Baby boomer, Generation X, Generation Y…we are all, to a large extent, defined by our peers. Although I do sometimes loudly object to being pigeon-holed into a group solely by virtue of my year of birth, sociological categories can be very useful (particularly for blogs 
). According to Wikipedia, and numerous other Internet sources (the fact that I get most of my information from the Internet is indicative of my ‘Y’ status in itself) I actually fall in between Generations X and Y in that I am over 25, but I generally see myself as a Generation Y-er, also termed the ‘internet generation’.
Members of Generation Y were found to be “demanding, impatient and bad at communicating” by a 2007 survey of business owners in Australia. The survey found that almost 70% of those surveyed found their Generation Y workers to be dissatisfying, with poor spelling and grammar and no understanding of appropriate corporate behaviours.
However, the survey also showed most employers praised the energy and charisma of their Generation Y workers. Generation Y members want more from their employers, not just a steady job to pay the bills. After all, we know very well that the traditional ’steady job’ no longer exists. Our generation has seen education become a commodity, supposedly secure jobs disappearing or re-locating, and pension funds evaporating and we have come to realize that we are going to have to learn make it on our own, even if that means having the courage to set up our own business.
I have a mortgage, yes, but I don’t want to be stuck in a soul-destroying job simply in order to spend most of my life paying it off. I am painfully aware of the pressures of the changing world of work, but I am prepared to work hard, very hard, and long, to adapt to these. Achieving my ‘demanding’ aspirations is just a bonus.
THE. WORLD. IS. CHANGING, and language changes, perhaps faster than ever before. My generation is very much aware of this, whilst also being the energy behind it. Perhaps then our behaviour should not so much be seen as symptomatic of impatience and rudeness but out of creative determination and commitment to the world’s future, and that sort of change is certainly no bad thing at all.
