Generation Next Comes to College

Generation NeXt Comes to College

(and hopefully on to work)
Understanding Today’s Postmodern Students/ Workers

Dr. Mark Taylor www.taylorprograms.com

This handout summarizes and supplements the keynote presentation from the EACE Meeting. It is not intended to be a “stand alone” document and should not be distributed to non-attendees without permission.

More information about Generation NeXt is available in articles available for download at www.taylorprograms.com including the 2007 article “Generation NeXt Goes to Work: Issues in Workplace Readiness and Performance”.

Changing workplace

Recent traditionally aged college graduates, from Generation NeXt are entering a different workplace than earlier generational cohorts.

·  Information based. Workers are entering a service and information management based economy and organizations as opposed to earlier manufacturing (or even agricultural) economies and organizations.

·  Technology based/ technology issues impacts all organizations and professional workers are required to demonstrate high levels of technological sophistication; the ability to understand and use technology.

·  The workforce in general is more divers ethnically and traditional gender lines have blurred or disappeared.

·  The generational cohorts are more mixed with members of each group expected to work closely together; older “administration” is less segregated from younger workers.

·  Organizations tend to be less vertical. More decisions are (or need to be) made at levels with more customer or consumer contact, as opposed to in the boardrooms.

·  Blurring of authority/ expertise. Traditionally the older workers have been the most skilled and so the most valuable. With explosions in technology, especially the web, it is often the youngest workers (the “digital natives”) who are the most skilled.

·  “Wal-mart” mentality issues. Some workplaces may unfortunately be adopting employment models that are not especially “worker friendly” by limiting full-time employment, limiting benefits (including health care) and squeezing pay.

·  International issues. Off-shoring of jobs is well documented, as is the importing of an immigrant (often illegal) underclass of low paid workers.

·  Fewer overall workers. With the expectation of the retirement of large numbers of Baby Boomers, many expect the overall number of available workers to decrease (see Dychtwald).

·  Exodus of all “Traditional” duty/ loyalty workers. The youngest of the “Traditional” age cohort of workers is 62 years old. They are retiring and taking their work-centric, duty based loyalty with them.

·  The pending retirement of large numbers of Baby Boomers, who lend to be mission oriented workers, will leave gaps in worker numbers and dedication.

·  Issues with preparation of younger workers. Ample evidence indicates that colleges have issues preparing young people for the realities of the workplace (see Levine, Bok, etc.).

·  Downtrends in career ambition- data also suggests that as workers move from a “work centric” to a “life centric” orientation they “work to live”; they don’t “live to work”. It has been estimated that at least 70% of “promotable” workers are not interested in accepting more responsibility at work, which may presage a leadership crisis (see Smith).

·  There continues to be the need for skilled, able, willing employees, which colleges may not be adequately preparing.

·  Room for McWorkers- the service based economy also has room for many unskilled, low paid workers making the prospects for underprepared workers especially bleak,.

Issues with college and the preparation of workers

·  “Most colleges are seriously out of step with the real world in getting students ready to become workers in the postcollege world.”

TIME January 5, 2005

·  “a pandemic of workplace unreadiness as today’s graduates are unable to think long term, handle details or delay gratification”

Mel Levine 2005

·  Many students who do earn degrees have not actually mastered the reading, writing and thinking skills we expect of college graduates. Over the past decade, literacy among college graduates has actually declined.

Spellings Commission on the Future of Higher Education August 9, 2006

·  Most college courses represent a systematic failure to create a learning environment that promotes meaningful, lasting student development.

John Tagg 2004

·  Graduates are underachieving in learning to communicate, critical thinking and problem solving, character development/ “moral reasoning”, citizenship, appreciation of diversity, ability to understand and participate in a global society, development of “broader interests” (lifelong learning) and in preparation for career.

Derek Bok, 2006

Generation NeXt- in college and entering the workforce.

Academically disengaged

·  “Play the game”. College classes are viewed by students as a game where they acquire points and trade these points in for a grade (see Nathan)

·  Generation NeXt students may have few meaningful developmental or “learning goals, beyond “getting a degree”; more consumer than student.

·  Disconnected from academics, often tired of “school”

·  Little academic risk taking

·  Little perceived need for learning or to change

Reduced self-efficacy

·  Likely to see themselves as victims (or beneficiaries) of forces beyond control

·  More “externals” so may tend to project responsibility

·  Limited familiarity with “consequence” (no spankings)

·  Goal is to “get lucky” (not long term development or investment)

Short event horizon

·  “Life is random”

·  Expect instant gratification/ success

·  Commitment reluctance- want to keep options open

·  This not looking ahead impacts their critical thinking and problem solving skills, future orientation, planning and goal setting and contributes to a disconnect from adult and work life.

Supervision

·  Limited unstructured time. They were raised with less “free time” (not programmed by adults or media) than other generational groups.

·  Limited creative play as “play” has been organized/ supervised by adults or programmed by media (watching TV is not a creative activity), with predictable impacts on imagination and creativity

·  Impacts formative relationship skills. May not have had developmental opportunities to “work things out” for themselves interpersonally

·  At school and work they tend to have a high need for supervision, orientation and direction, though they may resist being supervised or directed if it involves activities they do not enjoy, such as doing school work or work-work.

Entertainment orientation

·  The high need for external stimulation and short attention span of many students is legendary.

·  This tends to be a poor fit with the “work” and exertion of traditional academic activities, and with workplace expectations.

Excellence/ Esteem Issues

·  Many young people have been programmed to develop their self-esteem, even in the face of less than stellar academic or personal achievement (see Twenge). Optimism without motivation.

·  Grade inflation had been both a cause and effect of high self-esteem; we don’t want to bring their self-esteem down by giving them a bad grade do we?

·  They tend to rate own skills highly and expect lots of praise and recognition.

·  They may not take feedback or criticism well, and tend to expect success (at school and work) without significant effort

·  Why change? Education has historically been based on a deficit model; students learn because they need to, because they are not “good enough” yet. With about a generation of young people who believe that they are “good enough” already, where is the motivation to establish developmental goals, to change and to grow?

Parent issues

·  Parents have been intrusively involved in the entire lives of many young people (see my November 06 article)

·  Parents are “doing for” and “have done” for their children, and may be expected to continue through college and beyond.

·  This involvement has had the unintended consequence of fostering dependence in many young people and decreasing their self-efficacy. When parents intervene the core message is that the young person couldn’t do it adequately on their own.

Ready to work? Students undervalue skills the workplace values including the following

·  Writing/ editing

·  Mathematics

·  Speaking a foreign language

·  Public speaking

·  Selling/ persuading

·  Writing/ editing

·  Employers complain of problems with written, literacy, oral communication

Intellectual issues

·  Generation NeXt may be viewed as the product of an anti-intellectual culture

·  Issues with critical thinking/ problem solving

·  Oral, peer oriented culture (not literate). Reading may not be a hobby

·  Limited historical, political, cultural knowledge or involvement

·  Skeptical- no intellectual authorities

·  High value of own opinion- tend to be self-important

·  Their informality may be seen as uncivil.

The young people of Generation NeXt have many strengths

·  Youth- they are young, hopefully adaptable, and have many years ahead of them

·  Positive- generally tend to expect things to work out for them

·  Informal- not constrained by “traditional” social expectations and sanctions; possibly “value free” which gives them many options

·  High self-esteem- feel very good about themselves

·  Tech oriented and often tech skilled

·  Multitasking- used to several sources of in-put and doing several things at once

·  Resourceful.

The Consumer Employee

·  “Ask not what you can do for the company..?

·  Represents a very nontraditional employee role

·  Evidences a disconnect between students and workplace expectations

·  They were consumer/ customer students so they expect to be consumers at work, too

·  The powerful consumer orientation has often not developed the commensurate expectation that they will become effective producers

·  Tend to expect "high salaries, quick promotions, moderate work hours in a friendly, entertaining, supportive, positive environment that uses and develops my talents.”

Working with Generation NeXt

Bridging the Chasm to Adulthood

College vs. work- different worlds/ different expectations

Young people need help understanding how college and the workplace differ. The following messages may be helpful.

·  College is all about you and your development; the self in the goal

o  Work is about your reaching another person’s goal

·  At college you have been the consumer

o  Work is about being a producer

·  College is often artificial; the work is made up and may not readily relate to the “real world”

o  Work is the “real world” with real responsibilities and consequences.

·  At college you have taken many different kinds of classes and have been urged to develop general interests

o  To have value at work you need well developed, specific skills others don’t have.

·  College often allows for negotiation

o  Work tends to be more inflexible

·  At college much of the work was content based; just learn this material for the test

o  Work requires critical thinking; which combines content with intellectual and observational skills

·  College focused on your earning grades

o  Work focuses on some identifiable output not specifically about you

·  College activities were generally very directed; someone told you what was expected and what you needed to do

o  Work requires more self-direction and problem solving

·  College, and other schools, tried to foster your self-esteem

o  Work is interested in production, and if you do not contribute to the production, you can expect a consequence from people who are not particularly concerned with your self-esteem.

·  College often has often provided lots of praise, including high grades

o  Work rarely offers lavish praise, but instead frequent criticism

·  At college you could mostly hang with peers of your own choosing

o  At work the groups are mixed by age, and you don’t get to pick who you work with

·  College is appearance oriented, and supports your looking cool and casual

o  Appearance at work is expected to be mature and you are expected to look busy, not casual

Impacting workplace readiness and success

Career Center Activities

Increase goal setting and future orientation

·  Goal setting is critical

o  Students’ ability to see themselves in the future helps more of today make sense

·  Improved goal setting helps in many areas

o  Critical thinking/ problem solving

o  Retention/ persistence

o  Delay of gratification

o  Efficacy/ responsibility

·  Relate to realistic workplace expectations

o  The more they know what to expect the better prepared they can be, and the less culture shock they will have when they do fully enter the workplace

Use peers to communicate workplace expectations

·  Anticipate defensiveness when confronting students with workplace realities. Be ready for esteem issues!

o  “That does not apply to me”

o  “Why are you so negative?”

o  “You are so bringing me down!”

·  Peers, either older students or recent graduates, may have more credibility than an older person whose experiences might be viewed as obsolete

o  Peers can have a more significant impact on the “target” students

o  There is also a powerful impact on “evangelists”- older students come to better understand the workplace realities they will face by sharing with others

·  May be too much for the Career center to do with all students

o  May need to coordinate peer sharing on program/ departmental level.

Career center activities and programs

·  Formal classes and programs

o  From “Freshman seminars” to “Senior symposia”.

·  Intrusion- don’t wait on students to come to you, especially undecided students

o  Look for non-traditional times to intrude“

·  Don’t cancel that class” as a forum to offer peer led “Workplace Reality 101”

Tap into “talent”

·  Link to their aptitudes- young people tend to believe that they have “talents” so help them develop “their” gifts

·  Move from a generalist to their specific skill set

·  “What makes you special?”

·  Effort that matches our gifts feels better. Students are more likely to work in areas they are better at

·  Relate to adult skill sets, not necessarily college skills and certainly not college-level social skills and expectations.

Tech vs. touch

·  Everyone needs career services, but does everyone need to “see” a career counselor?

·  High tech/ non-touch options (both web based and “pencil and paper”) for students who prefer those frees “touch” time for students who prefer and need that more personal contact

·  What can be “jobbed out” to faculty

o  workplace awareness?

o  “major” options- what can you do with this major?

Impacting the academy

Why are students in school?