The Echo Boomers / Generation Y
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Author:
Ali Raza Shaikh
Starting off my journey at Green&White by publishing the thoughts of Asim Imtiaz, a young guy, a dreamer who wants to revolutionize the computer industry. You can reach him at FuzedBulb
Stand back all bosses! A new breed of workforce is about to attack everything you hold sacred: from giving orders, to your starched white shirt and tie. They are called, among other things, “The Echo Boomers.” There are the Generation Y, born in the 80′s, and they’re rapidly taking over from the baby boomers who are now pushing 60.
They were raised by doting parents who told them they are special, played in little teams with no winners or losers, or all winners. They are laden with trophies just for participating and they think your business-as-usual ethic is for the birds. And if you
persist in the belief you can, take your job and …errr…well…shove it.
The workplace has become a psychological battlefield and the millennials have the upper hand, because they are tech savvy, with every gadget imaginable almost becoming an extension of their bodies. They multitask, talk, walk, listen and type, and text. And their priorities are simple: they come first.
Faced with new employees who want to roll into work with their iPods and flip flops around noon, but still be CEO by Friday, companies are realizing that the era of the buttoned down exec happy to have a job is so dead. It’s a future of sweet talking bosses, no more “Pay your dues just like I did.” If this generation knows anything, it’s that there are more jobs than young people to fill them. The attitude is ‘If you don’t want me, Mr. Employer, I’ll go sell myself down the street. I’ll probably get more money. I’ll definitely get a better experience. And by the way, they’ll adore me. You only like me.’
And in case you are wondering why FORTUNE has selected Google as the number 1 employer, it’s because of the fact that they are truly a GenY’ers paradise. .
Source: CBS, 60 minutes, “The Millennials are coming“.
10:59 am
I think Mr Shaikh should mention that Mr Imtiaz’ original post was taken verbatim from CBS News’ ’60 Minutes’ program, and acknowledged as such. Mr Imtiaz does not claim any credit for these particular thoughts, and probably posted the item only to draw attention to this article, which is, of course, several months old.
2:12 pm
Thanks Vic! Post updated!
2:19 pm
Welcome Ali Raza Sheikh.
Babyboomers, Generation X and Generation Y are primarily US concepts based upon unique and historical situations in USA.
Although US popular culture influences all around the world, I still do not believe that the Pakistani work place is facing a Generation Y phenomenon. I do admit that a lot has changed since the days of my father’s first job.
11:01 am
woo hoo! well done asim!!
this part especially had me in hysterics!
**Faced with new employees who want to roll into work with their iPods and flip flops around noon, but still be CEO by Friday, companies are realizing that the era of the buttoned down exec happy to have a job is so dead. It’s a future of sweet talking bosses, no more “Pay your dues just like I did.â€**
12:28 pm
Hi, very very true … my fav lines were : “If you don’t want me, Mr. Employer, I’ll go sell myself down the street. I’ll probably get more money. I’ll definitely get a better experience. And by the way, they’ll adore me. You only like me.’”
hehehehe …
@adnan
its true that it originated from US, but anyone who lives on the internet is going through that evolutionary change … my boss wanted me to wear a tie every monday .. we just could not do that !!! I mean come on, we r the computer scientists, we write code, we can stay all night just reading some open source software . staying up driking chilled coke … u know there is no limit to us now .. we r the *free minds* …
wo traditional pakistani attitude/thinking “yar weekend per break to chahiyay hee hoti hai”, or “tu ghar ja kay bhe computer per bayth jata hai??”, or “yar tu dupayhar ko khana nai khai ga, code likhta rahay ga ??” , or “yar its impossible to work constantly, we need to destract ourselves to something other than work (hunting for girls on orkut facebook etc ??) or we wont be productive” … uff… its all just keeping our nation from progressing, nai chalay ga ..
there was a guy in my team, i gave him so much , he started feeling sick
and to tell u the truth I was working more than him and even doing 30% his own work, and he was still of the thinking kay he had worked so much . He completely gave up and went to week’s vacation … and I was like working constantly for all days of the month back than, no holidays on sat/sun …
I cant beleive this attitude …
The guys i’m talking about r the ones that still use “Dear Respected Sir, ” on there emails to their bosses … that urdu classes taught us when we were in 3rd grad/class ??? Come one guys its old school now
You know, what we need to understand is that we r *M E N* … when we r young, there are *NO LIMITS* !!!! Reapeat that every day … we sleep or we dont sleep is the same !!! We leave home at 7am, and come back at midnight attending 2/3 jobs, is not a big deal .. … no sacrifice, no victory … simple …
12:37 pm
Remember, whatever we do we do it bcuz we love doing it. If u dont love what u do, than what I said above doesnt apply to u … so i would like to quote steve jobs here:
“And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.
”
read the full text here:
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html
its a learning experience to read this speech ..
11:18 pm
welcome to the guild ali!
good 2 have you onboard! i liked the article, however there are some things which just to resonate well with me.
first of all, the whole concept of ‘tie wearing robots’ is very much inculcated into our generation thanks to the MNC’s and banks. how many of your college friends are now going 2 work at 9 and sitting behind desks wearing a tie or a suit?
i would say its about which sector of the economy you’re in, rather than personal preference. I still see tie wearing software engineers on one end.. although have yet to find flip flop wearing bankers :p lol
5:40 pm
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7:43 pm
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7:17 pm
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