Contents

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 2 Needs & characteristics of generation Y ................................................................................................... 2 Companies practices ............................................................................................................................ 5 Dell ........................................................................................................................................................ 5 Implications ................................................................................................................................................... 6 Nikon ............................................................................................................................................................. 8 Implication ................................................................................................................................................ 9 Suggestions ......................................................................................................................................... 11 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................... 12 References .............................................................................................................................................. 13

The younger workforce in the workplace

Introduction
Several prevalent definitions of generation Y exist. Generation Y can be defined as a label attributed to people born during the 1980s and the early 1990s (Ian N Barford 2011). Worldwide in 2009, generation Y (15-29 years old) represents 25.47% of the world population (Johonson control 2010). They are the children of a generation who has benefited from the industrial revolution of the 70s where peoples wealth and incomes have rapidly increased and as a result this generation has a good standard of living and has been exposed to new modern environments and technologies. These people are the future leaders of the world and the organizations as well and it is expected that within a decade, generation Y will comprise 40 per cent of the workforce. The advent of the generation Y into the workplace is bringing new changes that must be understood and addressed by the companies. Businesses have to rethink their practices and adapt their working environment in order to accommodate to the new changes brought by the young employees.

Needs & characteristics of generation Y

Generation Y employees tend to be tech-savvy. Generation Y have been exposed to technology such as internet, smart phones, and much more high tech products while growing up which make them totally comfortable with technology . The wealth of information that is available from the internet and different TV channels has given the young generation the notion that if they do not find what they want from one source, immediately they can shift to another source which make it difficult for them to be satisfied and if they do not find the employer they want, they will shift to the other, (manpower, 2007)

They are networked, collaborative highly social. They expect to be connected to their colleagues and their other social networks and they prefer to work in teams. They prefer flexible working hours and interested in organizations that offer flexibility. Generation Y is an environmentally friendly and they expect to work in a green and good environment. They are also sporty and social generation whereby they have a high demand for sport and social facilities on site. Loyalty is not a norm of generation Y, and lifetime employment is very unlikely for generation Y and they expect to change their jobs especially if their talents are underutilized, (NAS, insight, 2006)

Generation Y wants lifelong learning and they expect on-the-job training to stay marketable and proactively plan their own careers and professional development. They want also to be engaged and consulted in the process of making key business decisions and they want to know the direction where their business is heading. Generation Y aspires for a work-life balance to achieve professional satisfaction and personal freedom. Generation Y is almost automatic at multitasking with technology as if it is an extension of their being and they may change a job task considerably to create a more appealing outcome. They need clear directions and management assistance for tasks, while expecting freedom to get the job via empowerment

On the other hand, generation Y employees may possess poorer literacy in numeracy skills than employees from other generations, they may sometimes lack social skills and they have the tendency to express their feelings openly and that makes the other consider it as assign of arrogance. , (Scheermerhorn 'et al':2011)

The following diagram concludes some of generation Y characteristics

Tech- savvy

Millennial at work

Connected 24/7 Self confident

Work well with friends and team Collaborative, thinker. resourceful, innovative

Optimistic Independent Comfortably self-reliant Determined Goal oriented Success driven Global, civic and community minded Diverse

Love a challenge Seek to make difference Impatient Thrive on flexibility and space to explore Partner well with mentor Value guidance & Expect respect

Companies practices
Dell

Dell was one of the top 100 leading graduate employers for the year 2010 in Malaysia because Dell has met the needs of the young employees. The survey found that Malaysian graduates most prize job security, professional development, and training and promotion opportunities (Malaysian100.com). Dell offers a comprehensive employee benefits to cater to the different needs of its employees and these are some of these benefits.

Health benefits
Dell has a very unique health benefits such medical plans that allow their employees to choose the level of care they prefer. Dell allows their employees to customize their plans by choosing the "Build Your Own" option. Dell has insurance for disability insurance, dental and vision insurance is covered as well. Dell has assistance programs to employees and their household dependents which provide professional counseling with services such as family communication Dell Nurseline services to call a registered nurse anytime.

Performance related pay

Sales professionals participate in a variety of commission and bonus programs specific to their role, which are designed to reward high performance. Non-sales professionals participate in a bonus program which provides a payout of a certain percentage of salary either semi-annually or annually based on the achievement of company-wide and individual performance goals.

Other benefits For new and inexperienced employees which are from generation Y, Dell is offering them extensive training programs that help them develop their skills. E-deals at Dell are another good program especially for generation Y because it allows its employees to buy different products such as phones, automobile and travel packages. On-site services such as fitness centers, notary publics, mothers rooms, banking centers. Educational and tuition assistance are offered by Dell. Leave program such as maternity leave, military leave and company discretionary leave.

Implications
Dells enjoys flexibility in its health benefits in particular and they allow their employees to plan and customize their health benefits. Dell spends a great deal of money on healthcare benefits. However, they do not spend sufficient money on promoting health at the workplace among their younger generation. Offering a young employee health benefits may make the employee relieved that any cost will be incurred by the company but it will not reduce the level of stress among the young employees about their health especially for those who work in Dell manufacturers as they will be more susceptible to dangerous illnesses. In addition to that, young employees may lack the skills to plan their benefits so when Dell make their employees customize their health plan that will lead them to choose some benefits which are no necessary for them. Training courses are provided by Dell but it is conducted in a way that is not suitable for generation because they are more comfortable with technology and they want prefers to get online training as it gives them flexibility and comfort. Incentives are not given to encourage these young employees to participate in these courses. Learning from other professionals is one of the main reasons why young prefer to work in Dell so facilitating the exchange of knowledge is the main thing that Dell lacks. Dells rewards are giving based on the achievement of company-wide and individual performance goals and that is not the right way to motivate generation Y because some employees will feel that this practices are unfair and it may give a chance to free riders to benefit from other people effort and lead to de-motivation when the goals set are hard to achieve. Financial rewards may satisfy them temporarily but they will ask for additional rewards in the future and money is not the only motivational factors generation Y.
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On-site services are not enough for this generation as there are only few services such as fitness, and health centers which are not enough to entertain generation Y employees and creating fun in the working environment requires more on-site facilities that foster creativity and innovation. Dell does not provide enough flexibility that allows their employees to shift to another country and this might not be suitable for generation Y who has the tendency to work overseas. Thought, they give some allowances for tuition fees which are necessary for generation Y but they do not offer sabbatical leaves and enough study leaves that allow them to pursue their education.

Nikon
In October 2007, the company introduced a dual-track system, where employees are divided into two classes: managers with responsibility to lead the organization and specialists who make use of their knowledge and skills. Under the new system, every employee will choose how they wish to contribute significantly to the company as an individual. As a result, employees will have higher motivation to display their abilities and pursue goals with a sense of meaning. With regard to the education of younger employees, employees in their first year at the company were provided with collective training and also received support for OJT so that they could communicate with their managers and instructors closely. In addition, employees in their second year received training on the PDCA cycle, and those in their third year received career awareness training, to prepare them to become midlevel employees. (Nikon, 2010). Nikon has achieved a major achievements awarded the Next-Generation Certification for trial for working at home for three months.

These are some of the other benefits given to Nikons employees

http://www.nikonusa.com/About-Nikon/Careers/Benefits-at-Nikon.page

Implication
After examining the rewards that are given by Nikon to its employees, it is obvious from their last year report that besides the above rewards, training is the only special rewards that Generation Y gets which can be a good thing to do to educate them about how they can do their job. However, training is being conducted in the conventional way, so motivation may lack the young employees to fully engaged in the training courses because employees may find one of their needs in training which the development opportunity but the way it is being delivered is not preferable for them. In addition to that, Nikon as stated above trains its employees to better communicate with their managers but they do not train them on how to communicate with other generations which can create generational barriers that hinder them to get experience from the older generation in the same organization. Generation Y employees like to be connected with the other colleagues and this chance is not provided by Nikon. The use of social media network is not really utilized by Nikon and the feeling of loneliness and boredom may occur here as this generation gets used to using social media and some of them are addicted to it.
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In term of employee benefits, young employees prefer flexible benefits whereby they can choose and customize their benefits and this is not provided by Nikon whereby most of their benefits are fixed. In countries like Japan where the society has a collective culture, employees prefer to have family benefits that allow them to spend some time with their families and have a working life balance. Nikon is a company which requires innovation and in order for the young employees to be innovative they need to have flexible times. For instance, if a young employee has an innovative idea that will help to enhance a product by having fixed working hours this employee will not have time to spend on developing his new idea. Continuing with their studies might be very difficult in such environment. This may lead to higher turnover particularly among generation Y who are known of being not loyal to their employers Transportation benefits are not provided in Nikon and this may make young employees to be dissatisfied as they are at the beginning of their career and some of them cannot afford to buy cars. On-site services are not entertaining as well which can make the work young employees feel bored when repeating the same things every day. Travel allowances are giving based on seniority and that may give young employees feel it is unfair. One similar disadvantage in both Dell and Nikon rewards is that they do not provide a housing loans and assistance which is very important for many young people as the one of the surveys indicated that within the next five years, 53% of those now 18 to 24 expect to have their own houses, (Lew Sichelman, 2010).

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Suggestions
The presence of sport facilities on site or close by is recommended, so Dell and Nikon have to give their employees access to facilities such as a gym, gardens and clubs and commercial facilities like banks and hairdressers should be provided in order for young employees to be motivated. Flexible working should be the norm for the Generation Y as it is a flexible workforce with a high level of mobility so these companies should create awareness on new ways of working such as teleworking and actively promote flexible working and that will enable the young employees to pursue their studies and they can have a work-life balance. The working environment should be friendly so the companies have to offer a modern good environment that contains well designed and colorful offices. Such environment will foster the young employees innovation and result in greater motivation. Technology in the workplace should be incorporated to maximize productivity facilitating virtual and face to face engagement. This will make the young employees feel that they are connected and it will give them a better change to comfortably share knowledge with their other colleagues. Dell and Nikon have to provide more financial assistance in terms of housing and transportation. As many of the young employees especially those who recently joint the work may not afford to buy houses and cars cash, Dell, and Nikon should give their employees either loans or they should give them transportation and accommodation allowances. Monetary incentives should be based knowledge and competency as it will lead the employees to feel that they are treated equally at the same time young employees will feel motivated to learn new skills and in this case both parties will gain the benefits. Dell has to educate their employees on its health plan as it is customized and they employees should know how to manage their plans properly. In addition to that, additional online training courses should be given to young employees on how to handle difficulties and how to cope with the continuous changes in the working environment. Allocating more travel allowance for the young employees because they are interested in travelling and they want to be exposed to different culture. Dell and Nikon are multinational so they should give their young employees the chance to work in different country which is very suitable for young employees who love and adapt to changes.

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Conclusion
To sum this up, generation Y presence in the workplace has been rapidly increasing. In order for the employer to derive the best performance out of their employees, there should be a clear understanding about the needs of this generation, way they think and their perception and expectations from their employers. When designing the rewards system these needs and expectations have to be met and the employer should make sure that his reward system can cater to the different generation and keep young employees satisfied and motivated.

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References
(Scheermerhorn 'et al':), 2011. Management foundations and applications. 1st ed. Asia pacific: John Wiley &Sons Australia. Barford, I., and P. Hester. 2011. ANALYSIS MOTIVATION USING OF GENERATION UTILITY Y WORKFORCE AR

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Journal, January 1, 63-80. http://www.proquest.com/ (accessed April 4, 2011). Dell. 2010. Rewards and Benefits. [ONLINE] Available

at:http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/careers/benefits/default?c=us&l=en&s=g en. [Accessed 04 April 11]. Johnson Control. 2010. Generation Y and the Workplace Annual Report 2010. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.google.com.my/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBgQFjAA&url=htt p%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncontrols.de%2Fpublish%2Fetc%2Fmedialib%2Fjci%2Fbe%2Fglob al_workplace_innovation%2Foxygenz.Par.41451.File.dat%2FOxygenz%2520Report%2520%25202010.pdf&rct=j&q=Generation%20Y%20and%20the%20Workplace%20Annual%20Rep ort%202010&ei=BsKaTbOIC8TTrQeyw8ztBg&usg=AFQjCNEuqzfO3bve_i6pmTKwSRK4zY _m4Q. [Accessed 04 April 2011]. Lew Sichelman. 2010. Gen Y Has Strong Bent for Homeownership. National Mortgage News, October 25, 27. http://www.proquest.com/ (accessed April 4, 2011). Malaysia100.com. 2010. Top 100 Employers of Your Choice Malaysian Today . [ONLINE] Available at:http://malaysias100.com/media/top-100-employers-of-your-choice-malaysian-

today/. [Accessed 04 April 11]. Manpower. 2007. Generation Y in the Workplace Australia . [ONLINE] Available

at:http://www.manpower.cz/images/GenerationYintheWorkplace.pdf. [Accessed 01 April 11] NAS, Insight. 2006. GENERATION Y: THE MILLENNIALS READY OR NOT, HERE THEY COME . [ONLINE] Available

at: http://www.nasrecruitment.com/docs/white_papers/Generation-Y.pdf. [Accessed 03 April 11].

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Nikon

2010. Sustainability

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[ONLINE]

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at: http://www.nikon.com/about/csr/report/2010/csr-data2010_all.pdf. [Accessed 04 April 11].

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