Generation Snap

Sydney Morning Herald
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Jim Bright

Forget what you 'know' about gen Y - the truth is they're not so different from their older brothers and sisters, writes Jim Bright.

Redundancy is generally a bad thing but there are plenty of people who should be made redundant without delay: in particular, those who proclaim to speak for a generation.

The gen Y spokespeople in particular have done a widespread disservice to the reputation of their own and it is time for gen Yers to set the record straight.

There is now a lot of evidence that casts serious doubts on most of the central claims made about generation Y. These claims are broadly that gen Ys (born late 1970s to late 1990s) are technologically savvy; socially highly interconnected; impatient for career responsibility, consultation and advancement; and quick to quit if their needs are not met. It is believed that these (and other) characteristics differ from previous generations.

Late last year the Journal Of Managerial Psychology devoted a whole edition to examining these claims. The editors opened the examination with the statement: "Rarely do such generalisations seem to be challenged, or even the basic assumption that there are generational differences questioned."

The existing evidence they unearthed was hardly promising. One study they cite found that gen Ys and gen Xs "were identical" in ratings of their top six work motivators, with steady employment and opportunities for promotion ranking highest. In a further four studies cited, all found little or no differences, or trivially small differences that were contrary to the stereotypes.

The special edition of the journal presents more evidence that draws on large samples from Australia, New Zealand, the US and Europe. To sum up the results, the editors - Auckland academics and consultants Keith Macky, Dianne Gardner and Stewart Forsyth - conclude that "many of the empirical findings are less strong and consistent than popular sentiment suggests. Indeed, there may be more variation among members within a generation than there is between generations". Perhaps the most relevant study is one conducted by staff at SHL Australia, a company that specialises in objective assessment in the workplace.

Melissa Wong and Leah Coulon from SHL teamed up with Whitney Lang at Deakin University and Ellirona Gardiner at the University of Queensland to examine whether personality and motivational driver differences exist across baby boomers, gen Xs and gen Ys.

They examined the profiles of 3929 professionals who had completed the SHL motivation and occupational personality questionnaires. They found some differences between the generations, not supportive of the popular view of gen Y.

In summary, they wrote: "In practical interpretation terms, these differences are almost negligible. More importantly, even where differences exist (even where there are moderate to large effect sizes), the direction of the differences is often contrary to the differences suggested in popular management literature."

A similar pattern emerged in a study of 1422 employees across eight organisations in New Zealand with the authors concluding "the baby boomer, generation X and generation Y had some differences in work values but fewer than expected".

Data from 1.4 million Americans during the past 80 years reveals some small differences in personality, with the data pointing to higher levels of narcissism, self-esteem and depression among gen Ys. However these differences are hardly strong support for the common stereotype.

In seeking to establish an identity and a place in the world, one strategy is to invent, emphasise or even exaggerate the differences between you or your group - the in-group - and others - the out-group. It is a strategy that has served advertisers well for decades: set up simplistic stereotypes pitched at the target demographic because it is uneconomic and unrealistic to pitch to individuals.

Gen Yers have been sold short by the industry that has grown up around them. Many of those that I spoke to resented being reduced to a stereotype and objected to being treated as disloyal flibbertigibbets. Attempting to translate marketing strategies based upon demographic analysis of customers into a model of employee management is a questionable practice not supported by evidence.

It is a sad truth that those self-appointed spokespeople for gen Y are too young to have heard of Mr Billy Bragg but they could look him up on the net. They could then consider this piece of wisdom from the songwriter of 30-odd years ago: "Being spokesman for a generation is the worst job I ever had."

Jim Bright was given a copy of The Young Fogey Handbook in his early 20s when everyone else was reading The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook.

Bridging the gap

The difficulty in testing attitudes across generations is that some are starting out, others busy establishing and others nearing retirement.

According to Lucy Cennamo and Dianne Gardner, who questioned 500 Auckland employees for a study reported in the journal, it was hard to determine whether differences "were linked to career stage, life stage or genuine generational differences".

While they found that baby boomers were happier with extrinsic work values (such as pay and benefits) and status more than either generation X or Y, the boomers, as older employees, were also more likely to be receiving higher salaries, and enjoying higher status.

"Those born earlier not only belong to a different generation to those born later but have been living (and working) for longer, with all the associated changes that may result from experience," they wrote.

They also recommended discussing values and expectations with staff to help avoid disappointment and conflict and to manage expectations from the outset.

"Developing and communicating a strong organisational values statement and combining this with good recruiting and assessment techniques may help to reduce employee turnover and recruitment costs for the company."

© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald

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