It’s hard to label yourself as part of the “Me Generation” but yeah.. I’m one of ’em and now a magazine that usually writes about successful billion dollar corporations is writing about us. On their recent issue of Fortune Magazine, front page is the article “Attracting the twentysomething worker.” The article goes into some depth discussing the recent phenomena of Gen Yers entering the traditional workplace with little qualms about speaking up if something isn’t right.

Generation Y: Its members are different in many respects, from their upbringing to their politics. But it might be their effect on the workplace that makes them truly noteworthy – more so than other generations of twentysomethings that writers have been collectively profiling since time immemorial.

They’re ambitious, they’re demanding and they question everything, so if there isn’t a good reason for that long commute or late night, don’t expect them to do it. When it comes to loyalty, the companies they work for are last on their list – behind their families, their friends, their communities, their co-workers and, of course, themselves.

That’s just an excerpt from the three page article that details how we, as a generation, are making a mark on the established working world.

Raised by Baby-boomers whose oath was to be the opposite of their parents are now encouraging their “little birds” to slowly move in to the workplace. The difference from when they were entering the field to now is that our “values” might have already been set to value encouragement and praise, rather then silent suffering. A career to us might be a field of work rather then a companies name. It might only last for 10 years rather then 30-40 years, and to top it all off; it might be that while we’re working for the hand that pays us we’re also chatting with friends, emailing co-workers, and even *cough* blogging all on the companies time.

Acceptable or not, while the boomers are gaging at such actions, it’s happening as we speak. This you might call the “new attitude” for a new generation of working class. The working man is too passe and we see it as a symbol of what was, not what is. From the article is sounds that we’re a force to be reckoned with, and if we don’t get that attention we need to exist, it might spell Doom for today’s most successful companies.

If you want to read the article you can find it here.
NPR also did a report that you can listen into here.

~J out

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