KEYGroup® Press Releases Many Gen Y Workers See Corporate Career Paths as Dead-end Streets Employers will need innovative strategies to adapt and prosper as Baby Boomers end careers and a new breed of worker is left to fill the void PITTSBURGH—What is the difference between a solid career path and a dead-end street? Not, at any rate, in the minds of many “Generation Y” workers, who are turning their backs on traditional approaches to employment in ever-increasing numbers and thinking outside the cubicle. If earlier generations wanted to climb the corporate ladder, the young workers now poised to replace retiring Baby Boomers are at least as likely to prize autonomy and entrepreneurship, according to Joanne G. Sujansky, Ph.D. And that could mean that what looks like a shortage of jobs today may turn out to be a permanent shortage of highly skilled workers tomorrow, she ventured, adding that now is the time for companies to begin preparing for that not-too-distant day. A longtime employment expert and trend-watcher who founded the Pittsburgh-based consulting firm KEY Group (http://keygroupconsulting.com) more than 28 years ago, Sujansky said new data is making it clear that what employers already recognize can be a strained marriage with Gen Y will take on a new and confounding twist in coming years. Since they began entering the workforce early in this decade, the generation born between 1980 or so and the mid-1990s (different sources use slightly different dates to bracket Gen Y) has proven to be talented, creative and highly educated—and hard to manage, by most traditional measurements. Now, however, the evidence is mounting that the same traits and attitudes that have earned Gen Y (also known as Millennials) a reputation as difficult may make it one of the most entrepreneurial generations in history. “We already know that one implication of that is they are far harder to nudge into cubicles and onto career ladders than their Baby Boomer and Generation X predecessors. Given the choice—and many of them are given the choice—they would rather work for themselves,” Sujansky said. That poses significant challenges for companies just now beginning to face the massive turnover brought on by aging Baby Boomers wrapping up careers. “But employers who can adjust will find unparalleled opportunities in the changing sensibilities,” she added. On the face of it, those opportunities may be hard to glean from the data. Coming from numerous reputable sources, the statistics seemingly add up to a gloomy outlook for companies that have always relied on attracting and retaining talented employees. Even the raw numbers would seem to work against those charged with: On the one hand, tens of millions of Boomers have already begun the exodus toward retirement; on the other, Gen Y has far fewer members to take their places, even if most available workers were to opt for traditional jobs. And that does not appear likely to happen, Sujansky said. One report in the Boston Globe indicated that between 30 and 40 percent of graduates from a selection of top schools, including Harvard and Carnegie-Mellon, are bypassing corporate America and starting their own businesses. Similar reports show that at least half of all Millennials aspire to be self-employed, and view a solo career as more stable than a corporate one. They are backing up their words with actions, too. Entrepreneurs between 18 and 24 are now starting businesses at a rate faster than their counterparts in the 35-44 age range. And, of those who do, at least 60 percent self-identify in surveys as “serial entrepreneurs,” sending a clear message that they expect to move from challenge to challenge throughout their careers. Even figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics have begun to show evidence of a trend toward self-employment, despite counting methods that can mask much of the movement, Sujansky said. In recent years, BLS reports have shown self-employment leveling off at around 7.5 percent of the workforce after declining steadily for more than 50 years. The figures, however, only partially capture the trend toward entrepreneurship, because people who incorporate their businesses are counted as “wage earners” rather than self-employed, she noted. But if all those numbers seem to add up to trouble ahead for traditional employers, Sujansky insists they do not have to—and that some forward-looking businesses have already begun taking the steps that can turn a challenge into an opportunity. For a start, she advises, companies should embrace Gen Y’s entrepreneurial qualities by making room in the workplace for new ways of thinking about both work and compensation. That might take the form of “virtual hires,” creative career ladders, or project-based employment in some instances. It can also mean nontraditional salary and benefit packages that are more clearly tied to performance and measurable outcomes. “By structuring a job on an entrepreneurial model, whether it is a short- or long-term position, employers not only can play to Gen Y’s strengths, but they also gain a clearer idea of what they are getting for their money,” Sujansky said. At the same time, she said, they can reap unexpected benefits if they find ways to engage the creativity of those “serial entrepreneurs.” Rather than by steady steps up the corporate ladder, Gen Y is apt to be kept in the fold by varied projects and stretch goals that continually challenge them. For companies, that may mean rethinking the employer-employee relationship in significant, and even wrenching, ways, but Sujansky warns change is coming, like it or not. “Ten million Millennials are now coming into the workforce, in one manner or another, just as Baby Boomers are beginning to exit. The companies that recognize the differences between the generations and adapt to new ways of thinking will find the transition a lot less painful and a lot more profitable,” she said. About the Author: |
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