Generation Y
One of the mistakes we make is assuming the next generation wants to do the same thing every generation has done before," says Mike Jeffress, chairman of the Technology and Maintenance Council of ATA and vice president of maintenance at Maverick Transportation. "I am shocked by the number of kids coming out of high school or getting out of technical college who want to work two months then take three weeks off."
What Jeffress is experiencing is "Generation Y," as the new generation of workers getting out of school have been dubbed. They grew up with cellphones, e-mail, laptops, overnight delivery, ATMs and bottled water. They are used to living life at a rapid pace and keeping up with the constant change around them. The old adage, "good things come to those who wait," has little meaning for them.
They are skeptical and wary. The media has brought them blow-by-blow coverage of a presidents lying and sports heroes brought down by drugs or violence. Many of them watched parents work hard for decades for the same company, only to lose their jobs to mergers and downsizings. They value honesty and they dislike embellishments, half-truths and inflated promises.
Generation Y workers are looking for flexible hours, a fun place to work and honesty. They're likely to question why things are done a certain way - and "because that's the way it's always been" isn't a good enough answer.
"They're saying, 'I'm not going to work myself to death,'" Jeffress says. They're saying, 'I'm going to have fun -- and work diligently as I go along.' To a great degree, I don't know that I disagree with any of that."
Maintenance For Profit... correction
