I'm a Gen Y'er. I've heard many versions of what my generation wants in the workforce so I thought I'd share my perspective. My perspective is in no way the answer to fulfilling Gen Y in the workforce because one of the staples of my generation is that we're very different from person to person.

Here's what I want when I look at the next 20, 30, 40, 50 or even 60 years of my career:

I want to learn. Learning is at the top of the list. I always want to be in a position where I feel overwhelmed by the potential to learn. I like to surround myself with smart people.

I like flexibility. This one is probably the most relevant to workshifting. I like companies that reward results and don't micromanage the way the work is done. I'm lucky in that our corporate culture at Citrix promotes workplace flexibility. I'm comfortable with technology and like to use it to communicate at a distance. Sometimes I'll have 5 online meetings in a day and that's ok with me. I value the ability to work wherever I want as long as I produce.

I don't necessarily need to know everything, just where to find it. Claire Schooley, Analyst at Forrester Research, likes to say that "unlearning" is a skill of the new generation. I did a podcast interview with her regarding this topic that you can find on iTunes by searching "Claire Schooley." What she means is that with information changing so quickly it's actually an advantage to be able to unlearn something quickly. Growing up with technology I realize how fast things change. With this in mind it's sometimes counter-productive to become an expert in certain areas. For a corporate training department this means "Teach me high level concepts and show me where to find the details if I need them."

I use social media and networking at work. I like companies who can see the value of social media for business. I use tools like Twitter and LinkedIn at the office to develop relationships and have conversations. Sometimes the conversations are with clients or business partners and sometimes with friends. Social media at work can cause some debate between generations. But think of social media at work as the virtual water cooler talk. Some of the conversation will be about business and some will be about the plans for the weekend.

Not all of my conversations need formalities. Most of the time, I prefer twitter-like emails and voicemails. A lot of text is wasted getting to the point in communication. I often get emails where I have to scroll to find the action needed on my end. Twitter requires 140 characters or less and it's amazing how much can be squeezed in there. I like emails, voicemails and people that get to the point. Here's a great article from copyblogger.com by Jennifer Blanchard about "How Twitter Makes You a Better Writer."

We tend to be candid. We're not afraid to jump in with questions and challenge the status quo. This can cause some issues within an organization as more senior employees may feel that Gen Y oversteps their bounds. Donna Nebenzahl wrote up a case study of how L'Oreal dealt with this generational conflict in The Gazette.
 
I want to have constant visibility to the company vision and how I fit in. Gen Y'ers are known for being in it for more than the paycheck. This means we need to understand how our contribution impacts the company and where it's going. Keeping Gen Y workers engaged with the company direction can be as important as compensation at times.

Again, these are just my thoughts. What do you think? Does this match up with your ideas of Gen Y in the workforce?

Photo by: Randy Stewart