Gen X vs. Gen Y: Nike Compares the Two
Contributed by: Daniel Hanyzewski, Staffing Director for Global Functions - Nike, Inc.
They are often referred to as young, smart and bold. They aren’t consumed by fashion as much as comfort, and they typically have numerous electronic devices attached to them that are in use simultaneously. Who might this be? The 70 million strong who are just now entering the workforce. They are Generation Y.
Also referred to as the Echo Boomers and the Millennial Generation, there isn’t a total consensus over the exact birth dates that define them. These labels broadly apply to Americans born between 1977 and 2002. Gen Xers are those born roughly between 1965 and 1976. Some feel that a narrower definition would position Gen Y as those born between 1978 and 1989 and who now would be 19 to 30 years of age.
This narrow definition makes them the fastest growing segment of the workforce. The growth curve would represent 14 to more than 21 percent of the workforce within the last four years, an estimated 32 million workers.
| Generation X | Generation Y (Millennials) |
| Born 1965-1976 51 Million |
Born 1977 -1989 75 Million |
| Accept diversity Pragmatic/Practical Self reliant/Individualistic Reject rules Killer life Mistrust institutions PC Use technology Multitask Latch-key kids Friends — not family |
Celebrate Diversity Optimistic/realistic Self-Inventive/individualistic Rewrite the rules Killer Lifestyle Irrelevance of institutions Internet Assume technology Multitask fast Nurtured Friends = family |
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Mentoring Dos
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Mentoring Dos
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Gen Yers may not be as exuberant in activist activities as their predecessors from the ’60s and ’70s, but because of their strong relationship with technology and the Internet, this generation is more aware of the world.
A USA Today study of 1,800 Gen Yers suggested that
- 61 percent of 13 to 25 year olds feel personally responsible for making a difference in the world.
- 81 percent have volunteered in the past year.
- 69 percent of Gen Y consumers consider a company's social and environmental commitment when deciding where to shop.
- 83 percent will trust a company more if it is socially/environmentally responsible.
An online study conducted by two Boston-based companies, Cone Inc. and AMP Insights, suggest that these Millennials are "the most socially conscious consumers to date."
A survey of over 260,000 students at 358 U.S. colleges and universities suggest that 66 percent of freshman believe it is essential to assist people in difficulty and found that feelings of civic and social responsibility were the highest that they have been in 25 years.
Gen Y is different in many respects from their upbringing to politics. They are incredibly ambitious, demanding, and often question everything. Don’t expect loyalty to their company to be high on their priority list; and if there is not a good reason for long hours or an extended commute, forget it. They won’t consider either.
Corporate America is resigned to the fact that this human capital is what they have to contend with. If they don’t, not only will they be at great disadvantage but they may jeopardize their organizations’ existence. Some 64 million skilled workers will be able to retire by the end of the decade and companies will be doing everything they can to replace them.
Remember 1969? In April of that year, Fortune Magazine wrote, “Because the demand for their services so greatly exceeds the supply, young graduates are in a strong position to dictate terms to their prospective employers. Young employees are demanding that they be given productive tasks to do from the first day of work and that the people they work for notice and react to their performance.”
Sound familiar Boomers? It should. That was you. Now you have carbon copies of an old cliché of yourselves: Your children.
Bruce Tulgan, founder of a leading generational research firm, Rainmaker Thinking, says, “This is the most high-maintenance workforce in the history of the world.” He goes on to say,“The good news is they’re also going to be the most high-performing workforce in the history of the world. They walk in with more information in their heads, more information at their fingertips – and, sure, they have high expectations — but they have the highest expectations first and foremost for themselves.”
Boomers are completely surrounded and outnumbered. There are approximately 78.5 million Boomers according to the U.S. Census Bureau and 75 million members of Gen Y, the generation that has been infused with the idea that they can be anything they imagine. They have accelerated this idea into a way of life. Their determination is to live their best lives now because having grown up with tragedies such as Columbine and 9/11, they know there is no certainty about tomorrow.
As an employer, we need to recognize both the differences and similarities in Gen X and Gen Y. For instance, Gen Xers are settling down and building families. Their method of buying homes is radically different than their parents’.
Somewhere along the way, Gen X got the reputation that they were anti-establishment. However, post-Boomers are reaching middle age and their priorities for home life reflect a great deal of those from their parents' generation. The difference is that they are autonomous, Web-wise and tenacious about diving into the real estate market. When servicing a prospective employee, you need to know that they are some of the savviest home buyers in the market. It’s a generation that knows what it wants.
Also pay attention to the fact that Gen Y is not far behind. The Massachusetts Real Estate Organization’s recently published profile of the 2007 sales year showed the median age of home buyers to be 39 years old. But for first time buyers, nearly half were between the ages of 25 and 34. The Gen Y is taking stock in what their predecessors have done.
Looks like these generations may have some similarities. I have my doubts on just how many.
We can only hope.
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