Recession sparks new attitudes for Generation Y

It was only five years ago that Miami accounting firm director Richard Berkowitz thought he had a problem during tax season relating to his younger workers. ``When I told them it was mandatory they come in on the weekend, they looked at me like I was out of my mind.''
Today, his younger workers are much easier to manage. The recession has brought a shocking reality to Generation Y professionals who stumped baby boomers when they first entered the workforce with their desire for work/life balance over the corner office.

Stunned by a barrage of pink slips instead of promotions, Generation Y -- people between ages 18 and 30 -- has swallowed a piece of humble pie. Those who still have jobs are adopting new workplace attitudes and making themselves more valuable.

They still want a chance at career development but they are no longer demanding that it happen on the fast track.

``This is the generation that dreamed they wanted to be CEO of a public company but didn't have an idea what to do to get there,'' Berkowitz says. ``What's happened is that realization set in. They've discovered you have to be on the ground and working hard to accomplish great things.''

In some ways, this coddled, tech-savvy generation, also known as the Millennials, is best positioned to prosper post-recession: They never really trusted Corporate America. They know how to scour the Internet for opportunities. They grew up innately adapting to change and embracing fast-paced innovation. As a group with high self-confidence, they are approaching their plight with optimism.

``They are seeing this as a re-evaluation period,'' says Tamara Bell, editor-in-chief and president of Y Gen Out Loud, a news platform for political and public policy conversations. ``They will tell you, we can do this. We can make change necessary to get the engine going. They see it as an opportunity to change what they were doing and learn something new instead of being in complete panic mode.''

By all measures, the newest members of the workforce are bearing the full effect of the worst economic slump since the Great Depression. The recession brutalized their income, savings and career-ladder potential.

About 37 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds have been underemployed or out of work during the recession, the highest share among the age group in more than three decades, according to a Pew Research Center study released in February. Even more, the unemployment rate for Gen Y remains much higher than the national rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the overall national unemployment rate was 9.5 percent in June, the latest figures available for making that comparison, for Gen Y it was 15.3 percent.

Because of these stark numbers, many of them realize that they can't make the demands for raises, promotions, time off, training and the hottest technologies during a recession that they've previously made on their employers.

Cesar Alvarez, executive chairman of law firm Greenberg Traurig, thinks the recession was the wake-up call for this group of workers, much like other generations had defining events that changed their behavior.

``I think their concept of the ultimate safety net has shattered,'' Alvarez said. ``I'm seeing them much more engaged. I think this was a tipping point that helped the new generation suit up for the game.''

To be sure, the legal sector underscores the new world at work. Only a few years before the Wall Street meltdown, law firms had lured young legal grads with outlandish salaries as high as $160,000. Then came the recession and these young lawyers were told to hit the bricks as firms slammed them with layoffs, pay cuts and withdrawals of job offers.

As of last month there were 17,200 fewer U.S. legal jobs in the than there were in July 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Before the recession, senior partners regularly complained about their young lawyers who wanted to work less and get paid more. Now, Alvarez explains, the young lawyers don't necessarily want to work more hours but they are putting in the effort and bringing the technology to get the job done in less time.

``They are changing the business model,'' he said. Their workplace priorities have changed, too. In the past, they wanted to work for companies that incorporate community involvement and charitable giving. Now they value organizations that are financially strong above all else, says Jaret Davis, administrative shareholder at Greenberg Traurig. He used to get questions about the timing of pay raises and promotions. Now, Davis says, the questions he gets from young recruits are, ``How is the firm doing financially? Will it be around? Will my job be around?''

LUCKY TO HAVE A JOB

Christina Totfalusi Blake, a 29-year-old attorney, feels lucky to have a job, particularly one that provides the attributes most Gen Y workers value -- meaningful work, opportunities for learning, quality of life and likeable colleagues.

Blake joined Kelley, Kronenberg, Gilmartin, Fichtel, Wander, Bamdas, Escalyo and Dunbrack in Miami Lakes after working solo in Orlando for two years. She views her workplace as a social hub where collaboration has value.

``There's an open door policy so I can chat with other attorneys,'' she said. ``For me, brainstorming, having senior associates to bounce ideas off is huge. It's something I can't put a value on.''

But like many twenty-somethings, Blake still wants the high salary and work/life balance. ``Young attorneys are taking lower-paying jobs for the same long hours. But our hopes are still there, in light of our student loans and high debt that compensation will go back up.''

Some seek those same goals by working for themselves.

For some Millennials there is little to lose in becoming an entrepreneur: no mortgages, no families, and not a whole lot of obligations. They often start businesses on a shoestring budget or look to their parents for start-up capital. Sonny Palta, 23, has started two businesses alone and co-founded two others, including Green Monkey yoga centers in Miami. He won't even consider working for an employer, nor would many of his peers. ``We look at it as unbearable. Work without passion is nothing to me. I'd rather do something I love for bare bones and hope I hit that one idea that makes it big.''

Almost five years ago, the consulting firm Deloitte turned to Stan Smith when it became alarmed by the high turnover of its youngest employees. Smith not only studied this group for the firm, he went on to publish his first book, Decoding Generational Differences: Fact, Fiction...or Should We Just Get Back to Work? Smith, now an independent consultant, says the recession has made Generation Y workers more concerned about their future, more compliant to employers' demands. But he's believes the attitude change is temporary.

``They are compliant for now, yet if you dig beneath the surface, their underlying values are still there,'' Smith says. ``They want flexibility, they want work life balance, but for now they are just not as vocal about how they want it served up.''

Indeed, this is where employers need to be cautious, Bell says. ``They will go into a job to the pay bills, but really are looking for something fulfilling. If they can't find it in the job they take, they will stay until the economy turns but at some point they are out the door.''

Bell says the best way to keep young workers is make them part of a team. ``They want to know their contribution is valued and they are sitting at the table with everyone else.''

Michelle Zubizarreta manages a Hispanic ad agency whose workforce skews heavy toward Millennials. She has done exactly what Bell suggests, given her young staffers a seat at the table. ``They are motivated by having their ideas heard and feeling like they count. I will call them into a new business pitch saying we've got to talk to the young consumer, talk to me about how to do it.''

As the recession created the need for new revenue streams, Zubi Advertising turned to its tech-savvy multitasking, Gen Y staff for creative input. Zubizarreta gave her young workers the green light to use Facebook to do consumer surveys. She also created innovation groups, setting up teams to develop ad-related iPhone apps and come up with other money-making ideas.

She says her young workers seem enthused. ``I tell them, they're going to work hard, but they will have fun.''

At Berkowitz Dick Pollack & Brant, Rachel Merritt, 23, clearly is her accounting firm's future. After only a year, she has contributed key analysis for a major litigation case underway in her department.

Digging through data took late nights and Merritt was recognized for it by supervisors. Merritt says she's motivated because, ``I have the opportunity to work with people many levels above me who explain the bigger picture.''

She says she watches as her friends jump at any job they can get and go in lacking motivation. ``They might work the hours I do but they won't do it with a smile on their face.''

KEY TO THE FUTURE

Generation Y professionals may be exasperating, but they are the future for most businesses. Most do understand how bad the economy is now and are juggling the multiple tasks being thrown at them at a time when their organization is going through change.

But that doesn't mean they intend to stick with the same company in the future.

When they first came on the scene, companies realized Millennials required an entirely different management style than boomers, Gen Xers or seniors. They brought in consultants and conducted studies to try and figure out what it takes to motivate these future company leaders.

With the recession, companies went into survival mode.

Smith, the consultant, suggests employers go back to figuring out what makes these young workers tick and outline career paths within their company for strong performers.

Berkowitz says he's already learned something important about his Gen Y workers: ``They aren't going to walk in and become great. You have to teach them how to be great professionals.''





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