unicornnews: Generation Y Not Rubbish, okay?

A new report by the Chartered Management Institute challenges the widely held view that Generation Y (that’s if you were born between 1980 and 1994) – and therefore today’s younger managers – are disloyal, self absorbed and predictable. And I should think so too. Presumably, as always, it’s a case of one generation thinking that they’re better than the generations that follow them.

The study, ‘Generation Y: Unlocking the Talent of Young Managers’ by Dr Alison Macleod, published in association with Ordnance Survey, focuses on managers below the age of thirty five, and dispels a number of myths about that particular group of workers. The report suggests that young managers are career minded, and eager to learn new skills, and are not nearly so selfish as their collective reputation might suggest. This generation are also more likely to look for meaning in their work over high rates of pay.

Ruth Spellman, Chief Executive of the Chartered Management Institute, says of the report: “Young managers are ambitious for roles that will be challenging and rewarding. This presents organisations with an opportunity and a challenge; to steer young managers and to provide opportunities for them to achieve their potential. Otherwise organisations will struggle to retain them.”

Posted Wednesday July 2 2008 by Caro Moses