Generation Y

Generation Y(generation "y"; other names: millennials - Millennium generation, next generation, "network" generation, echo boomers) - the generation born after 1980, who met the new millennium at a young age, characterized primarily by deep involvement in digital technologies . At the time the term was coined, Generation Y was contrasted with Generation X, which corresponds to the previous demographic generation.

Demography

The characteristics of a generation differ from country to country depending on political, economic, social and other conditions. While it is customary to refer to the “Y” generation in the United States as those born in 1981-2000, in Russia it refers to the generation born in new socio-political conditions, with the beginning of Gorbachev’s Perestroika, the collapse of the USSR - 1984-2000. However, sociologists do not have a clear start date for this generation.

In the United States, the Y generation is associated with a rise in the birth rate that began in 1982, the so-called "echo boom". They are mostly children of the baby boom generation, hence the name echo boomers. However, as far as developed countries are concerned, the downward trend in the number of children in families continues, so the “echo boom” phenomenon is not as widely known as the “baby boom” itself.

Most of the "Y" generation belongs to the liberal culture, however, some groups adhere to more conservative views. Studies conducted in 2006 in the United States showed that 48% of "echo boomers" believe in God, 20% do not believe, 32% are not sure of his existence.

It is also worth mentioning the fact of loyalty to more radical political currents. Neo-Nazi, communist and monarchist ideas are widespread among the Y generation. Democrats are also present, but their percentage is relatively small.

Peter Pan generation

The Y generation is also related to the so-called “boomerang generation” or “Peter Pan generation”, due to the fact that its representatives tend to delay the transition to adulthood for a longer period than their peers in previous generations, and also longer stay in the parental home. Sociologist Kathleen Shaputis has called this phenomenon "crowded nest syndrome". The root cause of this trend can be attributed to economic conditions: the international financial crisis, the widespread increase in housing costs, unemployment.

However, economics is not the only explanation for this phenomenon. Among sociologists, the question of definition has not yet been fully resolved: what is considered “adulthood”? In a study by Dr. Larry Nelson, it is noted that the Y generation is in no hurry to take on the obligations of adulthood due to the negative example of the previous generation.

“Previous generations started families, started careers - and did it immediately. And today young people see: having such an approach to life, their parents divorced and have an unloved job. Most Y people want a family, but they want to make the right choice the first time, and it's the same with work."

Communications and integration

The Millennium Generation, like other generations, was shaped by the events, leaders, and inventions of its time. However, some Russian commentators argue that he does not have his own heroes.

Y is the first generation that does not have heroes, but has idols. We assume that they will not have heroes. They will become them for other generations, despite the fact that they do not always want to be heroes.

Evgenia Shamis, Project Coordinator of the Theory of Generations in Russia-Rugenerations project

It was influenced by the development of network communication technologies such as email, short message service, instant messaging and other new media resources like YouTube video hosting and social networks (Livejournal, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). One of the most important distinguishing features of the communication psychology of "echo boomers" is multitasking in the use of communication tools: they can chat with several people at the same time, read a site on a different topic, follow updates on Twitter and blogs. Among them, the consumption of media such as television and radio has been reduced tenfold.

Self-expression is extremely important for this generation. So, for example, in China, with a population of over a billion people, the desire to stand out from the crowd, to be individual, has become the cornerstone of the culture of Chinese youth. In countries all over the world, it is only thanks to Internet access that people assert themselves in online role-playing games in the MMORPG genre and virtual worlds like World of Warcraft and Second Life. The most expressive representatives of the Y generation have earned recognition by organizing online communities, launching Internet memes or collecting flash mobs. Other, more socially shy people found themselves in anonymous online communication, allowing them to be more liberated.

pop culture

The Generation Y was born at a time when the Internet was causing a global upheaval in traditional media. Compared to previous generations, this is characterized by the availability of any information, music, movies, which could not but affect the business of TV channels, recording studios and the entertainment industry as a whole. In countries with more stringent laws, the distribution of unlicensed content on the web has become a problem, and copyright is monitored by the state and authorized bodies. However, torrent trackers are wresting markets from copyright holders, and now music lovers are no longer hunting for new discs, but are quietly downloading them (legally or illegally) from the net directly to their pocket digital audio player.

Conditions for cultural understanding

In the USA, a kind of "bridge" in the awareness of a certain affinity of tastes and preferences, cultural continuity of generations X (1965-1980/83) and Y (1981/84 - 2000) took place: the Y generation also loves films about Spider-Man (1962, comics) and Star Wars (1976, promotional book), as once (in the 1970s) the Xs loved comics and movies about these characters (about successful idols who came out of the layer so close and familiar to them "unheroic" life).

This cannot be said about the USSR and Russia. Generation X, until the end of the 1980s, objectively used the cultural signs adopted by the Russian baby boomer generation (1946-1964) - the “cult of heroes”. Moreover, these cultural signs were bipolar: on the one hand, the heroes of the Great Patriotic and Civil Wars, on the other, the images of the heroes of the sixties from the films and literature of 1960-1970. (smart, ironic, apolitical). Only in the second half of the 1980s, contemporaries jumped into this "treadmill of heroes" - Viktor Tsoi (b. 1962), Igor Talkov (b. 1956) with their tragic destinies.

But already the beginning of the 1990s “cancels” the “cult of heroes” in the mass consciousness of the “X” generation: there is a very, very painful breakdown of cultural and value orientations taken from the “heroic eras”, which is witnessed by those born (from 1984-1985 .) children. Their presence in this process quite likely caused a state of culture shock and an age-related desire to "hide your head in the sand." Computer networks and communications technology have given this desire a boost.

Work

The economic prospects for the millennial generation deteriorated markedly during the economic recession of 2008-2009. Some states have had to take special measures for youth employment due to social tensions, like the prolonged unrest in Greece in 2008, caused by a rapid increase in unemployment. Youth unemployment in Europe remains high (40% in Spain, 35% in the Baltic States, 19.1% in the UK and over 20% in many other countries). In other regions, unemployment is also high, in particular, in the United States, youth employment statistics have been kept since 1948, and unemployment in this population group reached a record in July 2009, amounting to 18.5%. In Asia and other regions, the situation is somewhat different, but the problem of unemployment is just as relevant.

Another name for the “y” generation is “trophy generation”. This term reflects the trend in competitive sports as well as in other areas of life where there is no winner or loser, "friendship wins" and everyone gets "thanks for participating in the competition." A survey among employers confirmed that in the same way, the younger generation "Y" manifests itself in corporate culture. Some employers are concerned that young people have too high expectations from their employment, they prefer to adjust the working conditions to their lives, and not vice versa. However, they are able to work, want a return on their work and more participation in decision-making, prefer to use flexible working hours.

Already now and in the future, according to experts, representatives of the Y generation will often change jobs. The personnel departments of some large organizations keep this psychological conflict in mind and try to remove it by helping the leaders of the older generations understand the young and create more comfortable conditions for the latter.

Notes

Links

• Natalia Sokolova Generation Y // Profile. - September 20, 2010. - No. 34 (685).

• Evgenia Shatilova Generation Y: managing with many unknowns. - January 11, 2012.

• Ludmila Pushkina Ygrek people. - March 13, 2012.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

Recently, the global network and Runet have been vigorously discussing Generation MeMeMe, which in Russian is called "Generation YAYAYA". The quintessence of half of these articles: “The MeMeMe generation is not mimimi. It is difficult to communicate with them, live and work. The other half tries to protect these guys by "debunking the myths" but seems to only make things worse by creating confusion. Zillion decided to clarify some of the nuances and offer his position.

The essence of the problem

The problem with generations, which has been on everyone's lips lately, is in fact more complex and deeper than formulated in articles titled in the spirit of "how do we live and work with them." Because, firstly, this is a new phenomenon of “witch hunting”: a person, as the most cruel species of the entire fauna of the Earth, historically needs to find a common enemy. Second, ironically, as a result of negligence and the ensuing confusion of concepts, those at whom the social accusers were not “targeted”, that is, representatives of other generations, age groups and lifestyles, also get hit. So, Generation YaYa better be called classically - Generation MeMeMe (sounds like "MiMiMi") - so as not to interfere with the terms (there are so many of them). And certainly not "Generation Millennials" or "Generation Y". Because it turns out that millennials / Y have nothing to do with it for 10-15 years. Thirdly, the inflated negativity around the generation that is called “YAYYA” will not lead to anything good. Millennials, accustomed to being “forever young” and always being scolded, take articles about the MeMeMe generation personally and begin to write articles in their defense. Although the society by the generation of 30-year-olds, overgrown with families, mortgages, children and start-ups, had no particular questions anyway.

What is a generation anyway? With the definition itself, strictly speaking, not everything is clear. According to the dictionary, in demography, a generation, or as they say, a “cohort” is people born in the same year. Generations are also called steps in descent from a common ancestor, each of which spans 30 years. And everything seems to fall flat: according to this logic, the MeMeMe Generation belongs to the Millennial Generation. But in practice, a spread of three decades at our stage of civilizational development is a gigantic difference in worldviews, and besides, it is worth considering the transition across the border of millennia. It is sometimes said that one generation covers five years, and more or less it seems to be true: a year is not enough, ten is already quite a lot, and a 30-year gap is completely people with different paradigms of consciousness and a set of socio-technological skills. The confusion in concepts is due to the fact that the “acceleration of time”, the acceleration of progress, and the fact that measuring generations in thirty-year periods is not taken into account is formalism and an irrelevant approach. Disciplines do not manage these processes, but only reflect and explore. New generations and subcultural branches are not singled out immediately, but are formed within each generation - and it is possible to assess what has become a “dead end branch”, and what has taken shape and dissociated itself as a new generation, only after several decades.

It is time for us thirty-year-olds to recognize that we are eternally young for ourselves, and in terms of society and demographics, we have “aged” - we are no longer the very heart of what is called youth. Thirty-year-olds are adults. She got the historical opportunity to remain forever young adult youth, even to a ripe old age, and this can be consoled. After 30-year-olds, that is, millennials / Y, “young, long-legged and politically literate” have already grown up, who today, by inertia, are still referred to as millennials. But it is already becoming clear to many researchers and journalists that this is similar to a “generation within a generation”, a new generation that has many differences from 30-year-olds and a different social psychology. A comical situation arises: the old man's lamentations about how 30- and 40-year-olds live and work next to 20-year-olds (+/-).

This column isn't really about whether the MeMeMe generation is bad or good at all - it's very heterogeneous. The very idea of ​​raising such issues in society is absurd and dubious, only to be the first to express a provocative and obviously imperfect idea in a well-known magazine, and then watch how it spreads virally around the world, acquiring fictions. There are girls and boys in Generation MeMeMe who are selfie-obsessed and technofetish-obsessed, bringing sleepover mats under the door of Apple Stores, striving to get on vulgar reality shows, selfish narcissists who overestimate their personal worth and value in the job market. Among the 50-year-old celebs and non-celebs from different countries, there are also plenty of those who take comical selfies in toilets and elevators, and then post them on Instagram and Facebook: strictly speaking, love for such things is a fuzzy criterion. And in the MeMeMe Generation (the one that is self-made called YAYYA) there are bright minds, young scientists and just normal guys, of whom by the age of 30 very decent people and good specialists will grow up. The same can be said about any generation: technological realities and habits change, social trends rise and fall, only one thing remains unchanged - society is always heterogeneous. In any generation there are people who rush into ridiculous or even dangerous extremes of behavior and worldview at any stage of progress.

At first, it is not clear why all this hype is happening with a comprehensive discussion of the features of Generation MeMeMe and Generation Y, that is, millennials. And it looks like this. Millennials (that is, 30 year olds with families, relationships, kids, mortgages, MBAs and 1-3 college degrees, with their own business or a bunch of work tasks) suddenly found out that they are "problem people": selfish narcissists, careerists, overestimating their talents, and in general they do not like to think, work and wait, but they want to sell themselves at a higher price, etc.

First, very "on time". And secondly, all these lists of qualities and myths around which the lines of defense and attack are built are absurd: any normal person seeks to avoid waiting, to find more effective work algorithms in order to shorten the path to the goal and make a career leap.

About overestimating their talents, inflated demands and narcissism with selfishness: the new youth of the MeMeMe Generation has got a difficult set of social trends, problems and contradictions to which they adapt. Life in the era of universal media and mutual responsibility of social networks requires new protective mechanisms, and going to extremes, they show "holes in reality." This allows us to “cure” or weaken another social neurosis, which has become our dependence on social media, networks and services.

The recent Internet sensation - the festival short film "Noah" (Noah) - is just about MeMeMe. In the film, a young man, Noah, constantly switches from his (ex) girlfriend's hacked Facebook account to a porn channel, Chatroulette, and back again. Two students at the Canadian Film University, Walter Woodman and Patrick Cederberg, shot a 17-minute film as their thesis and, better than any article, told what a difficult lifestyle situation the MeMeMe Generation found itself in.

The fact is that the new generation, in which it is still possible to loosely include both 20-year-olds and schoolchildren, has grown / is growing in the era of the Internet and the heyday of social media. Most 30-year-olds first "felt" the Internet at the institute in the early 2000s. And those who are younger do not remember the time when the web and social networks were not directly accessible. The Internet has set a global trend for the speed and availability of information and contacts, and social networks have absorbed and exaggerated all the most painful features of their most grateful and natural audience - schoolchildren, students, and young people in general. From them, the new laws of Internet sociality spread to the older generation, to 25-35-year-olds, who have their own typical problems, mainly related to the issue of self-worth and social achievements: “what have I achieved compared to ...?” (substitute the name of a classmate / Zuckerberg, etc.). Thus began and continues the continuous cycle of fake and real cool in social media, which sometimes degenerates into comic forms. When a 20-year-old person or a middle school student, exhausted by typical complexes and age-related problems, opens his page on a social network and sees there a celebration of the “protective” vanity of another schoolchild / student, imitation, copying, imitation begin, and so in the end patterns are formed. The distance between these patterns and real young people can turn out to be incredibly large: the online image is one, but the real person is completely different, sometimes more adequate.

There is also a great distance between those who belong to the same generation. Here is a young talented scientist, Ionut Alexandru Budisteanu, with whom we recently interviewed (read also: ) After all, he, too, can be attributed to a lesser extent to the Millennial Generation and to a greater extent - to Generation Z (this is another name for the MeMeMe Generation): he was born in 1993. Frikessa (today) Miley Cyrus was born in 1992. Generation - about one, but while Miley demonstrates his abilities and achievements in the field of twerking, Ionut Alexandru - in the field of developing self-driving machines based on artificial intelligence. And, by the way, not only dreams of helping the people of the Earth, but has already developed a device that helps blind people see with their tongue, while Miley demonstrates to the people of the Earth the length and flexibility of her tongue. Moreover, Ionut is also quite a MeMeMe in the sense of the concept - “YAYAYA” in his words is also a lot. But, firstly, it does not differ from the case: the main prize of Intel ISEF - Gordon E. Moore Award is given for a reason. Secondly, there are three key meanings in the construction of this “YAYAYA”: “ I I want to see if I can do this project as well”, “ I I want to be proud of me, and the neighboring children took an example from me "and" I I want my inventions to be useful to all the people of the planet ”(literally). If this is selfishness and narcissism, then perhaps more selfishness and narcissism. Naturally, we can say that there are only a few such 20-year-old guys. Not as much as I would like, yes. And in order for there to be more of these in the transitional MeMeMe Generation, and in the next one after it, the main thing is continuous education.

If we talk about the negative qualities attributed to generations, then there is an exhaustive thesis on this score: “each generation has its own YAYA”. And here is the recursion: depending on the meaning of "YAYAYA". Do not worry about the fact that the new generation of 20-year-olds seems arrogant and overestimating themselves. Half of it is superficial, a mask. The other half of the time, 20-year-olds try boundaries and luck, seeing many examples of quick success. And who wouldn't want to try some quick legal success if given the chance? The depreciation of generations smooths out these sharp corners and in 15-20 years those who are scolded/protected today as Generation YYYYA will also be outraged by the vices and “vices” of those who were born in 2013. The same was done in ancient Greece. This is just the fatigue of the spirit of growing up and adults - and envy of someone else's youth.

Another point: society loves to tickle its nerves. It is quite possible that the medieval witch hunt was essentially something similar, but turned into such a nightmare due to general intellectual poverty and underdevelopment of ideas about humanity. Man is by nature hostile. Throughout history, he has been looking for, finding and appointing enemies for himself: it doesn’t matter if we are talking about another nation, representatives of another faith, party or social group with an unusual image / behavior.

generation Z /MeMeMe /ЯЯЯ got a controversial time with its own characteristics (however, as well as 30-, 40-year-olds, etc.). How they can do it. Why further complicate their task with articles in the spirit of “how to live and work with them”? Yes, it’s normal to live and work, in a regular mode: choosing the most pleasant and adequate for oneself in relationships, family, friends and work, which is a universal rule for everyone. Well, a new generation has emerged, so what? What is the urgent need to decide what to do with them: "how to live and work with them." A couple of years ago, “children were scared” by hipsters. Now they have begun to promote the topic "YAYAYA". And they promote it unintentionally: it's just that humanity has such fun - to find a common "enemy" and "be friends against" him. Then they get bored, and they take on someone new, who is still fresh in the form of a “social threat”.

What unites millennials and the MeMeMe generation are serious social problems: with work, education and personal life. The world has become more open and at the same time sociopathic: people have many quick contacts, but strong comfortable connections are problematic for many. In addition, millennials are also a “generation of disappointed hopes”: more was expected from life than most millennials received by the age of thirty. Both generations faced the financial inaccessibility of classical higher education and higher unemployment rates than previous generations. And the hype around millennials and the MeMeMe generation is not harmless: it programs the society, the employer for negative stereotypes that manifest themselves in attitude and behavior. If, for example, a representative of MeMeMe in one situation or another behaved at work differently than his 40-, 50-year-old boss was used to, such behavior will immediately be interpreted in the context of horror lists that describe the strangely generalized qualities of the MeMeMe Generation. And what can be really? Millennials and the MeMeMe Generation are indeed people with a different paradigm of thought. Although, again, not all: you can be a progressive 60-year-old and a dense 20-year-old. The names of generations mean not so much the years of birth and life as the paradigms of thinking. So millennials and MeMeMe are distinguished by a “horizontal” vision of social contacts, while “parental” generations adhere to a “vertical”, hierarchical paradigm of social interactions.

Greg Kress, an American engineer, designer, physicist, futurist, team building researcher, founder and CEO of the innovative startup Radicand Lab, spoke interestingly on this topic in a recent interview with Zillion. (read also Gregory Kress: "If you can predict the outcome, you are not doing anything new"") :

- I believe that most effective teams don't need a leader at all. The best teams are not hierarchical and the responsibility for making decisions is distributed evenly. I have found that the best managers are the ones that are left alone. I often encountered cases of mismanagement or being assigned to tasks that were clearly below my potential. This did not happen when I managed my work myself in the context of a team. So in a sense, the best leader is the best teammate, teammate.

This is exactly why the lack of sacred hierarchical fear among millennials - and even more so in MeMeMe - is called arrogance: it is incomprehensible and outrageous for those who are not used to it. But in essence, the concept of "horizontal" social interaction - that is, without hierarchical overtures - is a healthier, essentially democratic paradigm. Behind its development is a future in which everyone can become truly equal, and not in such a way that "everyone is equal, but some are more equal." If we talk about impudence in a different context, then this is always a matter of personal ethics.

To date, several generations have been identified unscientifically or near-scientifically, which appeared in the 20th century and exist in the 21st. Almost for each of them there are duplicate names, which at the same time carry a slightly different meaning. There are many options for splitting generations into decades, especially when it comes to generations Y and Z. Here, a variant is proposed that seems convincing, although so far the time boundaries of these generations can be designated only conditionally - time will clarify and correct.

Lost Generation (Lost Generation)

These are born in 1880-1900. The authorship of the term belongs to the American writer Gertrude Stein: this is how she called the emigrated American writers who gathered in her house. In the future, the meaning of the term embraced a whole group of writers of the post-war period, in whose works pessimism, loss of ideals and disappointment in modern civilization were expressed. The same extended to readers who shared these sentiments. Historical events that influenced the formation of the Lost Generation: the First World War, the Great Depression and the events that led to the emergence of the USSR and the development of the policy of the Union according to the Stalinist scenario.

The Greatest Generation (Greatest Generation)

Other names: Generation GI, Generation of Winners. It includes those born in 1901-1924. The term was coined by NBC journalist and broadcaster Tom Brokaw (sometimes referred to as Tom Brokaw). Representatives of this generation witnessed such historical events as the Second World War and the creation of the UN.

Silent Generation (Silent Generation)

So Time magazine called those born in 1925-1945. Significant historical events for him are the Korean War and the Cold War. This generation is called silent because of its conformism and the lack of a significant cultural contribution (with the exception of the beatnik movement).

Baby Boomers (Baby Boom Generation)

Other names: Me Generation,generation Me , Baby boom generation. Offshoots: Golden Boomers, Generation Jones, Alpha Boomers, Yuppies, Zoomers, Cuspers. These are born in the decades of the population explosion, in 1946-1964. The sharp increase in the population was associated with the sexual revolution, the popularity of rock music and the hippie movement, the evolution of the socio-political views of a democratic society. The term was coined by the New York Times. Events that have become most significant for this generation: the rise and rise of rock music, the sexual revolution, the Vietnam War, the invasion of Czechoslovakia and May 1968 in France (social crisis resulting in demonstrations, riots and huge changes in French society) . The main feature of the baby boomers who grew up in comfort was a rebellion against authoritarianism and "classical" moral principles. Interestingly, the baby boomers as a generation were segmented into Golden Boomers, Generation Jones, Alpha boomers, Yuppies, Zoomers and Cuspers, but it was not possible to give clear boundaries to different branches.

Perhaps in the case of millennials and the MeMeMe Generation it will be the same - this can only be assessed in a historical context, from a distance, which once again confirms the futility of trying to evaluate millennials and YYYA here and now.

The baby boomer generation is also called the term proposed by the writer Tom Wolfe - Me Generation, Generation I. Wolfe, like later Christopher Lash, marked the rise of narcissism among the younger generation. Narcissism was understood as the priority of self-realization to the detriment of social responsibility. But here is an important point: socio-political and economic hypocrisy are the best demotivators that encourage people of any generation to protest or go into internal emigration and focus on self-realization and enjoying life. That is, compared to the middle of the last century, now there is no terrible new generational misfortune: everything has already happened and will be repeated. If a few decades later, the features of Generation Me (Generation I) were multiplied by three to get Generation MeMeMe (Generation YAYA), this only says one thing - demotivation by socio-political and economic hypocrisy has tripled in half a century.

Generation X (Generation X)

Other names: Xers, Xers, Generation 13, Unknown generation. These are born in 1965-1982. The term was proposed by the British researcher Jane Deverson and the Hollywood reporter Charles Hamblett, and was fixed by the writer Douglas Copeland. Events that influenced this generation: the Afghan war, Operation Desert Storm, the beginning of the era of personal computers, the first Chechen war. Sometimes people born in these years are classified as generation Y and even Z (although the latter were not included in the project), and sometimes they try to combine millennials (Y) and MeMeMe (Z) with the letter X. In the United States, Generation X is commonly referred to as people born during the post-baby boom period. A study of British youth by Jane Deverson in 1964 for Womans Own magazine found that young people "sleep with each other before marriage, are not religious, do not love the queen and do not respect their parents, do not change their last name when they get married." The journal refused to publish the results. Deverson traveled to Hollywood to publish a book with reporter Charles Hamblett. He came up with the big name "Generation X". Canadian writer Douglas Copeland liked the catchy title and cemented it in Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, which dealt with the fears and anxieties of people born between 1960-1965: they talked about the loss of cultural connection with the Baby Generation. boomers. Interestingly, those born between 1965 and 1982 were given other high-profile names. For example, "Generation 13" - in the book by William Strauss and Neil Howe in 1991. Strauss and Howe believed that Generation 13 formed:

• Dissatisfaction with the authorities, lack of trust in the leadership.
• political indifference.
• An increase in the number of divorces.
• Growth in the number of mothers in the workplace.
• Zero population growth.
• Availability of oral contraceptives.
• Growth of disagreements in the educational system.
• Reducing funding for the educational system and the inaccessibility of student loans.
• Increased academic requirements and intellectual abilities.
• Environmental problems.
• The advent of the Internet.
• End of the Cold War.

Millennials (Millenials), or Generation Y (Generation Y)

Other names: Generation Y, Millennium Generation, Peter Pan Generation, Next Generation, Network Generation, Echo Boomers, Boomerang Generation, Trophy Generation. Different sources refer different people to this generation. Some say that this is all born since the early 80s. Others specify: from 1983 to the end of the 1990s. And still others capture the early 2000s. The second option - from 1983 to the end of the 1990s - is perhaps the most convincing.

You might think that two people born with a difference of 1-3 years can belong to different generations only for this reason. Two people born on the same day can belong to different generations depending on opportunities, cultural context, growing up environment, social, educational and technological opportunities, as well as trends - this is more like the truth.

Back to Generation Y: the term was coined by Advertising Age magazine. It is believed that the formation of his worldview was influenced by: perestroika, the collapse of the USSR, the "dashing 90s", terrorism, wars (in Iraq, Chechnya, etc.); international financial crisis, rising housing costs and unemployment; television, pop culture, torrent trackers and video hosting, the development of mobile and Internet communications, computer technology, social networks, digital media and video games, flash mob and meme culture, online communication, the evolution of devices, etc.

The main thing that characterizes this generation is involvement in digital technologies, the philosophical paradigm of the new millennium (millennium), a new round of division into liberal and conservative views. But the main thing, as they say in the framework of the classical interpretation, is the desire to delay the transition to adulthood, but in fact, the concept of eternal youth (albeit with depressive interludes).

In sociology, the question arose sharply - what is considered adulthood? Researcher Larry Nelson has suggested that millennials are slow to make the commitments of adulthood because of the negative example of their predecessors. On the one hand, this is logical and true. On the other hand, the fact that this is the Millennium Generation, that is, already people with “other brains”, is not taken into account. Evgeniya Shamis, coordinator of the Theory of Generations in Russia - Rugenerations project, suggested that Generation Y does not and will not have heroes, but there are idols, and in the future, representatives of the millennial generation themselves will become heroes for other generations. This is what we, in general, are seeing in the era of startups. Generation Y has developed a special attitude towards corporate culture: representatives of this generation expect results and benefits from work, strive to adjust working conditions to suit their lives, prefer flexible hours, outsourcing, etc. Naturally, for those layers of managers who are accustomed to "corporate slavery”, such a situation is uncomfortable. But the logic of the generation in it is transparent: people realized that life is beautiful and diverse, they need to work on what is a real passion, and the hierarchy is a convention, a construct of society, and in fact "all people are brothers."

Generation Z (Generation Z), or Generation MeMeMe (Generation MeMeMe)

Other names: Generation YAYA, Generation Z, Net Generation, Internet Generation, Generation I, Generation M (from the word« multitasking'), Homeland Generation, New Silent Generation, Generation 9/11(a reference to the 9/11 Attack as a turning point in the life of a generation). Until recently, “canonically” the millennial generation also included people born before the early 2000s. And only now, after dozens of articles, many university professors and journalists, realizing the discordance of the resulting “tree of generations”, are inclined to believe that it is incorrect to combine today’s thirty and twenty-year-olds into one generation, because significant differences are visible, hinting at a new round of social evolution. .

So, Generation Ζ (or Generation MeMeMe) are people born in the early 1990s and 2000s (Business Insider writes that Gen Z is born from 1996 to 2010). Their philosophical and social outlook was influenced by the global financial and economic crisis, Web 2.0 and the development of mobile technologies. Representatives of Generation Z are considered as children of Generation X, and sometimes also as children of Generation Y, that is, millennials.

The fundamental property of Generation Z is that technology is in their blood, they treat them on a completely different level than even millennials. The key term in this whole story is Digital Natives. In the digital world, they themselves are local. And their parents and older siblings, belonging to generations X and Y, - Digital Immigrants, digital immigrants. Moreover, the entire Generation Z (GG) was born in the era of globalization and postmodernism. Z accumulated in themselves the features of predecessors close in time and those features that we already feel, but cannot yet formulate precisely. In ten or twenty years it will turn out easier: then it will be possible to compare what is intermediately obtained and how it started. And since the “building material” for this is more pronounced arrogance, denial of hierarchy, selfishness and narcissism, the “dark side of power” of Generation Z is intuitively called MeMeMe, that is, YAYA.

It is still difficult to look beyond the horizon and understand why human evolution "needs" these Generation Z qualities (Generation YAYA). It is quite possible that they will serve something that is not fully understood even by thirty-year-olds. Timid positive assumptions can be made now: having recovered from pubertal diseases, Generation Z, accused of selfishness and narcissism, will take the first steps towards a balanced lifestyle of the future, in which they work for creative pleasure and social benefit, create a family out of feelings, and not because society considers It’s indecent to be alone, having children not for a glass of water in old age, but to pass on their matured digital and libertarian values ​​to Generation Alpha, as demographer Mark McCrindle predicts. Negative scenarios for Generation Z are also possible: time will clarify a lot. Here is Mao Zedong's brilliant answer to everything: "It's too early to draw conclusions."

Generation Alpha

Alpha people are already among us. They were born around 2010. This is the true generation of the 21st century. Millennials, that is, today's thirty-year-olds, are actively involved in the creation of Generation Alpha - and will pass on their values ​​to it in order to build a brighter future. Therefore, the best thing we can do for Generation Alpha today is to continuously learn and help others learn: to support the “bright side” of Generation Z.

Let us stipulate that all these divisions are not strict and are not fixed by science - different interpretations and positions are possible: since we are witnessing transitional processes, we can only assume that such a continuity of generations is now looming. In general, it will be visible.

P. S.

University of Georgia psychology professor William Keith Campbell shared some interesting thoughts with Zillion about generations, individualism, and narcissism.

William Keith Campbell

(W. Keith Campbell)

Professor, Head of the Department of Psychology at the University of Georgia, Ph .D . Specializes in the study of narcissism. Author of numerous articles, including in USA Today, Time and The New York Times. Guest expert on popular radio and TV shows. His books include When You Love a Man Who Loves Himself: How to Deal with a One-way Relationship, The Narcissistic Epidemic (The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement") and many others ("The Hand book of Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Theoretical Approaches", "Empirical Findings, and Treatments"). Official site: WKeithCampbell. Com

For every generation there are several names, and none is scientifically correct. We found in our research that change happens smoothly. Someone who was born in 1980 will be psychologically closer to someone who was born in 1979 than to someone who was born in 1990.

culture of the United States like many other countries, is changing towards individualism. This has many positive aspects, in particular, an increase in the level of tolerance. Our work is focused on the growth of narcissism as one of the negative manifestations. To study this cultural phenomenon, we observe various social activities, from how people behave on Facebook to how they name their children.

In general, watching generations, we see how individualism, narcissism and self-esteem increase - but also tolerance.

narcissism- this is a grandiose or inflated assessment of oneself. Attached to narcissism are personality traits such as self-centeredness, drawing attention to oneself, and feeling chosen. Narcissism is associated with individualism, but it is an individualism with less responsibility and a sense of superiority over others. In extreme cases, narcissism can become a mental disorder, but this is quite rare.

Professor William Keith Campbell: "I think what's really interesting is the question: why don't the psychological traits of young people change in line with the economic downturn that we've seen over the past five years?"

Changes in culture that we are seeing began at least in the early 1970s. So this is something more than the influence of social networks or television reality shows. I think there is an important difference between staying young and full of life - like being energetic and open to new ideas - and not growing up, giving up important adult responsibilities and responsibilities.

There is a theory that millennials must be a very involved generation with civic consciousness: its traces are drawn from the ideas of the Russian economist Kondratiev. However, the large amount of data we have collected does not support this idea. I think what's really interesting is the question: why aren't the psychological traits of young people changing in line with the economic downturn that we've been seeing over the past five years?

When you do research group differences - whether it be cultures, genders or generations - there is always a risk of viewing differences and stereotyping individuals in a negative (and sometimes positive) way. Each generation presents a wide variety of personalities.

In the younger generations much more tolerance. At the same time, there may be a tendency to identify less with nations and more with fickle groups. I don’t know whether we will have a global nation or whether the importance of belonging to a nation will simply decrease, which will become key to the organization of society.

Cover illustration: Photo by on

Generation - a group of people who were born in a certain period of time and experienced the same influences of the same upbringing and events, have similar values. We do not notice all these factors that act inconspicuously, but they determine our behavior in many respects: how we build teams and resolve conflicts, communicate, develop, how and what we buy, how we set goals, what motivates us.

Sociologists distinguish generation X, Y and Z. After reading this article, you will find out which people should be attributed to one or another of them, as well as what are the characteristics of each of these groups. Of course, only very conditionally it is possible to single out generations X, Y, Z. However, each of them has its own characteristic features, in which they differ from each other. The XYZ generation theory is becoming very popular today. We invite readers to get to know her. Let's start with the oldest group, which is distinguished by the theory of generations.

Generation X

These are people born between 1965 and 1982. The term itself was proposed by Jane Deverson, a British researcher, as well as Charles Hamblett, a Hollywood reporter. The writer fixed it in his work Events that influenced - "Desert Storm", the Afghan war, the beginning of the era of computers, the First Chechen war. Sometimes people born in these years are already referred to generation Y, and sometimes to Z (although the latter were not in the project either). The letter X sometimes combines generation Y and Z.

Features of representatives of generation X

People X in the United States are usually those who were born during the period of the post-population decline in the birth rate. In 1964, Jane Deverson conducted a study focused on British youth. It revealed that people belonging to this group are not religious, enter into intimate relationships before marriage, do not respect their parents, do not love the queen, and do not change their surname after marriage. Womans Own magazine declined to publish the results. Then Deverson went to Hollywood in order to publish a book with Charles Hamblett. He came up with the name "Generation X". Douglas Copeland, a Canadian writer, appreciated this spectacular title. In his book, he fixed it. Copeland's work focuses on the anxieties and fears of people who were born between 1960 and 1965.

Generation Y

Different people can be attributed to this generation, if you rely on different sources. Some argue that this is everyone born since the early 1980s. Others believe that the border should be drawn from 1983 to the end of the 1990s. And some also capture the early 2000s. Another option (perhaps the most convincing) is from 1983 to the late 1990s.

It should be noted that for this reason, 2 people who were born with a difference of only 1-3 years can be attributed to different generations. More like the truth is that even two people born on the same day can belong to different generations. It depends on the cultural context, growing up environment, technological, educational and social opportunities of these people.

Generation Y traits

The term "Generation Y" was coined by a magazine called Advertising Age. The formation of the worldview of its representatives is believed to have been influenced by the collapse of the USSR, perestroika, terrorism, the dashing 90s, wars (in Chechnya, Iraq, etc.), the international financial crisis, unemployment and rising housing costs, pop culture, television, video hosting and torrent trackers, the development of the Internet and mobile communications, social networks, computer technology, video games, meme and flash mob culture, the evolution of devices, online communication, etc.

The main thing that can characterize this generation is its involvement in digital technologies, as well as the philosophical paradigm of the millennium (new millennium). In addition, it is characterized by a new round of division into conservative and liberal views. Perhaps the most important is the desire to delay the transition of its representatives into adulthood, which is actually the concept of eternal youth (not without depressive interludes).

Today in sociology there is an acute question of what should be considered adulthood. Larry Nelson suggested that generation Y, because of the negative example of their predecessors, are in no hurry to take on the obligations of adulthood. On the one hand, this is true and logical. However, on the other hand, this does not take into account the fact that Y people already have different brains. Evgenia Shamis suggested that generation Y does not and cannot have heroes, but there are idols, and later representatives of this generation will become heroes for new ones. Also, people belonging to Y have a special attitude towards corporate culture. They expect benefits and results from work, prefer a flexible schedule, strive to adjust working conditions to fit their lives, etc. They realized that life is diverse and beautiful, and hierarchy is a convention.

Generation Z

Until recently, Generation Y also included people who were born before the early 2000s. And only now, after a series of studies, many university journalists and professors, realizing the discordance of the "tree of generations", began to understand that it is incorrect to combine today's twenty and thirty-year-olds into one group, since significant differences between them are visible.

Generation Z - people who were born in the early 1990s and in the 2000s. It is believed that their social and philosophical outlook was influenced by the global economic crisis, the development of mobile technologies, Web 2.0. Its representatives are considered children of generation X, and sometimes Y.

The fundamental property of the new generation

The fundamental property of the new generation is that it has high technology in its blood. It treats them on a completely different level than even representatives of Y. This generation was born in the era of postmodernism and globalization. It accumulated features of predecessors close in time, as well as features that we already feel, but are not yet able to articulate precisely. It will be easier for us to do this in 10-20 years. However, the "building material" is the denial of hierarchy, arrogance, narcissism and selfishness.

Possible Scenarios for Generation Z

It is still not easy to look beyond the horizon in order to understand why these qualities are needed for human evolution. It is likely that they will begin to serve something that is not fully understood even by today's thirty-year-olds. One can only tentatively assume at the present time that, having recovered from illnesses, this generation accused of narcissism and selfishness will take steps towards a balanced lifestyle of the future. It is characterized by work for social benefit and creative pleasure, the creation of a family out of personal feelings, and not because being alone is considered indecent in society, the decision to have a child not in order to avoid loneliness in old age, but in order to convey life values ​​to him. For generation Z, negative scenarios are also possible.

Much can only be clarified by time. After all, the oldest representatives of this generation were barely 18 years old. However, they are already infamous. Marketing companies and the media announced that this generation is "screen-dependent" and their attention span is very poor. The salvation of the world and the need to correct the mistakes of the past are also thrown on their shoulders.

Note that the theory of generations often does not have sufficient scientific accuracy, and research in this area is a confusing process. This also applies to recent scientific articles. Many recent studies focusing on the theory of generations are full of stereotypes and prejudices. Generation Z doesn't deserve to be treated so unfairly. Already now, this group makes up about a quarter of the population, and by 2020, about 40% of consumers will fall on it. Therefore, it is extremely important for companies to understand this generation.

"Eight Second Filters"

If recent research is to be believed, it can be noted that generation Z has reduced attention span to 8 seconds. They cannot focus on anything for a longer time. However, it would be more correct to speak, rather, about "eight-second filters". Representatives of this generation grew up in a world where the possibilities are simply endless, but there is not enough time for everything. That is why they have adapted to the need to evaluate and sift through huge amounts of information very quickly. In mobile apps and the web, they rely on sections and tabs for the most recent and trending content.

Follow the curators

Representatives of this generation follow the curators. They trust them, trying to figure out where the most relevant information and the best entertainment is located. All of these tools are essential to Generation Z in order to reduce the potential choice from a multitude of options.

However, if this group finds something worthy of their attention, its representatives can become dedicated and very focused. The Internet in their era allowed to study any topic deeply and learn a lot from like-minded people.

This generation's radar is set to find what's worth their time. In order to win their attention and overcome these filters, you need to provide experiences that are immediately beneficial and highly engaging.

Social interactions

Generation Z is often portrayed in the media as a group of socially inept netizens. Older people cannot understand why young people spend so much time online. However, in reality, this generation is under enormous pressure: they need to be able to manage both professional and in order to be able to fit into reality and stand out at the same time.

Influence of social media

Generation Z on a personal level strives to be immediately accepted and approved through social media. It is here that important conversations take place, where their peers are. With the help of social media, they manage multiple identities in order to be able to satisfy each of the audiences, as well as reduce the risk of conflict.

Generation Z, on a professional level, is very attentive to the negative stereotypes that plague Generation Y. They strive to stand out with their ability to survive and work hard offline.

Gen Z is caught between two forces: they need social media to build their personal brands, but they don't want social media to define who they really are. Those who belong to generation Z strive for the approval of society, but do not want to be differentiated in the sense of the profession.

Entrepreneurial spirit

Generation Z has also been dubbed the "entrepreneurial generation" by the media. This emphasizes the desire of their representatives to build their startups, and not be immersed in a corporate routine. Although this generation values ​​self-employment, many people in the Z group tend to be risk-averse. They are pragmatic and practical. The entrepreneurial spirit allegedly inherent in them is more a kind of survival mechanism than an idealistic pursuit of wealth or status.

While Generation Y has often been criticized for not being focused enough, Generation Z wants to plan for the long haul. Parents belonging to X (individualists who rely on themselves) strongly influenced them. They want to avoid the mistakes made by their Y predecessors.

In order to get rid of their inherent anxiety, they want to find work in growing areas that are not very actively automated: medicine, education, sales, etc. In doing so, they develop fallback options in order to apply them if the labor market will change quickly.

The truth is in the middle

Society tends to either criticize youth for doing things differently or romanticize it. However, in reality, the Zorro generation (Z) is somewhere in the middle. Its representatives are faced with problems that arise at a certain stage of life for everyone: separation from their parents, the beginning of a career, the formation of a personal identity. However, they have to do it in a fast paced technological age.

So, you briefly got acquainted with such an interesting topic as the theory of generations. In Russia, it was adapted in 2003-2004. a team led by Evgenia Shamis. This theory itself originated in the United States. William Strauss and Neil Howe are considered to be its authors. In 1991, the Howe-Strauss theory of generations was created.

Generation Y is different from its predecessors, so these employees need a special approach. Read about 10 types of players, their interests, as well as ways to manage them in the article.

From the article you will learn:

Generation Y: years of birth

Generation Y is a category of people born between 1981 and 2003. On the territory of the CIS, there is a different starting point - 1983-1984, that is, the beginning of perestroika. As a synonym for the word "Greeks", the term "millennials" is used, which was introduced by the authors of the theory of generations Neil Howe and William Strauss.

Howe and Strauss believed that people's values ​​are formed before the age of 12-14, but the foundations are laid by nature. As players develop, their career growth, the psychological portrait may change. To understand how to interact with the younger generation now, you need to study the character traits of employees.

Hint for HR. Features of Generation Y employees

Key Features of Generation Y

Some features of the behavior, manner of communication and priorities of the players may repel leaders, but if a person is not sympathetic to you, this does not mean that you have a bad specialist in front of you. Keep in mind that all people of generation Y have a different character, goals and values, but they still have some features in common. They are expressed to varying degrees in young millennials, so they are noticeable when talking or studying resumes.

Questions for assessing young generation Y candidates

✔ ambition

Most millennials are extremely ambitious, although in this regard they are very different from their predecessors. Although employees want to receive well, they are not inspired by high positions if they do not live up to their dream. Young people can drop everything and go to another area if they decide that they will be more comfortable there or they will be able to realize their creative potential. Often, an organization is left without a valuable specialist in one day, and it is difficult to convince him not to quit, because he is already mentally not here.

✔ The cult of individuality

Generation Y pursues freedom of choice. Its representatives are difficult to drive into the framework - people do not want to adhere to a strict dress code, carry out a number of instructions from the authorities, follow the routines. They consider themselves individual, unique and free. They are difficult, but you can work. If a millennial manages to find his niche, prove himself, it inspires him, energizes him. For a player, it is important that his merits are appreciated, and his success is envied.

✔ infantilism

Infantilism is inherent in all players, no matter how old they are - 20 or 40. They are still not ready to get married, have children, live separately, because in this case they will be entrusted with increased responsibility, they will have to do more things, and The most important thing is to quit what you love. Generation Y always compares themselves to their parents. Its representatives do not want to live as it was before. Working in an unloved place, getting a penny and raising heirs is not for them.

✔ Emptiness and loneliness

Many Y-players live with a sense of inner dissatisfaction, emptiness. They believe that there is no person in the world who is ready to accept and understand them, to share difficulties. Millennials are in a constant quest for something meaningful to themselves, but when they get it, happiness does not increase. They always think that others live better, richer, happier, so Generation Y is prone to depression.

10 types of millennials

To understand the characteristics of Generation Y, Exponential experts conducted a large-scale study, according to which young people were divided into 12 subgroups. As Exponential vice president Brian Melmed notes, each group is defined by a characteristic reaction to the economy, globalization, social media.

Type #1. Hopeless

Young people do not have jobs, prospects, and some of them do not have a completed education. They are ready to perform any tasks, agree to the role of laborers, do not require a large salary. Some of them have high ambitions, so they think they deserve more, but to be a courier, a janitor, etc. - humiliating. For this reason, they are constantly in active search.

Type #2. baby boss

Active and purposeful careerists value financial well-being, do not go on maternity leave "without declaring war." They are not afraid of difficult projects. Looking at them, there is a feeling that fatigue does not overtake them. Such Generation Y employees are a godsend for HR. Most of them can be safely placed in leadership positions or enrolled in the personnel reserve, despite their young age. The lady boss will not give a descent to any subordinate, and the work in the headed department will boil.

Type #3. Nostalgic

The group of individuals includes old school lovers who practice a meaningless and empty pastime. They do not want to work, take responsibility, and they perceive official duties as real torture. Employees are suitable for ordinary positions, but they always need to be urged and forced. As a rule, they stay in companies for a short time.

Type number 4. Brogrammers

Representatives of generation Y do not spare themselves, do not think about the consequences. They generate ideas and immediately turn them into reality. Employees are ambitious and cheerful at work, and spend their free time at the races, in bars, companies of their own kind. They can be attributed to valuable specialists who fit perfectly into the culture of modern organizations, but shortcomings are not ruled out in their work.

Type number 5. part-time

They have recently received a diploma, they dream of a beautiful life, but they are not willing to take on a permanent job, so they are content with one-time projects. Employees make good professionals over time. If you offer them an adequate salary, they will immediately show themselves.

Hint for HR. How to set goals for the younger generation

Type number 6. Travel Enthusiasts

Young people love to change places, are educated and speak several languages. Employees are suitable for organizations that provide for the traveling nature of work. It is easy for them to get ready for the road even in the middle of the night, settle in another settlement and start working.

Type number 7. Culinary Researchers

They have long found a place in life, they have money, work and passion for food. They can be found on social networks by photographs in which they are happy to pose with one or another dish. If you are looking for a face to advertise products, they will gladly agree, especially since most of them have a suitable appearance.

Type number 8. Collectors

Collectors notice everything around, they literally absorb information. Employees rarely make mistakes, learn quickly by analyzing how others work. If necessary, they can conduct a real investigation - find out what and how the competitors work. Representatives of Generation Y are growing professionally and can apply for leadership positions.

Type number 9. Millennial Crisis

These are inefficient employees who do not know how to make choices, since their parents still decide everything for them. Almost at the interview, they try to call their mother to find out how to answer HR questions. It is easy to notice them, offering to make a choice in favor of one thing, and the resume should alert you with vague wording.

Type number 10. Millennial Moms

Young women would be happy to go to work, but they have no one to leave small children with, so they spend all their free time on social networks, looking for entertainment on the Internet. If you're recruiting remote employees, for example, to distribute promotional information, millennial moms are the best fit. However, they can take on other projects, including in their specialty, but on a remote basis.

How to Motivate Generation Y

Millennials cause a lot of problems for teachers, parents, and only then leaders. Even experienced HRs do not know how to influence individual employees, as they do not accept instructions and act as they see fit at the moment. Based on long-term observations, psychologists have identified the main ways of managing and motivating players.

Observe Generation Y employees to develop a plan for working with them. Remember what they value:

• fair and equal competition, as they strive to become the best;
• partnerships with all employees of the organization, rather than a rigid hierarchy;
• leadership and mentoring;
• free exchange of information;
• making collective decisions.

If you can rally the team, you will notice the dedication and determination of subordinates, because nothing will strain and disappoint them. Create conditions in which young people can realize their potential, give them freedom of choice, set interesting tasks, reward them with small and significant bonuses.

Don't let generation Y get bored, entertain the youth, but don't forget about financial incentives, because modern people are not used to denying themselves something. Talk with subordinates more often, find out what does not suit them, maintain a positive and friendly atmosphere.

Generation X, Generation Y, Generation Z - these phrases often flash at HR conferences and in special articles. Who are these gentlemen? Why do they need to know in person? How can you attract them to your company? According to labor market experts, the theory of generations is not a fashionable hobby, but an expansion of opportunities for attracting and managing personnel.

Tell me when you were born...

In 1991, two American researchers decided to describe the features and differences of different generations: William Strauss and Neil Howe. The theory they created was based on the fact that the value orientations of different generations differ significantly. Strauss and Howe studied these differences, as well as the reasons that gave rise to them (political and social environment, the level of technological development, significant events of their time). This scientific achievement soon found a sphere of practical application: it turned out that the theory of generations is very useful to use in business structures, and now modern HRs are guided by it. “The deep values ​​of generations are an important reference point for specialists in the field of personnel management,” says Mikhail Semkin, Advisor to the General Director, Imperiya Kadrov Holding. Sofya Pavlova, business development manager at the Beagle recruiting company, continues this idea: “Indeed, professionals of different generations have their own characteristics. Working in a recruiting company reveals a lot of generational differences.” But what are these differences?

Baby Boomers. According to Mikhail Semkin, the main values ​​of the baby boomer generation (born in 1943-1963) are an interest in personal growth, collectivism, and team spirit. Such employees understand personal growth as a growing ability to achieve results together, as a team. Now almost all baby boomers have reached retirement age. Despite this, many of them are still working. A feature of most Russian baby boomers is enviable health and endurance.

X. “Generation X (from 1963 to 1983) is characterized by: willingness to change, opportunity to choose, global awareness, informality of views, self-reliance,” says Mikhail Semkin. This generation of employees can be called the “loner generation”, focused on hard work and individual success.

Sofya Pavlova also speaks about the same features of the Xs: “These are people who are accustomed to building their career gradually, throughout their lives and moving in one direction. There are many examples when "X" work for 30-40 years at the same factory, enterprise or state institution, where they accumulate experience for years, starting their professional path from the lowest levels. As a rule - immediately after the institute's bench, where they received a specialized education.

Y. Generation Y (from 1983 to 2003) has its own understanding of success and purposefulness. “Game players are often not ready to start their journey from the bottom and slowly grow up, waiting for years to be promoted and increase their remuneration,” says Sofya Pavlova. It is the “orientation towards immediate reward” that Mikhail Semkin considers the main drawback of the employees of the “Greeks”.

However, young workers have an excuse. “Y” has an incredible flow of information and a very unstable external professional environment, “Y” cannot afford to be a specialist in a certain very narrow area and work in it all his life,” says Sofya Pavlova. According to Mikhail Semkin, generation Y is the main hope and support of modern companies.” Why? “This generation is characterized by an unprecedented level of technical literacy, an increase in the amount of work performed at home, the desire for new knowledge,” the expert continues.

According to Mikhail Semkin, these people will become the main labor force in the labor market in ten years. However, the attractiveness of "Greeks" for modern employers is explained not only by high technical literacy. According to the observations of Sofya Pavlova, it is not so often now that you can meet a person of this generation who works by profession - more often they prefer to work in areas where high earnings are possible here and now, and it does not require years of painstaking work. At a time when companies need a lot of service workers and middle managers, Generation Y can feel quite confident in the labor market.

Z. Generation Z is still too young to be able to say anything about their professional characteristics. “It is still difficult to say what kind of values ​​generation Y will pass on to its followers, as time is accelerating and technologies are changing at a high speed,” agrees Mikhail Semkin. Nevertheless, in one of our previous articles, interesting considerations were expressed in this regard.

hunting season

Why all this to specialists in work with personnel? But if you ask the question a little differently: “Why does a human resource specialist need this?”, Everything will fall into place. “Initially, the term Human Resources says that the person is in the first place,” Sofya Pavlova emphasizes. The focus of attention in business is shifting towards human potential. It is he, and not tangible assets, that becomes the main wealth of the company.

In addition, the personnel market is entering a period of active struggle for each applicant. To win it, you need to offer the best conditions to talented employees from every generation. It is impossible to measure all generations by one measure - their ideas about the “dream job” are too different. “The theory of generations is very important for understanding the driving factors and motivation of workers,” says Mikhail Semkin.

What is good for “x” is good for “y” ...

What is the “best conditions” in the understanding of employees of different ages?

Baby Boomers. This generation, as Mikhail Semkin notes, is the most stable in terms of its needs and is strongly focused on sustainability. If you create stable conditions for baby boomers, you can “charge” them to achieve results with the help of non-material motivation.

X. "The main motivation for 'X' is to be an integral part of the corporate culture, confidence in the future and a clear organizational structure," says Sofia Pavlova. According to Mikhail Semkin, one of the working motivators for this generation is the opportunity to learn throughout life. As for material motivation, as Sofia Pavlova says, X prefer fixed salaries. Too much variable part of the salary makes them nervous.

Y. The YGs are sometimes also referred to as the "network generation". Not surprisingly, they are easiest to recruit through the World Wide Web, especially through social networks. “The main motivation for “Y” is financial reward, lack of bureaucracy, technology (for example, equipping offices with high-tech equipment),” says Sofya Pavlova. Mikhail Semkin fully agrees with this: “If a company does not introduce new technologies, there is no activity to optimize and automate business processes, this can scare away promising employees of Generation Y.”

In addition, "gamers" are attracted to companies that have few restrictions and prohibitions. Generation Y appreciates the relaxed atmosphere and free style of communication, does not like to stick to the dress code and follow the line. Another effective method of motivation for the generation that grew up on computer games is the "disguise" of the work routine with the aesthetics of the game.

Should not be neglected

You can, of course, dismiss the theory of generations as just another invention of theorists. But companies that shrug off most trends as fads stunt their growth (and so do those who embrace them thoughtlessly and without careful consideration). “A special approach to representatives of different generations is, of course, necessary,” says Sofya Pavlova. - As they say, “for every product there is a merchant”, and where “X” is needed, “Y” will not replace it. Ideally, when a symbiosis occurs: “X” takes patronage over “Y”, while listening to the younger generation and adopting new things from them.”

What can turn the neglect of differences between generations? “There can always be negative consequences, most often this is due to the fact that the company receives a “not its own” candidate, the expert continues. - In the race for a quick result, consultants can "adjust" a person to a position, which entails a quick disappointment for both the new employee and the company, and the consultant himself, who will need to select a replacement.

“Taking into account the differences between generations, the psychological profile of the candidate and the deep knowledge of the client company, the consultant will spend more time searching,” Sofya Pavlova continues. “But as a result, in addition to financial rewards, he will also receive a result in the form of people grateful to him.”

Also, the theory of generations helps not only to select personnel for the company, but also to advise the employees themselves and applicants. This is how Sofya Pavlova sees it: “The market dictates its own, and currently it is easier for ”Y” to find their dream job, as they are much more adaptable, ”X” may need more time to do this. Here, the main task of the recruiter is to indicate to the candidate his importance and individuality, so that in case of refusal, the person understands that the matter may not be in him, but in a combination of factors and current market conditions. After all, thanks to the professionalism of the recruiter, the candidate can turn his attention to other areas, where, perhaps, he has not seen himself before.”