Next Generation Leadership

Book excerpt: Employers who don’t adapt to the expectations of younger generations are losing top talent, as they leave for positions at companies with modern practices. Learn what companies need to do to fit into the new normal in the workplace. Generation Y sees the world differently than any other generation in modern memory, and nowhere is this more evident than in the workplace. The shifts that this generation has seen in the economy, technology, and the world have changed what they want from life and work--which is not a 9-5 existence for forty-plus years, leading to a typical retirement at sixty-five. What older generations call a poor work ethic from a spoiled generation, Gen Y sees as a different way of doing things. Companies that take the time to listen realize that what Gen Y is asking for isn’t that crazy; in fact, it’s better in many ways such as: A demand for work-life balance isn’t a cry for fewer work hours--it’s a cry to be able to work from outside the office beyond a rigid 9-5 schedule (which can lead, to Gen Y employees working even more hours than you expected). Leaving a job after a couple years isn’t an inability to commit--it’s a need to learn more, expand their experience, and develop their career at a faster pace, which is helpful to companies that hire those individuals, including your own. Elevating nontraditional benefits over financial benefits is a step toward creating an emotional connection to the company where employees spend most of their time and invest mental and emotional efforts. The need to work for a company with a purpose reflects the power that social media has on the social consciousness. Next Generation Leadership will explore what’s behind these shifts in the character of the emerging workforce. It shows that, as Gen Y assumes managerial positions, the nature of leadership and business will change over the next few decades in irrevocable and profound ways.