Don't Judge Us 'Til You Know Us
Why you should take another look at what Gen Y has to offer.

Generation Yers get pinned all the time with inaccurate tags, such as “we’re a lazy generation” or “we don’t want to pay our dues.”

These types of opinions are being seen throughout the business world.

“I think it’s really funny how quick older generations are to put down the generations after them,” says Gen Yer Laura Lee Bloor, a web marketing specialist. “For example, I’ve heard older company members talk about how Gen Yers are such slackers—that we don’t want to work too hard.”

And these opinions couldn’t be further from the truth.

Want proof? Check out this article from MSN.com which profiles 10 entrepreneurs under age 21. All Gen Yers (and a couple that are in the generation below Gen Y, which has yet to be named). All hard workers. All striving to reach their dreams and career goals.

So instead of passing judgments, it’s time to form a new opinion.

It’s also time to see just how you can use the ambition, determination, creativity and high productivity of Generation Y to your company’s advantage. Here are some ways:

• Hire more members of Generation Y—This seems like a given, but it’s amazing how many companies are still shying away from hiring us, rather than embracing the workforce that will be the norm in the not too far off future.
  
• Offer employees time for personal projects—This will be discussed more in-depth in a future blog post, but allowing your employees to spend a percentage of their time on projects not related to their daily work will help inspire and fuel different ideas that could become huge for your company. Example? 3M Worldwide, a diversified technology company, allows their employees time to work on personal projects, and from this facilitating of ideas came the genius invention Post-It Notes, back in 1977.
  
• Hold brainstorming sessions—Gen Yers love to share their opinions with the world, so hosting a brainstorming session with your Gen Y employees can help generate fresh views on old processes and new ideas for your company’s future.
  
• Give in to technology—There are many companies who are still not up-to-date with the technology game. Either they don’t see the point of offering new technologies to their employees or they don’t want to spend the money on new office equipment. But by offering these technologies to your employees, you’re giving them access to different ways of getting things done. This can only amount to higher productivity, and possibly a few great ideas as well.