Generation Y Sees Work-Life Balance and Happy, Motivated & Varied Careers as Central to Their Future

A strong work-life balance, a personalised workplace, and a happy, varied and motivated career, with a strong sense that what they are doing is important. These were a few of the career requirements of an International panel of some of todayís brightest 18 year olds at the seminar ëKids Today, Leaders Tomorrowí held at the London Business School on July 8th 2008.

The seminar was hosted by iOpener, a consultancy based in Oxford that enables organisations to implement strategy and deliver key results by focusing on happiness at work, in conjunction with Talent Plus, a global human resources consultancy firm. The event looked at how ëGeneration Yí is set to change business, impact the economy and shape the future. Generation Y is usually defined as those between the ages of 11 and 25 and will constitute a majority of the worforce within the next 10 years.

The hopes and aspirations of students from China, Pakistan, Russia, Sweden, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States were put under the microscope in the seminar chaired by BBC World News anchor Nisha Pillai and in front of some of todayís senior business and industry leaders.

Over 50% of the student panel said that they would take a low paid job which they loved and only one member of the panel said that they would consider working for a large multinational corporation.

A common theme throughout was the studentsí belief that their parentsí generation worked too hard and that a work-life balance and the ability to start a family without oneís career being affected were important prerequisites in determining the paths they would pursue.

All the students were optimistic about the future with no one blaming their parentís generation for the worldís current economic plight with panellist Usman Nizami saying there was ìa need to look forward.î When asked by a member of the audience whether they thought their parentsí generation had mortgaged their future, none of the panellists agreed.

Said Jessica Pryce-Jones, co-founder and partner of iOpener:

ìWhat concerns, motivates and inspires our next generation will be central to how businesses organise themselves in the future.î

ìIt is clear, however, that many challenges lie ahead ñ not just in how businesses look to accommodate Generation Y but in how Generation Y adapt to prevailing business drivers. How can one sustain a clearly separated work and private life without jeopardising customer relationships? What can Generation Y give back to their employers in return? How can businesses ensure that Generation Y remain passionate and committed to their jobs?î

ìIt was also interesting to see how little attraction the big multinational brand has to tomorrowís leaders and how money is not the main motivation. What is clear, however, is that with the progress in technology and the current economic climate, todayís generation are entering a very different workforce from their parents and Generation Y is entering it with remarkable optimism. It will be a fascinating journey with a clear onus on the employer to ensure that this talented generation is engaged and developed to their full potential.î

A broad and diverse range of perspectives were presented at the seminar. Key highlights included:

ï Jack Shukman, a student from Oxford about to go to university and exploring a potential career in finance, said that ìtravelling and meeting people and a life beyond a computer screenî were key considerations in his career as well as the belief that what he was doing was important. He also set a challenge to prospective employers saying that he would put ìpersonal success ahead of company success.î

ï Russian student, Elena Alehova, who wants to become a politician, said that she wanted a career where she could experience ìdifferent aspects of lifeî and a career where the twin challenges of work success and bringing up a family could be met. ìWith children, work and going out, life is fast and variedî, Elena said, and ìthe workplace must be flexible enough to accommodate this.î

ï Lucia Chen from China, who wishes to explore a career in medicine because she ìwants to interact with people at a personal levelî, echoed Elenaís requests for a work-life balance saying that she hoped she would be entering a more flexible NHS. Lucia also expressed a concern that technology might threaten old-fashioned work relationships.

ï Joanna French, a student from North Carolina in the United States, painted the picture of her ideal working environment where she would work with motivated individuals and where her employer and co-workers would focus on her strengths. ìSuccess is being happyî, she said. Joanna also said that that work-life balance was very important and that her parents worked too hard!

ï Ahsan Naqvi, who lives in Dubai but comes originally from Pakistan and is a first year student at the London School of Economics, said that ìsuccess is something people should aspire to but not at the expense of happiness.î

ï Usman Nizami, head boy at an Oxford school, said he wished to pursue a career in the diplomatic service as he wanted to ìexperience cultures around the worldî. He hoped that his career would be ìexciting and challengingî and ìbased on human interaction.î

ï Linnea Jonsson, a student from Sweden about to study in Paris, described her love of writing and how she wanted to become a journalist. She said that ìmoney is not as important as career fulfilmentî and that she wanted ìto be able to dedicate herself to family lifeî around her career. She also said that she didnít believe her ìgeneration to be as rebellious as previous ones.î

ï Anna Fries, about to study Natural Sciences at Cambridge University, said that she wanted a job that she ìcould be passionate aboutî. She also said that employers should think more about workplace incentives, such as an on-site crche, and flexible working time.

ï Finally, Mabine Seabe from South Africa, who has just finished high school in Johannesburg, said that he wanted to be involved in change. ìIf you want change, be the changeî, he said. He believes that ìpeople should have a sense of urgency in everything they want to achieveî.

Representatives from the NHS, academia and some of the worldís leading blue-chip companies, including Cisco, De Beers, Computacentre, Merrill Lynch, Tesco and Vodafone, attended the event and participated in a discussion with the panel. For a DVD of the discussions, please contact Melissa Sharp at iOpener on 44 (0)1865 511522 or melissa.sharp@iopener.co.uk.