less committed Gen Ys coasted through the working day only to skip out at the stroke of 5pm, or on an extended trip overseas, convinced they could always find another job if they needed to.
But now the party is over. Perks, promotions, and big pay rises across professional services firms are relics of the past.
Laden with credit card and higher education contribution scheme debt, having studied longer and earned for a shorter period of time, and quick to buy expensive mobile phone contracts, cars and laptops, Gen Ys are becoming the human equivalent of sub-prime investments.
In recent years, human-resources teams were desperate to attract and retain Gen Ys and they knew it all too well. The frantic overuse of the marketing term “Work/ life balance” was all thanks to Gen Y.
“They learned early on, ‘We’re the kings. We choose the job. Forget the interviewer – we’re interviewing them”.
Now the rules have changed.
University of Western Australia business school MBA program director Renu Barr says Gen Ys will succeed if they abandon a transctional or “whats in it for me” view of their jobs in favour of concentrating on how they can add value to an organization.