generation y - a new identity in the english teaching community

Generation Y A New Identity in the English

Teaching Community

• Evania Netto & Carolina Piacenti

Agenda

• Talk about some historical events that impacted our lives.

• Take the quiz “Which generation do you belong to?”

• Talk about generational characteristics. • Discuss some generational conflicts people

face at work and come up with solutions.

In this presentation we will:

Warm Up Think about some of the most important historical events that happened in the 20th or 21st century. Which one(s) influenced you the most? How do you think it (they) influenced you as a professional? Talk about it with a partner.

Warm Up

• Brasília the new capital (1960)• The military revolution (1964)• First test-tube baby (1970)• John Lennon’s death (1980)• “Diretas Já” (1983) • Rock in Rio (1985)• Brazilian new Constitution (1988)• Senna’s death (1994)• September 11 (2001)• The creation of Facebook (2004) • Other

Generations• According to Kullock (2011) a generation

encompasses a group of people born in a determined time and influenced by specific historic context that determines some kind of behavior which impacts the evolution of society.

• Miller, M. (2012) says that some of the generations include:

• The Silent Generation (Traditionalists)

• The Baby Boomers • The X Generation• Generation Y

Generations

What generation do I belong to? • Look at the year that you were

born. • Consider yourself another

generation if you are born close to the generation before or after.

• Generational definitions are based on major cultural, political, and economic influences (ROBINSON, M.)

a.Up to 1945 b.Between 1946 and 1964c.Between 1965 and 1976d.Between 1977 and 1996

1- When were you born?

2- In their work place, people from your generation...

a. are extremely dedicated and like strict hierarchy. b. are optimistic, rebellious and believe that they can change the world. c. try to balance work with personal life. d. are self-assured and strongly believe they could be successful if only they were given a chance.

3- How do you and your university friends feel about work and money?

a. “Work hard to be financially secure, and don't waste your money.”b. “Work should be short, so you can get on to your true interests. Money isn't all that important.”c. “Work should be meaningful, and money should be spent on something you love.” d. “Work should be as fun as possible. Life is short, so enjoy your money.”

4- In their lives, people from your generation

a. sacrife themselves to reach their goals.b. don’t conform and tend to break rules. c. think that family relations are what matter the most. d. want short term results and believe they have the right to be happy.

5- Which of the sentences would describe you and your adolescent friends?

a. “I need to get a good job.” b. “I need to study more.” c. “I want to watch TV this afternoon.” d. “I want to play RPG with my friends.”

6- As teenagers, your friends

a. respected their parents no matter what. b. rebelled and challenged authority. c. found their friends to be more important than your family. d. counted on their parents for advice and guidance.

7- In my generation, birthday parties

a. didn’t exist. b. were only for rich people.c. Included a cake and some sweets that we enjoyed.d. meant coming up with a new theme each year.

8- The first thing my generation wanted to buy soon after graduation was

a. a homeb. a car c. a personal computer d. a company

Results

• Write down the letters corresponding to your answers. Which letter do you have the most? Find the generation you tend to have more characteristics from.

• A- Traditionalists B- Baby Boomers

C- Generation X D- Generation Y

The Generations

The Silent Generation / Traditionalists

Their “Silent” label refers to their conformist and civic instincts.

The Silent Generation 1925-1945


• Born before 1945. • Grew up during wars and the

great depression. “Waste not want not” attitude, conformity, conservatism, traditional family values, strive for financial security.


• Having faced hard times, silent generations are faithful to their companies and are willing to sacrifice themselves to reach their goals. They also enjoy rigid hierarchy.

Baby Boomers

Label is drawn from the great spike in fertility that began after the end of World War II and ended in 1964, when the birth control pill went on the market.

• Born between 1946 and 1964.

• Having been born after the war, this generation lived the hippie movement, the fears of cold war and the beggining of space age. They have also broken rules in terms of style, politics and consumption attitudes.

Baby Boomers

• Conservative, baby boomers worked hard to climb the corporate ladder. Their work values are based on ambition, competition and power. They are also willing to change jobs to advance in their careers.

• However, even though baby boomers crave positions of authority, they prefer to make decisions according to a group consensus.

Baby Boomers

Template

Generation x Generation X

1965-1977

The label, which meant a group of undetermined young people who had to face the uncertain future, long ago overtook the first name affixed to this generation: the “Baby Bust”.

Generation X

• Born between 1965 and 1977.

• Grew up with emerging technologies.

• Highly educated, active, balanced, savvy, happy and family oriented.

Generation X

• Unlike their parents, who challenged leaders with an intent to replace them, Gen Xers are less likely to idolize leaders and are more inclined to work toward long-term institutional and systematic change through economic, media and consumer actions.

Generation Y – Millennials

Generation Y 1977-1994

The label refers to the first generation to come of age in the new millennium.


• Born between 1977 and middle ninety’s.

• Confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and open to change. They are history’s first “always connected” generation. Steeped in digital technology and social media, they treat their multi-tasking hand-held gadgets almost like a body part.


• In weighing their own life

priorities, Millennials place parenthood and marriage far above career and financial success. Also, millennial employees, in general, are unconvinced that excessive work demands are worth sacrifices to their personal life.


• Millennials also have great

expectations from their workplace. Actually, studies predict that Millennials will switch jobs frequently, holding many more jobs than Generation Xers due to their great expectations.

• However, Millennials say that creating a strong cohesive, team oriented culture at work and providing opportunities for interesting work that allows them to thrive both personally and professionally are important to their workplace happiness. Furthermore, Millennials place a great emphasis on being supported and appreciated.


Pair Work

Do you agree with the characteristics of each generation? Do you have those characteristics? Discuss it with a partner.

Pair Work

Look at some comments given by different generations working together. What could be done to avoid generational conflicts in those situations? Discuss them with a partner.

Social Networking and Collaboration

I am leaving this

job because I feel

disconnected from

this institution.

The new employees

seem to communicate

more through

technology than in

person.

• Embrace the virtual colleague.• Take a look at what policies will have to be

put in place concerning social networking.• In case of strict policies concerning social

networking, communicate them clearly.• Put Millennials together on teams.• Manage the generational mix. Millennials

are a generation in search of mentors.

Solutions

Coaching

Maybe what the other generations don’t know is that we are hungry to learn. Not all of us are lazy and just getting by. I love it when people will teach me something. We are curious. We ask a lot of questions. But that isn’t us being disrespectful or trying to challenge someone. It’s just us being curious.

• Be ready to coach.• Coach on explicit and implicit know-how.(By

the coaching process Millennials will develop the skill level they need to fly solo).

• Work on the generation mix by asking the older generations to coach Millennials on the challenges a project presents and on the strategies to meet them.

Solutions

Millennials need for speed

I have been working here for over a year, but things don’t seem to get moving. I wish someone could tell me my real chances of getting a promotion, since I’ve got one of the best evaluation scores from my group.

I want to hit th

e ground

running and start making a

difference now!

I am used to instant communication and feedback. If I work at a place that doesn’t offer it, it will be hard to stay motivated.

Solutions

• Ramp up the feedback: pick up the pace of communication. Millennials want instant feedback.

• Empower Millennials to take a role in the pace and direction of their careers by putting the focus more on what they achieve and less on arbitrary timelines.

• Teach Millennials that what you do today, walks and talks tomorrow.

• Work on the generation mix by putting Millennials to work as reverse mentors, teaching and coaching the other generations.

Millennials’ Expectations and Commitment

It is getting more and more difficult to work with this new generation. The impression I have is that they are not as commited to the institution as we are.

I understand this generation of employees seek short-term results but their expectations in terms of a career are quite farfetched.

Solutions

• Talk to variety of professionals to learn what they look for in new hires.

• Think about building a diverse set of skills: technical, professional, interpersonal interactions.

• Show loyalty.• Adapt to other generations in the office.• Realize the value in learning from older

generations.• Commit to become a life-long learner.

Final thought

Each generation is shaped by different events and conditions that result in unique ways of looking at the world. And by seeing where the generations are coming from, we can move beyond accepting our differences, to a more powerful place where we embrace them and use them to our strategic advantage.

Thank you

Gen X Gen Y

• Evania A. Netto• [email protected]

• Carolina Piacenti • [email protected]

• CAPRINO, K. How Millennials Can Better Prepare For Today's Workforce: 10 Critical Steps, 2014. Available at: <http://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2014/02/22/how-millennials-can-better-prepare-for-todays-workforce-10-critical-steps/>. Access in April 2014.

• KULLOCK, E. Por que as geracoes estao no nosso foco?, 2011. Availabe at:< http://www.focoemgeracoes.com.br/index.php/por-que-as-geracoes-estao-no-nosso-foco/> Access in April, 2014.

• LANCASTER, L.; STILLMAN, D. The M-factor – How the Millennial generation is rocking the workplace, 2012.

• MILLER, M. Leadership in a Multigenerational Workforce- Learning how Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y can work together, 2012.

• PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS. PWC´s NextGen: a Global generational study - Evolving talent strategy to match the new workforce reality, 2013. The University of Southern California and London Business School. Availabe at: <https://www.pwc.com/en_GX/gx/hr-management-services/pdf/pwc-nextgen-study->. Acess in April, 2014.

• ROBINSON, M. The Generations - What generation are you?. Availabale at:< http://www.careerplanner.com/Career-Articles/Generations.cfm>. Access in April, 2014.

• Template: Presentation Magazine website. Available at: <www.presentationmagazine.com>

Reference