GenY sucks in the workplace. Wow...who saw that coming?

[Bob Dole]

http://tinyurl.com/2agnelf

From tattoos to temperment, younger workers are missing the mark at exhibiting professional behavior in the office, a study finds. Entry-level salaries may be attractive to the bottom line, but a sense of entitlement and a deficient work ethic are leaving a bad taste in the mouths of hiring managers and upper management.

Technology workers concerned about younger people taking their jobs should listen up: GenY may be a generation raised on the Internet, but their communication skills, work ethic and overall professionalism in the workplace need some serious attention.

Recent college graduates are not living up to expectations of what it means to be professional on the job, according to research from York College’s Center for Professional Excellence, which polled 520 hiring managers, human resources leaders and business executives.

More than 88 percent of those surveyed said professionalism is related to the person not the position they are in. Nearly 40 percent found GenY to have poor grammar skills; Almost 30 percent found GenY to have a poor attitude, with 27 percent reporting these workers are “disrespectful and inconsiderate.” In terms of GenY’s IT habits, almost 40 percent found an increase in incidents involving IT etiquette, including the accessing of unauthorized company information.

“HR pros and business leaders identified five primary characteristics of the professional they are looking to hire,” David Polk, president of the Polk-Lepson Research Group, which conducted the survey, said in a statement. “The research also found that a lot of college graduates nationally are not measuring up well in these areas.”

If you are wondering what exactly defines a “professional,” here are the characteristics executives and managers rated as lacking in GenY workers, according to the York College research:

- motivation to see a task to its completion;
- overall interaction skills, including courtesy and respect when interacting;
- listening and communication skills;
- appearance; and
- self-confidence and awareness.

More than a third of those polled found recent graduates’ professionalism to have decreased over the last five years, but more than half found no change in professionalism over the same period. Of those who cited a decrease in professionalism, 61 percent found GenY to have a strong sense of entitlement and a lack of work ethic.

“Business leaders complained that many recent college graduates have a hard time accepting personal responsibility for their decisions or acting independently,” according to the report. “Managers also said graduates seem to not have a clear sense of direction or purpose in the office.”

Let's see... You coddle an entire generation of children and adjust EVERYTHING to their "different learning style", and it's a shock that once they leave that artificial environment, they don't play well with others?

[Cave Johnson]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Thanks again, 'Boomers.

I'm sure the record number of Boomer divorces and 2-worker households also factors in.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Originally Posted by oldandslow

Loyalty works both ways...corporations have been portraying less and less loyalty, depressing wages, etc etc for the past 20 years.

You get what you pay for.

I'd say closer to 25-30 years. Any coincidence that CEO's went from making 3-4 times the front line employee's wage, to something around 450 times? Nah, couldn't be........

[Demonpenz]

shoe horn guys who should be working in welding into history classes!

[Bob Dole]

Originally Posted by Mr. Flopnuts

1 final thought though. For everyone in here bitching about the work ethic of Gen Y'ers, ask yourself one question. Who raised them?

Can't blame Bob Dole. Once Bob Dole got a glimpse of the way most children were being coddled, catered to, and pampered, Bob Dole made the decision not to fight the uphill battle of trying to raise a child in this self-entitled cesspool.

When adults started making excuses and letting the children dictate the family's/school's/(insert any entity) decisions, this sort of end was inevitable.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Originally Posted by Bob Dole

Can't blame Bob Dole. Once Bob Dole got a glimpse of the way most children were being coddled, catered to, and pampered, Bob Dole made the decision not to fight the uphill battle of trying to raise a child in this self-entitled cesspool.

When adults started making excuses and letting the children dictate the family's/school's/(insert any entity) decisions, this sort of end was inevitable.

The good senator and I made the same decision, for the same reasons then.

[gblowfish]

These damn kids today need to get off my lawn!!!

[chris]

Originally Posted by oldandslow

Loyalty works both ways...corporations have been portraying less and less loyalty, depressing wages, etc etc for the past 20 years.

You get what you pay for.

Congrats: You have won the "stupid post of the day" award.

We are hiring in 47 states and pay very well with benefits.

Not all companies fit your lame classification.

Next time think before you post.

[ROYC75]

Kids do what they see and hear ...... or is it monkey see, monkey do ?

[TIED5573]

Let's see...the greatest generation raised the "Boomers"; "Boomers" raise GenX, GenX begat GenY. It's Obama's fault. Huh?

[chris]

Originally Posted by Mr. Flopnuts

I've touched on this before, and this seems like another good spot to bring it up. Remember the pride we took in our "Made in the USA" mantra? Back then, we made the best products in the world, and we were proud of our work, and our ability to do so.

Somewhere along the way though, that stopped. When was it? Does it have to do with the fact that a man back in the 1950's was able to provide for his family as long as he was willing to work 40 hours a week? The only people who were poor back in those days were people who were unwilling to go and work full time.

Now, you can't do it anymore. Hell, a lot of families struggle to make end's meet when there are 2 full time workers in the family. Companies simply do not pay living wages to their employees at the same level as they did back in "the good ol' days".

The fact of the matter is, it's hard to expect an employee to take a vested interest in his employer's business and products, when that employer doesn't take a vested interest in that employee's quality of life. The sense of entitlement, whether it goes up the ladder, or down, is a big problem we have in this country today, in my humble opinion. I'd go ahead and lay the blame at the feet of one of the most popular Presidents in this country's history, but there is no sense in stirring up that shit storm today. It is what it is, regardless of when, or why it happened.

1 final thought though. For everyone in here bitching about the work ethic of Gen Y'ers, ask yourself one question. Who raised them?

If you have a skill in demand, you will make very good money.

most people don't want to get off the couch and learn new skills that are required in today's global market.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by chris

Congrats: You have won the "stupid post of the day" award.

We are hiring in 47 states and pay very well with benefits.

Not all companies fit your lame classification.

Next time think before you post.

Yes, he absolutely said "every corporation in the entire country, including that chris guy that has yet to post in this thread's..."

Somone needs to introduce you to the concept of an outlier.

He's right - taken as an aggregate, corporations are laying off their middle-management teams and their more experience, more costly staff.

Perhaps your corporation is doing exactly what you say, but go ahead and try to convince me that 'corporations' as a whole (i.e. the aggregate to which oldandslow was referring) are "hiring in 47 states and pay very well with benefits..."

In summation: blow it out your ass.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by chris

If you have a skill in demand, you will make very good money.

most people don't want to get off the couch and learn new skills that are required in today's global market.

What are these magical skills you speak of?

[chris]

Originally Posted by Mr. Flopnuts

I'd say closer to 25-30 years. Any coincidence that CEO's went from making 3-4 times the front line employee's wage, to something around 450 times? Nah, couldn't be........

Apples and oranges.


CEO wages have nothing to do with a American workforce that needs to continue to change to new market conditions.

The ones that have realized this are making a good living. Working in the car mfg plants is in the past. Technology and innovation is the key.

[chris]

Originally Posted by Brock

What are these magical skills you speak of?

www.dice.com is a good place to start. See what they are looking for, then go learn the skills.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by chris

www.dice.com is a good place to start. See what they are looking for, then go learn the skills.

I didn't ask for a link to a job site. I asked you to tell me what these skills are you speak of.