Generation Y: The Sluts of the Corporate World

We see it more and more. Young starters are enjoying multiple jobs. How often do you hear Generation Y talking about a “side project”? Something he or she enjoys doing, or something that might have a future after the current job?

Take some time to look at LinkedIn profiles from Gen Y’ers. Most of them will have at least two “jobs”. Whether these are being a DJ, an artist or someone that is selling secondhand clothing. 83 percent of Generation Y aim at becoming an “Owner” in their career. 22 percent expect to work at six or more different companies during their professional lives. So how come this is the case. What makes Generation Y more sensitive for multi-careerism, or as MTV calls it, “sidepreneurism”.

First of all, Gen Y finds “what they do” much more important. It’s not about the paycheck. They want to make a difference in the world, in their society and in their lives. 30 percent of Millennials identify meaningful work as the single most important measure of a successful career. Furthermore, work should be fun. It has been said multiple times, in our blogs, articles and videos. For Generation Y, work is seen as part of life. And life should be fun. In their humble opinion, doing one thing, going after one career, doing the same thing over and over again, is not considered fun.

Besides the fun factor of having multiple “careers”, the fact that everything is possible makes the temptation even bigger. Seeing Generation Y has always learned that everything is possible, wouldn’t it be quite strange for them to decide to do only one single thing in their entire lifetime?

Generatie Y Ondernemers

The question is, should this scare companies? Should they be afraid for the lack in loyalty, disputing priorities and conflicts of interest? No. They should accept the fact this is happening and deal with it. And if they deal with this appropriately, they could even benefit from it.

As an organization, make sure you provide enough flexibility and diversity to your Gen Y employees. The reason traineeships are so extremely wanted, is that they allow the employee to experience the entire organization. Why not provide this for all your employees. Give them opportunities to work in entire different areas, different projects and use their fresh, innovative initiatives. Isn’t it something great to have employees who know your organization inside out?

And if the employee is still feeling he needs to start his own projects beside his current career at your company, see how you can help him or her, but also how he or she can help you. Embrace the sluttiness of this current Generation. It will benefit you.

 

The Dutch version can be found on MT.nl – Generatie Y: de sletten van corporate Nederland