Managing the Gen X/Y employee.

• Author: Curry, Lynne
• Position: ABM Quarterly Feature

If you heard a male employee say "Yo, dude!" to a female employee, you'd think the comment (check your choice):

[] Inappropriate, [] Insulting, [] Affectionate. Please complete the following sentences: * Patience is a * Good things come to If you checked "inappropriate" or "insulting" or wrote "a virtue" or "those who wait," you clearly aren't a gen Y manager or employee. If, however, you checked "affectionate" and wrote "a mistake" and "those who play," you either understand or are gen Y.

THE DIFFERENCES IN VALUES OUR DIFFERENCES MAKE

Most of us raised in the traditionalist (1922 to 1943) or baby boomer (1944 to 1964) eras stumble when we find ourselves managing gen X (1965-1980) and gen Y (1981 to 2000) employees. The differences? Traditionalist managers expect loyalty, practicality, work ethic and respect for authority from our employees. Those 80 million of us baby boomers born after World War II grew up believing in the American Dream. We believed that rewards come to those who deserve them, that hard work pays off and that the good guy wins and the bad guy loses by the end of the movie. Gen X and Y employees view authority, respect, rules and even right and wrong differently.

What we as traditionalist or baby boomer managers need to learn, and learn fast, are the concrete differences in gen X and Y employee thinking patterns. Once we learn those, we have the framework we need to effectively manage them as employees.

GEN X

Gen Xers have a sense of immediacy and impatience natural to those raised in an era of rapid change and instant-replay television. Unlike their parents, they rarely stay with an employer for more than three years. Says researcher Bruce Tulgan in "Managing Gen X," "Before turning 30, gen Xers are likely to have one pretty good job (maybe two); one pretty bad job (maybe two); at least think about dropping out of the rat race for a while (and maybe do it); at least think about going back to school (and maybe do it); and at least think about starting a business (and maybe do it)."

For gen Xers, who grew up listening to dinner table discussions about layoffs, downsizing and managers who didn't treat their parents well, the employer/employee relationship is one of service rendered for dollars paid. Gen Xers consider "dues-paying" an obsolete concept and believe career success requires that they follow opportunity wherever it takes them. As a result, they work for employers as long as they get what they need, which normally...