Who Are The Young Workers of Today?

November begins a month long journey for me. The first of all events is being a speaker at the 2^nd Work in Progress Conference of the Young Adults Ministry of the Philippine General Council of the Assemblies of God in Baguio City.

This has been a long awaited invitation for me as I enjoy being with the young adults – the Generation X. Who is the Generation X worker and what do they need and want. It is important to know who this generation is in order we can create more effective and need based ministries for them that will not just help them in their spiritual lives but in the workplace as well.

1. A Sense of Belongingness and Teamwork - Generation X employees value a sense of belonging and teamwork and this value was shaped by the way Xers are raised. Most of the generation X grew up in single parents’ homes – some belonging to OFW families and others have their separated parents or both parents worked outside the home. Therefore most of them spent their childhood with babysitters or relatives. These environmental factors developed within Xers a strong sense of individualism, but they also created a deep hunger for relationships. Although it may seem inconsistent in light of Xers' willingness to leave organizations to capitalize on job opportunities elsewhere, the upbringing of Xers has actually created a desire for a sense of belonging through lasting relationships. Specifically, Xers seek to build relationships with people in the workplace who they perceive to have wisdom and experience. What, then, do Generation X employees want from their jobs with regard to a sense of belonging? Generation X employees want to have relationships with mentors. Specifically, Xers want mentors and leaders who lead by example. They are unimpressed by authority and they are drawn to managers who earn their respect by walking their talk rather than managers who believe they deserve respect by virtue of their title. Generation X employees also want to feel as though they are part of an overall mission to which they can make meaningful contributions. Managers can affect this by involving them in decision making, respecting their opinions, appreciating what Xers have to offer and communicating with them in a more interactive versus authoritarian manner. Further, managers who share as much information as possible with their Xer employees, rather than hiding or hoarding such information, will benefit from Xers' ability to synthesize massive amounts of information from diverse sources in order to devise creative solutions to business problems. As far as teamwork, Generation X employees do want group affiliation. While they do not seek the prestige of belonging to any given group like their Boomer predecessors, they do seek to identify with individual members of their teams. For this reason, Xers want leaders who understand their talents and who work to integrate them into teams by linking their individual talents to team initiatives.

2. The Ability to Learn New Things -Generation X employees value the ability to learn new things. They demand constant learning experiences to develop their skill sets and to maintain their marketability. The more organizations invest in training and development opportunities for Xers, the more they will capture Xers' hearts, generate loyalty and commitment and positively affect retention rates through increased job satisfaction. In fact, in a study made involving Generation X consulting engineers reveals that Xers, at least early in their careers, believe that professional development is more important than salary. Even more noteworthy, perhaps, is that Xers will override their fundamental desire for work-life balance to work beyond the hours established for their job if the projects requiring overtime enhance their learning opportunities or provide them with meaningful experience. So, what do Generation X employees specifically want in their jobs in terms of learning new things? Xers want company-sponsored training opportunities; they view such ongoing opportunities as crucial to their career advancement. The training programs that are most appealing to Xers are those that allow them to resolve problems during breakout sessions, include fun activities and provide sufficient time for questions and answers. Xers also expect the trainers to display expertise on the topics they are training. Generation X employees also want their jobs to include a variety of assignments because it provides them with the opportunity to learn new skills. A limited variety of activities represents potential for boredom and a lack of learning and advancement. A broad variety of assignments, on the other hand, are more likely to create natural learning opportunities for Xers by virtue of real problems with actual situations. Learning from real situations, or action learning, is the preferred learning style of Xers.

3. Autonomy and Entrepreneurship
Generation X employees value autonomy and entrepreneurship. It is important to Xers to maintain personal freedom and individuality as employees. This freedom, like the ability to learn new things, is an employment condition that is more important to Xers than money. What job characteristics represent the autonomy that Generation X employees seek? Their upbringing has lent to an independent nature and, thus, they want the freedom to govern themselves. Xers want leaders who honor their independence by granting them day-to-day autonomy and giving them creative responsibility so that they can address problems on their own terms because they are used to solving their own problems. Additionally, they prefer to organize their work on their own and are willing to accept the risks of operating independently. Xers have a strong need to exercise their independence and individualism, and they shun arbitrary displays of authority. Although they expect leaders to set specific goals for them, Xers do not want to be micro-managed. They want to manage the processes associated with achieving the set goals. They want to set their own priorities, make decisions and even make their own mistakes. Finally, Generation X employees want to manage their careers like entrepreneurs. They want to choose distinct career paths for themselves; they do not want employers to choose their paths for them. Xers believe that they need to move from company to company to enhance their marketability and continue their development, and they do not want their mobility to be limited.

4. Security - Generation X employees value security. Security, however, does not mean the same thing to a Xer as it does to a Boomer. Xers do not believe in the idea of job security like their predecessors who believe that security equates to longevity in their jobs. Xers define security by the quantity and quality of their skills. So, although they do not expect to build job security, they do want to build career security through the acquisition of marketable skills and experience. What, then, do Generation X employees want from their jobs in terms of security? Xers want opportunities to develop their skills and gain valuable experience, so the work and the work environment should support continuous learning through such things as training programs, job rotation programs, dynamic career paths and exposure to a variety of projects. Additionally, Xers want to cultivate relationships with mentors who lead by example and from whom they can learn. Ironically, by offering such learning opportunities to Xer employees, increasing their sense of career security and helping them to prepare for the job market, organizations increase the likelihood that Xers will want to stay with them.

5. Flexibility - Generation X employees value flexibility within their jobs and the flexibility to move between jobs. Within their jobs, Xers want flexible working hours that they can set for themselves and flexible working arrangements such as telecommuting and unique schedules, as well as time off for community service and activities outside of work. They also expect flexibility versus prescriptive direction from their leaders, allowing them to multi-task and manage their own work their own way. Generation X employees also want the ability to move freely between jobs, which they usually do after about three years on the job. Boomers, who think of long-term employment as lifetime employment, view Xers attitude about job mobility as disloyal while Xers simply call it flexibility. Xers witnessed their parents' loyalty being disregarded during the downsizing of the 1990s, and they developed a realistic view of their loyalty versus an organization's bottom line. They view jobs as means to obtain the resources they need to live, and will take jobs with different organizations if current positions do not allow for the work-life balance they desire. Additionally, Xers will seek employment elsewhere if they are unable to move up within an organization - a phenomenon becoming more and more common. Xers are outnumbered by Boomers in the workplace at a ratio of almost two to one because Boomers are choosing not to retire. This blocks Xers from advancing even if their performance warrants it, causing them to move to other organizations