ebook generation y

THE FUTURE WORKPLACE SHAPED BY GEN Y

by Chryssa Skodra

AUTHOR:Chryssa Skodra

PHOTOS:Kim Ekman

Vision51

GRAPHIC DESIGN:Uberflip

Introduction

Chapter 1. Generation Y: Who are they?

Chapter 2. Gen Y and technology

Chapter 3. Gen Y and social media

Chapter 4. Gen Y and their ideal future workplace

Conclusion

TABLEOF

CONTENTS

The Future of Workplace

Shaped with Gen Y

INSIGHTS ABOUT GENERATION Y

A study of international students in Finland


Shaped with Gen Y

GENERATION Y

Generation Y, also named Millennials or the Millennial Generation, are people belonging in a particular age cohort typically been born between the early 1980s to the early 2000s.

Even though, the year range may vary in different sources, they only certainty is that the representatives of this age cohort have many similarities as they have experienced the world similarly due to the social and economic implications of the advancement of technology and the Internet.

WHO ARE THEY?

I have created a Webropol survey and sent it to my International Business and Tourism students at HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences in Finland.

I have collected 25 answers in 2 days and in this ebook, I present the results of the survey.

The vast majority (96%) of my students belong in the age cohort of Generation Y as you can see from the age distribution of the respondents in the table below (Figure 1).

Table 1. Age distribution

When asked which word pops into their mind, the respondents offered a variety of answers, which can be seen in the word cloud above (Figure 2).

The words with the most responses are:

•Technology•Young generation•Social media•World

Representatives of Gen Y also describe their generation as self-centered, demanding, connected, international and independent. They live ‘at the moment’, they ‘want’ things to be fast and adaptable to meet their needs.


Shaped with Gen Y

Figure 2. Which word pops up into your mind when thinking of Gen Y?

Gen Y has been accused of being a self-centered ‘Generation We’; however, there is no one-size-fits-all approach in dealing with the characteristics of this diverse generation and especially to define it collectively across the world.

Figure 3 shows that 72% of Generation Y representatives in this survey describe themselves as “Well-connected”, whereas 12% find themselves “knowledgeable” and another 12% describe their relationship with technology as “addiction”. Only a 4% seems “indifferent” to technology.

GEN Y AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH TECHNOLOGY

Figure 3. How would you describe your relationship with technology?

There is no denying that Generation Y representatives are more web-savvy than their parents or grandparents, since they were born in the digital work (digital natives) and were not adults when the digital revolution started (digital immigrants).


Shaped with Gen Y

Indifferent: 4%

Addicted: 12%

Knowledgeable: 12%

Well-connected: 72%


Shaped with Gen Y

When it comes to technological devices, all Gen Y representatives in this survey have in their possession a laptop (100%), most have a smartphone (88%), many have a digital camera (80%) and a few own a tablet pc (32%) (Figure 4).

At HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences Porvoo Campus, the students accepted in degree programmes are given laptops, which they can keep if they perform well throughout their studies.

Therefore, most of the degree programme students have the HAAGA-HELIA laptop and often their own as well as many have a smartphone.

Technology is a part of the everyday life of Gen Y. Whenever the look for ways to learn, to entertain themselves, to find their friends they always use technology and the Internet.

It seems that technology goes hand in hand with Gen Y but the descending numbers in other devices could be explained by budgetary restrictions for people studying full-time.Figure 4. Which of the following devices do

you own?

Laptop

Smart

phon

e

Digital cam

era Tablet

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

110%

One would think that Gen Y is active in social media. In the above question in the Webropol survey, respondents were asked to document in which social media they are active. ‘Active’ was defined ‘by having an account and providing regular content’.

GEN Y AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Figure 5. In which social media you are active?

The results indicate the whilst the majority of participants are active in Facebook (96%), which is the dominant social media networking site in this survey, they were not particularly active in other social media platforms (Figure 5).

Following Facebook, Instagram is second (56%) in terms of users amongst the survey’s sample. LinkedIn (40%), Pinterest (28%), Google+ (24%) and Twitter (24%) are following. Last, surprisingly no one of the respondents has an account on Vine or has been active.

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn

Pinterest

Google+

Twitter

Vine


Shaped with Gen Y

GEN Y AND THEIR IDEAL FUTURE WORKPLACE

Asking Gen Y representatives about how they imagine their ideal future workplace reveals that 80% dreams of working in a ‘creative and innovative’ environment. A 64% of the respondents wish to work in a ‘green and environmental-friendly’ workplace whereas only a 16% imagines their ideal future workplace as ‘high-tech with state-of-the-art equipment’ (Figure 6).

Amongst the respondents who replied ‘Other’, they offered the following characteristics of their ideal future workplace:

•High-achieving•Communicative•Comfortable•Inspiring

TIPS BOX

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Creative and innovative

Green and environmental-friendly

High-tech with state-of-the-art equipment

Other (please specify)

80%

64%

16%

8%

Figure 6. How do you imagine your ideal future workplace?


Shaped with Gen Y

Out of the 4 answer option, the option ‘Other’ came third, with the respondents answering what they feel is important for an appealing workplace:

•Inspirational team•My ideas are heard•Being appreciated by the employer•Nice colleagues•Good relations with colleagues and the boss•Workplace values•Atmosphere

In the question trying to identify what makes a workplace appealing to Gen Y, the majority of respondents replied that ‘making an impact through my work’ is of high importance and followed by ‘flexibility of working hours’ (Figure 7.)

Last, of the list is the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) concept that perhaps is not so familiar at this point to the students or they simply do not see the benefit of such opportunity.

Figure 7. How do the following aspects make a workplace appealing to you?

1- not important, 2- less important, 3- important, 4- very important


Shaped with Gen Y

Based on Fujitsu’s aim to create a Human Centric Intelligent Society by harnessing the power of ICT, the last question of the survey focused on how the intelligent use of information is transforming people's activities and what innovation scenarios the students saw shaping the future workplace (Figure 8).

The internet has given rise to a digital world that exists virtually. This digital world is quickly converging with the physical world that we live in, generating infinite quantities of information.

Figure 8. Which of the following six innovation scenarios will shape the workplace of tomorrow?

The survey respondents, members of Gen Y, believe that ‘Connecting people, Enabling Collaboration’ is the scenario that will shape society where ICT supports people's activities and enables the creation of innovation.

Fujitsu envisions a Human Centric Intelligent Society, a world where people connect and collaborate to achieve innovation and their full potential and where knowledge is continually harnessed to drive new value and support sustainable growth.

Isn’t this a world you wish to live in?


Shaped with Gen Y

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, regardless of the industry and field of business, the workforce and even customer base is already dominated or will be consisting of members of Gen Y.

Therefore, having well-educated, tech-savvy members of Gen Y in the workforce can be a valuable asset to any company.


Shaped with Gen Y

HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences in Finland educates our students with valuable business, communication, collaboration and IT skills.

Technology, education and businesses can contribute greatly in shaping the future of work, research and society through cooperation initiatives.

Cross-fertilization amongst a variety of fields and an international yet localized approach can yield tremendous learning opportunities.

https://www.fujitsu.com/uk/Images/generation-y-experience.pdf

http://www.fujitsu.com/global/vision/human-centric-intelligent-society/innovation/

http://www.fujitsu.com/be/Images/Workplace_of_the_Future.pdf

REFERENCES


Shaped with Gen Y







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