Today's Workforce -
Hiring and Working With Young Employees

By Diane Lustenader, SPHR

The primary new entrants in the material handling workforce since 1986 are Generation Xers and Generation Yers/Next. This group is also known as “Generation D” (digital) or “Millennium Gen.” Their history and motivations are considerably different from Boomers and Traditionalists. The table below presents some of these differences.

Generations X, Y Top Attributes

• Flexible and good at change;
• Comfortable with information and technology;
• Outside-the-box thinkers and workers; creative;
• Independent;
• Want to manage as much of their own time as possible;
• Goal-oriented;
• Entrepreneurial;
• Not intimidated by authority;
• Eager to prove themselves;
• Want to see results every day;
• Try to invest in themselves, creating security from within;
• Interested in being volunteers.

Generations X, Y Turnover Factors
Gen X and Y employees are driven crazy by managers who:

• Play corporate “politics” games;
• Use guilt;
• Use command and control as a leadership style;
• Who are uneven and unfair in their treatment of staff;
• Give raises that are virtually meaningless;
• Give insincere, gratuitous “thank you's” and pats on the back;
• Throw people into jobs they're not trained or qualified to do;
• Allow the workplace to be disorganized, cluttered, dirty;
• Have a “because I said so” attitude;
• Are unapproachable and/or who hoard information;
• Overlook unacceptable behavior from staff members;
• Ignore employee ideas or opinions;
• Fail to give immediate feedback and regular performance reviews;
• Are micromanagers;
• Hold unproductive meetings, especially ones dominated by the manager.

Generations X, Y Respond to Managers Who

1. Develop them.

a. Provide skill training and career opportunities, special projects and other chances for learning and personal growth;

b. Offer mentoring with skilled individuals inside and outside the organization;

c. Treat their questions as opportunities to teach;

d. Support their quest for self-based career security.

2. Appreciate, recognize employees demonstrating a caring attitude-listen, celebrate small successes, show respect, recognize work well done. (Many Gen X/Yers don't have a regular family life, so they value warm work relationships.)

3. Offer a variety of things to do and move them around into different projects or departments; provide work that is challenging and creative.

4. Recognize their need for a work-life balance. They are not going to “live to work”—a special problem as we face the loss of 50% of our current workforce over the next 25 years due to retirement.

5. And more ...

a. Involve them in decision making; solicit suggestions on how to improve processes;

b. Explain the “why's” of work projects and delegate as much as possible, then stay out of their hair; establish clear ownership of tangible end results;

c. Create flexible schedules and dress codes; recognize a high need for balance with outside of work life and interests;

d. Model attitude and behavior managers want from staff;

e. Create an environment where it's acceptable to make mistakes and find ways to learn from them; learn by doing;

f. Don't grab all the glory; share recognition among the team;

g. Honor their commitments;

h. Provide opportunities to have fun in the workplace;

i. Recognize that they probably have a high-level of technical skills; ask them how to implement more technology;

j. Eliminate unnecessary stress; lighten up; be cool;

k. Keep lines of communication open through regular staff meetings;

l. Form community service teams within your material handling distributorship.

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The MHEDA Journal • Third Quarter 2001 • Volume 30, No. 3 • Contents are Copyright © Data Key Communications, Inc.
All rights reserved. • Nothing may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission of the publisher.