What do you think of us?

August 1st, 2008 at 11:50 pm

As I sat in what seemed like never-ending traffic today, I remembered something that one of the VP's from my company said during my conference last week.

He had just gotten through telling us that we were the future of the company and that any one of us could be the next CEO... and then he added "even though you're a bunch of Generation Y'ers... which scares the hell outta me."

We all laughed... but afterwards, we started to ask "What did he mean? Scared him like we're gonna screw the company, or scared like we're gonna stab him in his sleep?" lol.

Of course we all view ourselves one way... and before I share exactly how I view "Generation Y", I thought it would be neat to get everyone else's opinion! Especially related to work, finances, etc.

So if you have any opinions or comments, please share! (Don't worry, I won't get offended, you can generalize us all if you want.)

Smile

Posted in Not Necessarily Financial | 7 Comments »

7 Responses to “What do you think of us?”

Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
August 2nd, 2008 at 12:07 am 1217635672
1217635672

I think he probably did not mean anything at all by that comment. He probably had nothing in mind, he just thought it would get a laugh while also saying that he sees the group of you as special in some way. He might secretly think you are just like any other group of employees he has ever seen.

The generation Y-ers that I know are fantastic people. My son, his friends, and some people I volunteer with --those are my reference points. They think for themselves. They hold strongly to their values. They are generous beyond belief. They are egalitarian. They are thirsty to learn. They are eager to make use of improved technology. They like adventure. They would give you the shirt off their back. They love the families of their birth. They are open to making new family....But, really I only know about a dozen well enough to make any sort of judgments.
cargirl86 Says:
August 2nd, 2008 at 12:30 am 1217637053
1217637053

I guess I'm a part of Gen.Y, and I'm mixed on how I view our kind. (Ha!)

On one hand, I think I have a pretty good grip on life, and *some* of my friends are the most fantastic people ever, much like the ones Joan.Of.The.Arch describes.

But then on the other hand, I read certain news stories and look at *some* of my friends' lives ... and it IS a bit scary!
Thrifty Ray Says:
August 2nd, 2008 at 01:49 am 1217641786
1217641786

I can speak for our company as we both employ and serve you...

You are a multi-tasker who will get bored if not challenged (thanks to internet, chatting, texting, cell phones, gameboxes, etc.) You generally want things NOW and get frustrated when you have to wait. Your generation believes in saving...but is also in debt, partly from the "I want it now" mentality but also from Student loans. You will purchase or invest based on a friends opinion/advice. You have grown up in sandwich households and you were raised after bankruptcy became a socially acceptable thing to do.

You take pride in what you do, will most like change jobs more often than older generations and will save for your retirement.

Your boss was kidding (sortof) because he knows that Gen Y is a force to be reconed with...large in numbers, educated and looking for a challenge so that you can pay off debt and save for retirement.

We look at you with pride...being a baby-boomer, I am the generation who turned out such fine young people!
baselle Says:
August 2nd, 2008 at 05:22 am 1217654547
1217654547

I think he's scared that it means that he's getting old. I wouldn't take it much further than that.
sillyoleme Says:
August 3rd, 2008 at 01:41 am 1217727672
1217727672

Haha, yes, I knew he didn't mean anything too bad by it. But I do think it's funny to know the opinions that are formed by other generations. Whenever you hear about Gen Y's... it's always that we're so tech-savvy and anxious for instant gratification, that we won't be as loyal to a company, we value our peer's opinions above all else, etc. And the weird part is that I have never thought of myself (or my generation) as more or less prone to these things than anybody else (except the technology part).

And baselle - you are probably right. He is retiring at the end of this year, and looks like he should've retired 20 years ago!
Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
August 3rd, 2008 at 03:21 pm 1217776902
1217776902

You wanna hear something surprising my husband said regarding the "tech savvy" thing? He is a professor so he sees a lot of people age 17-40, but heavily in the youngest range. He said in the last four or five years he is seeing students who are increasingly LESS tech savvy. He used to have students come through who understood their computers, for example, and could build one from components that they knew how to select, could trouble shoot, could do at least some minimal programming, knew their word processing and office programs inside and out, knew how to link their computers with other devices, and were just generally ready to go on whatever new computer related thing you set before them. He says that now, though, he is getting students who are computer illiterate. They just the expect technology to do everything without them having to understand anything and when there is something they don't understand they just shut down and claim that the computer or program is broken, virused, or otherwise out of their control. Husband says it is usually a only simple matter of needing to read the directions! THye want to be so passive. They look at their technology as magic machines where they should never have to lift a finger or a brain cell. They are not interested in how it works or how, if they will do a little learning, they can make them do even more....So he sees the Generation Y differently than I do. I'm sorry it is students he sees being like that. Not every student of course, but enough that he wonders why some of them are even enrolled.
sillyoleme Says:
August 3rd, 2008 at 05:58 pm 1217786302
1217786302

I agree with your husband to a certain degree, Joan. I think alot of us that have grown up with computers and new programs every day do expect that we can just hop on and have it do whatever we want, without really understanding how it works.

I'm a little like this myself, I love my laptop and the internet and all the applications we can use, but I really don't care at all to learn about memory or harddrives or whatever else. It's the same with my truck - I know the basics, and that's it. I don't need to know any more if there are people out there that do.

I guess my view is, if I'm not interested in learning more about it, why would I waste my time? I can be learning more about things I AM interested in, like economics, retail, agriculture, etc. If something breaks on my laptop or truck, I can either have BF (another Gen Y'er) look at it, or I'll google it.

Don't get me wrong - if it's not working right, I'll try to find out what's wrong, but I don't go taking my laptop apart or anything.

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SillyOleMe's Personal Finance Blog

A young couple's journey toward financial security.

What do you think of us?

7 Responses to “What do you think of us?”

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