By Melissa J. Anderson

Is Gen Y a generation of job-hoppers? According to a recent study by Millennial Branding, a social media marketing company, yes. Millennials spend an average of 2 years on the job. The company based its study on an analysis of 4 million Gen Y Facebook profiles.

According to Dan Schawbel, Founder of Millennial Branding and Bestselling Author of Me 2.0, the research shows the enterprising nature of the generation – in fact, he says, the fifth most popular job title for Gen Y is “owner.”

He believes companies can learn much about attracting and retaining the newest generation of employees to enter the workforce by looking at the aggregate Facebook data – particularly when it comes to how they identify themselves in relation to their employer.

By Melissa J. Anderson

According to a recent report published in the Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development, inter-generational conflict in the workplace is on the rise. And with three generations currently occupying the workforce, companies will need to pay more attention to this issue than they have in the past.

The report, Leveraging Generational Diversity in Today’s Workplace, outlines a few challenges that employers are facing when it comes to broad range of ages on a team. The authors, Matthew Legas, M.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Cynthia Sims, Ed.D. Southern Illinois University Carbondale, write:

“Each generation has distinctive experiences that have an impact on their values, and each has complex cultural variations (McNamara, 2005). There are also various communication styles and workplace experiences that distinguish each generation. The contrasting characteristics and sheer volume of these generations combined are creating tension and dissension within the workplace.”

And, they say, this “tension and dissention” is causing companies to be less productive. They continue:

“With three generations working together and a present lack of generational diversity understanding in today‘s workforce, a disharmony within U.S. businesses and decreased productivity has been evident (Clare, 2009). Corporate America seems to be ignoring these dynamics (Heffes, 2005).”

The report outlines a few ideas to ease generational tension – but it indicates that business leaders shouldn’t stop at diversity training – they need to be sure to engage employees in the work on a one-to-one level.

By Melissa J. Anderson

Much of the information about generational conflict in the workplace revolves around smoothing out the differences between Baby Boomers and Millennial employees, often ignoring the talented, diverse, and highly adaptable middle child – Gen X.

According to a recent report from the Center for Work Life Policy, The X Factor: Tapping into the Strengths of the 33- to 46-Year-Old Generation, the generation of individuals between the ages of 33 and 46 are hard at work, highly educated, and highly ambitious.

At the same time, the report says, Gen Xers are frustrated – the Baby Boomers ahead won’t seem to retire and the horde of ambitious Millennials behind them are eager to push them out of the way. In fact, according to the study, 41% of Gen Xers were not satisfied with their rate of advancement, and roughly half (49%) said they felt their career was stalled.

Having survived three recessions since entering the workforce, and many deeply in debt, one would assume that this generation of workers was living up to its characteristic sullenness. But, according to a new report out of the University of Michigan, Gen X’s gloominess faded away in the 90s. Today, this generation is happy.

That gives employers a big reason to take notice – rather than focusing career development and advancement initiatives solely on its youngest workers, they need to pay attention to Gen X employees too. Or else they will happily take their education, experience, drive, and adaptability to another company that will better support their needs.

By Melissa J. Anderson

According to The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson, Millennials have been hit hard by the recession – arguably harder than other generations. For example, unemployment is between two and three times higher for younger workers than for older ones.

Not only that, but Gen Y unemployment means a significant decrease in lifetime earning potential has also decreased. Thompson writes:

“For Millennials, it’s not just the money they’re not making today. It’s all the money they won’t make tomorrow. For every one-percentage-point increase in the unemployment rate, new graduates’ starting income falls by 7 percent, according to Lisa Kahn, an economist at Yale.”

The reality of the economic environment has been difficult for everyone when it comes to personal finance. But how has it shaped the way Millennials perceive their careers?

By Melissa J. Anderson

Recently the Boston College Center for Work & Family released an executive news brief [PDF] on the topic of Millennials in the workplace. Written by Lauren Stiller Rikleen, Esq., the brief pointed out three key traits to remember about Gen Y individuals, when it comes to their future ability to lead companies.

First of all, Millennials are more than comfortable with using the latest technology in the workplace. Second, they desire a high level of flexibility to balance their professional and personal lives. And third, they desire meaning in their work – they want to be sure they are doing something that inspires them personally.

Add this to the fact that there aren’t nearly enough Gen X-ers to take over for the crop of baby-boomers who will be leaving the professional environment in the next decade or so, and it means companies must be sure they are playing to Gen Y’s strengths and providing opportunities to develop them into leaders – and soon.

By Melissa J. Anderson

In a recent Fortune article, Katherine Reynolds Lewis says that many of the negative stereotypes about millennial workers could be alleviated if younger employees and more senior ones could just learn to communicate with one another more effectively. She writes:

“When employers first identified this issue and began talking about dealing with different generations in the workplace, managers could easily have felt that their young employees were too precious to upset with frank talk and had to be handled with kid gloves. But increasingly, companies are expecting both managers and Millennials to compromise on their communication styles and work habits, with a goal of meeting somewhere in the middle.”

In fact, clearing up a few communication issues could go a long way in helping engage and develop younger workers. As University of Califorina Santa Barbara researchers Karen K. Myers and Kamyab Sadaghiani explained in their recent study, “Millennials in the Workplace: A Communication Perspective on Millennials’ Organizational Relationships and Performance,” communication is a key factor to ensuring an effective team dynamic and maximizing performance. They wrote:

“In particular, communication that reveals shared values and reflects common commitments to organizational goals enables coworkers to forge and sustain productive relationships in organizations (Herriot 2002). Communication can also have direct and indirect effects on team and organizational performance (Greenbaum and Query 1999).”

Following are five practical tips that can help business leaders better communicate and work with Millennial employees, so that everyone produces at their highest capacity.

By Melissa J. Anderson

If you knew your company couldn’t give you a raise, what would you want instead? That was the question People 1^st Training Company asked over 2000 adults in the UK in September.

According to People 1^st, the most popular response was an extra day off (31%), but the second most popular answer was further training and career development (24%).

But the same was not the case for younger workers. Despite the frequent discussion of Gen Y’s desire for more work/life balance and more time for their personal interests, younger workers’ most popular response to what they would like instead of a pay raise was career training and development. According to the survey, respondents aged between 18 to 24 and 25 to 34 picked training opportunities as their top answer (33% and 35% respectively).

Rather than a day to relax, workers 34 and under would rather hone their skills to get to the next level. How can companies take advantage of this to better motivate members of this age group, who, according to a recent study by Mercer, is more likely to say they are seriously considering changing companies in the near future?

By Melissa J. Anderson

What do Gen Y Women want in the workplace? According to a recent Young Careerist study by the Business and Professional Women’s Foundation, that answer is difficult to pin down.

The reason, the study [PDF] showed, is because the “Gen Y women” group is made up of a diverse cross-section of individuals, who do not have a unified set of values and ambitions. While study participants did have a few commonalities – such as a desire for flexibility and concern about gender discrimination – the BPW Foundation suggested that employers work hard to avoid pigeon-holing Gen Y women into particular career tracks based on preconceived notions.

Dr. Sheila Barry‐Oliver, Chair of the BPW Research and Education Committee, explained, “Far too often Gen Y women are treated as a homogenous group with monolithic perspectives. BPW Foundation’s research questions such views, highlighting how Gen Y women’s workplace expectations and experiences differ by occupation, employer type, compensation type and presence of children.”

She added, “Exploring key areas of social difference is vital to understanding Gen Y women’s workplace challenges and opportunities.”

By Melissa J. Anderson

Many work/life experts have indicated that companies interested in attracting and retaining Gen Y employees need to work harder to develop flexibility programs for staff. But a new global study by JB Associates complicates that view.

Report author John Blackwell writes:

“It’s Generation Y that are beating the drum for new working practices – demanding the freedom to work remotely, use wider intellectual connections and stimuli such as social networks, and to continually have the latest ‘i’ technologies – the iPhone, iPad, iCloud, et al. Or so we are told.”

In fact, according to the research, those with the strongest desire for work/life flexibility were not the youngest generation of workers. Older staff expressed significantly more enthusiasm for flexible work practices. Here’s why.