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DrupalCon San Francisco 2010

generation y

You know you're getting old when...

Bryan's picture
By Bryan - Posted on 27 March 2009

You know you're getting old when...

...younger people discover the benefits of paper.

The printed pages were better then just looking at the digital versions, since we could code on our laptops while looking at the printouts, compare different pages, sit around pages and discuss and have all this goodness at our fingertips.

My respects to Drupal developer Gábor Hojtsy for his good reminder on the benefits of non-technology in the things that we do.  I'm hoping this post leads to some Friday fun here in the comments and also on Twitter.

You know you're getting old when...


Sacha Chua on Enterprise 2.0, Drupal, and the Head Shot

Bryan's picture
By Bryan - Posted on 10 June 2008

Partial Screenshot from Sacha's SiteSeth Gottlieb, Content Here, recently turned me on to Sacha Chua and her blog.  Sacha is an Enterprise 2.0 consultant and application developer for IBM and she also happens to be a very good blogger.  What makes her blog interesting, besides being well written, is her posts on corporate use of social technologies given from the perspective of her generation, the Millennials (latest hip word for Generation Y).

While some organizations are still debating about introducing Web 2.0 technologies to their employees, this newest generation now entering the workforce is likely to expect that such technologies are already available to them for use in their daily work tasks.  While the use of information technology is often viewed by companies in terms of staying competitive and a requirement for implementing strategic plans, the technologies are also increasingly becoming an essential tool for the human resources department.  If you're expecting to attract and keep bright educated Millennials such as Sacha within your organization, you then need to better understand how people in her work cohort are likely to process the work given.

The Generation Gap Challenges IT Managers

Bryan's picture
By Bryan - Posted on 20 October 2007

Another Generation Y (Generation Next) in the workforce has been written.  This time the article is at Infoworld and titled, The Generation Gap Challenges IT Managers.

The gap is widening, with more workers stacked at both ends of the age spectrum. There are approximately 80 million Baby Boomers, those born roughly between the years of 1946 and 1964, and 70 million in Generation Y, born 1978 through the present, but only 60 million in the middle in Generation X, those born 1965 to 1977.

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That creates a cultural divide, as workers of different ages will generally hold different views of technology use and adoption.

To be honest, I still like my old paper on the subject, The New Workforce.

The New Workforce - Dealing with Nexters (Generation Y)

Bryan's picture
By Bryan - Posted on 01 February 2007

The New Workforce: Generation Next (Generation Y) in your Organization


4. Recommendations

Organizations are beginning to take note that a new generational cohort is entering the workforce. However, even articles and publications that discuss differences in contemporary work cohorts often fail to make a distinction between Generation X and Generation Next (see Kogan, 2001 for example). As the number of Nexters continue to grow and make their presence known, organizations are likely to realize the generational changes taking place. The earlier cited strategy + business article noted that "if consulted these young employees (Nexters) can be an enormous force for positive change and success in their companies. If ignored, they will doubtless spend their brain cycles on the job plotting how to make their own work lives, not their companies better". Those businesses that respond positively to the traits of the new generation will likely succeed. Those who do not positively respond to the Nexters, but instead continue with their pre-Nexter culture may face failure.

Zemke (2000, pp. 146 - 147) offers a number of suggestions with how best to manage Generation Next. Among some of those suggestions are:

The New Workforce - Impact on the Workplace

Bryan's picture
By Bryan - Posted on 01 February 2007

The New Workforce: Generation Next (Generation Y) in your Organization

3. Organization Scenarios involving Generation Next

Technology and Generation Next

While it may be early in the Nexter's careers to determine the full impact they are having in their place of employment, the presence of Generation Next is already causing changes within organizations. Observations can be made to how members of different generations in the labor force react to the introduction of new technology. As an IT professional and member of Generation X, the author has observed that when new technology is introduced into the work environment: