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Managers need new style for the youth

By Wang Shaohui (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-29 08:00

Many young employees are planning to change jobs as the New Year approaches. Though frequent job-hopping may have something to do with young people's attitude toward work, it also reflects the reality of the rapidly changing social economy. The difference in values that managers and young employees believe in is an important factor, too.

The above factors have prompted some managers to refer to young employees as "the lost generation", a stigmata that is offensive. Rather than using a derisive term to describe all young employees, such managers should try to improve their management skills by making efforts to understand the younger generation's mindset.

According to official figures, the number of people born in the 1980s in China is about 204 million. Assuming that the average graduate starts working at the age of 22, people born in the 1980s comprise a big part of the workforce today. Also, many of the people born in the early 1990s have become part of the workforce in the country's manufacturing sector.

These young people share some common features. Since most of them are the only children of their families, they are more or less "spoiled" by their parents. Besides, they were born after China launched its reform and opening-up so they acquired knowledge about enterprises and commercial society at an early age and are adept at the use of the Internet, which gives them access to information from varied sources. All these have made the younger generation more self-centered and flexible in its economic pursuit.

But like every other generation, today's young employees have their advantages and disadvantages . Their flexibility prompts them to hop from one job to another and increase their income substantially, but frequent changes of jobs can also make them less steady and leave them without enough experience to rise to the top in their particular fields.

On the other hand, most of the supervisors of these young employees were born in the 1950s and 1960s, and follow the ways of their previous generation. Their authoritarian management style is in stark contrast to the strong individualism of the younger generation.

Many of the new-generation employees put emphasis on personal goals and are not willing to sacrifice their self-interests to help achieve their employers' goals. In contrast, the 1950s- and 1960s-born managers advocate values that serve the objectives of the organizations they work for, which may not necessarily be to the advantage of employees at large. The frequency with which certain problems have been occurring in some companies, including extreme cases such as suicides by some employees, can be largely attributed to the strict management rules and the neglect of young employees' demands.

Young employees have two specific expectations from their companies and supervisors: No intervention in the way they work (as long as they deliver the goods) and to be consulted by supervisors before restrictions at the system level are imposed. Young employees need clear objectives and immediate rewards, and it is up to them how they achieve the goals. And managers need to provide guidance and help to younger employees when necessary.

Some young employees have the tendency of mixing work with their personal life. Managers have to accept this trend and should not use force to prevent the young workers from doing so. This problem can be best handled through the use of Web tools.

Our recent survey on the application of Web 2.0 tools in commercial activities (half of the respondents being employees aged between 24 and 34 years) shows the percentage of Web 2.0 tools such as instant messaging services, blogs and micro-blogs used at work in China is much higher than the global level. More than half of the respondents said the use of such tools increased work efficiency, while less than 3 percent thought it would affect their work.

Since the use of instant messaging is much higher in China, companies would be justified in banning services such as MSN and QQ in the short term. But such a decision would not be a smart choice in the long run.

More flexible working methods and conditions are other motivation indicators to gauge the new-generation workers. Managers should set working periods according to different positions and job requirements and give the chance to employees to choose them freely. A transparent motivation mechanism could yield positive feedbacks, which can be a driving force for all to make more progress. Perhaps a reward is not that important, but there is no denying that rewards do have motivating value.

But the easier said than done proverb applies to the young generation as well. Young employees need guidelines for action. After understanding young employees' characteristics, companies should take targeted management measures to motivate them. Only by trusting young employees can managers win their trust.

Getting employees more deeply involved in the rule-making process will greatly increase their commitment to the system and strengthen their sense of belonging. Statistics show that interaction is more effective than straight-faced regulations in improving employees' performance.

Companies should also design more humane welfare programs, such as traveling and training, for the new-generation employees. In short, companies and managers have to improve management styles according to employees' needs, rather than simply denying their merits.

The author is a principal consultant and talent management solution leader with Towers Watson China.