Gen Y – they are different, deal with it

Understand them, get the best out of them rather than trying to remould them

SINCE I started the column about a year ago, I often get requests to write about the “younger” generation (Gen-Y).

They are also referred to as Millennias, those born from 1981-1991 (22-year-olds who are new graduates joining the workforce to those who are in the early 30s). Some famous people in this generation include Mark Zuckerberg and Lady Gaga.

There are many surveys to find out who they are, their characteristics and how to better manage them. There are many studies on them because they make up 25% of the world's population.

Retailers, computer and mobile phone companies, games and gadget producers would certainly like to know their tastes, habits, likes and dislikes. Financial institutions would like to know their spending patterns, propensity to save, online purchasing habits, among others.

At work, managers, senior managers and many of the older generation would like to know how to better relate and work with them.

The complaints my friends have about Gen-Y would be something like this:

They have hired a young graduate from a good school, the resume looked impressive, he is pleasant looking, dresses professionally and speaks quite well.

Six to eight months into work, and the guy seems to be always late for work, late for important meetings, appears distracted at work, cannot be reached (on handphone), leaves work at 6:30pm and complains he has no work-life balance, makes mistakes in documents and presentations to clients, goes to meeting unprepared the list goes on.

“When you give them feedback, they don't take it too well and may want to resign.

“They don't know what they don't know. They make mistakes and think they are right. They have unrealistic expectations and think they were unfairly treated.

“They are choosy about what they do. They want interesting and exciting work but cannot deliver. They don't take on much responsibilities but think they should be paid more”.

Someone asked me what they could do to change them. I thought it ought to be the other way around we need to change our ways, expectations and how we work with them.

The generation is a reflection of the society they have grown up in. They didn't cycle nor walked to school. They didn't grow up poor and deprived.

They grew up in a world of celebrities, designer goods, smart phones, computers and the Internet, 24/7 connectivity, iPod, Facebook, Youtube and addictive e-games (instead of games played in the field, rivers or jungle).

They are different in many ways. Accept it and deal with it.

We believe in doing one thing at a time and being focused. Are they distracted and cannot focus or are they good at multitasking?

At work, they listen to music, chat and surf all at the same time. When they are chatting, it is not with one person at a time but with half a dozen different chat groups (as opposed to a few individuals).

They move more they spin the pen when they are at their desk, they click the mouse and turn the pages faster. They have so many windows opened, they flip back and forth.

While they are eating, they surf, text, send pictures on Instagram, make Facebook posts, listen to music, tweet and have conversation with the person in front of them or maybe squeeze in a game at the same time. That is the way they are.

That means they can handle eight tasks while having a meal which equals to higher productivity.

Be sure to engage them with multi tasks and challenging tasks. Don't assume they ought to slowly learn the ropes like how it was 20 to 30 years ago when we were a new graduate. Take advantage of their savviness by having them set up tools, work on complex spread sheets and make searches, gather data or come up with ideas.

(There may be qualifications why you will not assign certain work to them. But if you don't and let them make the mistakes, they would miss the learning opportunity and become bored)

They are used to direct communications having grown up with emails, tweets, handphones, smses, messengers, facebook; they don't like the rigid hierarchy in the organisation or being limited by their position.

If they have something on their mind, they should be able to talk to or email someone higher in the organisation (regardless of level) rather than their immediate superior who don't seem to be able to help or understand.

This can be a positive. They are helping highlight stifling work environment that we have got used to and give meaning to better collaboration between different levels in the organisation. Their opinion counts. We need to get used to their feedback and having our views questioned.

Retention is an issue. They may move on for something more interesting or aspire to be entrepreneurs. How could they not when there are so many Internet multi-millionaires or those who became multi millionaires because they started a business or sold an application to Yahoo or Facebook.

They have been told by billionaires, actors and many successful personalities “not to settle”, they can do anything they set their mind to and should dare to fail.

Inspire them with the right ambitions at work. They are a group prepared to work hard if you can show how the hard work fuels that ambition. Spend time to understand their personal buyer values what they value most in their job and aspire for.

Every generation complains about the next generation. The new generation is somehow less respectful, less hardworking but somehow in time they will become responsible adults with major responsibilities at work and as parents.

The hippies from the 70s became responsible adults and CEOs.

Gen Y is our future. If you are at work or at home with them, spend more time with them. They will shape trends, politics, culture, our work place and many other aspects in the world.

If you experience pain and frustration trying to convince your young boss how things are done in the past, don't try too hard. Listen to his ideas and get used to his ways. You may find that you can still learn and develop.

They are different, they are here to stay. Get used to it... until Gen Z comes.

TAKE ON CHANGE By JOAN HOI  
 Joan Hoi is the author of Take on Change. We need to throw out some of our old selves to better appreciate this young, fun and bright group!

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What do fathers want?

FATHER’S Day is this Sunday and the “Sweet and chocolaty message for fathers” in The Star the other day has prompted me to put on my thinking cap on what a father wants for his children, the generations to come, and the fathers themselves.

After being a father for close to two decades, it sets me to think for the first time what is treasured most in my life as a father. Children. They are more than apples of my life. They are God’s most precious gifts that have been entrusted to my care.

Every aspect of their development, such as their health, education, emotional and spiritual growth, brings great joy to me. A father’s responsibilities are burdensome but worthwhile and rewarding.

Among them, education tops the priorities and this includes enrolling one in Austin Heights Private and International School and another in Singapore Polytechnic.

The decisions, though incurring a huge financial commitment, become easier after deliberating on their strength and weaknesses in studies.

Discipline comes in whenever necessary for sparing the rod will spoil the brats to achieve academically. The endeavour to nurture them requires, other than discipline, love and care plus lots of patience.

During school breaks, they are pampered with a holiday, either locally or once in a blue moon, an overseas trip, to enrich their lives and at the same time strengthen the family bond.

Most fathers desire a peaceful and politically-stable country for the children to grow up.

Political stability is important to ensure sustained socio-economic growth which promises brighter job prospects for their children.

Some parents, like me, are in our early 50s and very soon, our generation will be over but to our children and the future generations, it is just the beginning.

So, it is all the more crucial for our young people to be brought up in a society that is conducive and harmonious.

The country should also be free from political bickering and in-fighting for these will distract the leaders who are mandated by the rakyat to prioritise the country’s development, which includes seeing through policies like the Economic Transformation Programme and Iskandar Malaysia to fulfil the high-income nation status and Vision 2020.

Many views have also been expressed by various stakeholders, especially the PAGE and lately, Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, to emphasise more on the English language, to enable our children to be competitive in this globalised world.

Mutual trust, neighbourhood security, transparency and efficiency in the delivery system and public accountability should prevail in a society that treasures meritocracy much more than ethnicity.

A desirable society values diversity in religion, custom and belief that are part and parcel of a multi-racial community. It is also a nation where the leaders lead by example and walk the talk of the 1Malaysia concept in their daily lives, and not only when the general election is around the corner.

The proverb “behind every successful man there is a woman” depicts the importance of a wife to the father and the children. Her role in a family is further highlighted in “home sweet home”, “home is where the heart is” and “the hands that cradle the cot rock the world”.

The father and children of such a home are the MOST blessed souls in the world when there is a wise and diplomatic wife at the household. Her words are soothing in times of weariness and refreshing when one wakes up on the wrong side of the bed.

They could turn to her for words of advice or for second opinions.

Fathers should be treated as the head of households and be allowed to call the final shot if a compromise is difficult to come by. This will set examples for the children to emulate when they have their own families one day.

As the Chinese proverb says, jia he wan shi xing, which literally means that when there is harmony at home, every aspect of our lives will prosper.

That is something that every father wishes to have for himself and family but has always been elusive.

New models after new models have been launched but are often beyond their reach.

The high taxes have put many fathers in the “day-dreaming” gear and hopefully, the 20%-30% reduction in prices over a period of five years as promised by the Government can be shortened to say, two years so that a teacher like me can start saving from now on and be in time to pursue my dream of owning the Toyota Altis to replace the 13-year-old faithful Toyota Unser before the retirement.

Cheers to all fellow fathers on this coming Father’s Day!

TING LIAN LEE Johor Baru

Success is a state of being

VERY often the benchmark of ­success is wealth. Everyone is judged by the external signs of wealth.

People pass ­disparaging remarks about those who are doing service or providing for others but are not wealthy and do not display the signs of wealth.

If people identify more with their external conditions or roles, they will inevitably feel inferior or superior to others and so lack self respect.

The ways in which society works often blinds an ­individual from realising his/her own ­self-worth. For example, society sometimes gives ­acknowledge-ment only to those who are wealthy or occupy a position of authority. In reality, every individual has the right to know that worth is inherent in every human ­being.

Self worth can help ­individuals avoid feelings of inferiority or superiority. The middle path is a dignified way of life.

Success is not a material thing. It is a state of being. We might call it contentment, ­happiness or even peace.

How do you define success? It is the completion of a task, another job well done, an exam passed, a promise kept, or a mountain climbed.

Whatever we believe success to be will have a profound ­influence on our lives.


Bridget Menezes is the author of Self-Empowerment and Spiritual Counsellor. Readers can email her at lifestyle.bridget@thesundaily.com.

China's space dream comes true humbly

Ten years after China sent its first man into low earth orbit, three astronauts operating the Shenzhou-10 spacecraft started a journey on a mission which seeks a permanent space station around 2020.



Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the launch site that the crew carry a "space dream" of the Chinese nation and represent the lofty aspirations of the Chinese people to explore space.

The dream, though also dreamt by the more frequent space travelers of Russia and American, includes a manned space station, moon exploration and even deep space odysseys.

The dream is a humble one. China was decades behind Russia and the United States in space technology.

But Chinese pursue it unswervingly in line with a carefully designed three-phase manned space program.

Two years after the space flight operated by China's first astronaut, Yang Liwei, two men, including Shenzhou-10 commander Nie Haisheng, orbited the earth in 2005. Then three more in 2008, two of whom finished China's first extra-vehicular activities (EVA).

After the unmanned Shenzhou-8 and Tiangong-1 space module docking in 2011 to test automated space docking, a key skill to assemble a space station, three Chinese astronauts succeeded in operating the docking manually in 2012.

The Shenzhou-10 mission, if successful, marks the end of the first half of the second phase, which means China has completely mastered EVA and space docking skills.

However, just as the female astronaut Wang Yaping said, "we are all students in facing the vast universe."
China's pursuit of its own space dream showcases a latecomer's unremitting interests and desire to learn about the universe.

During the 15-day Shenzhou-10 mission, Wang will hold a class in space educating a group of students from a high school in Beijing through satellite communication.

This in-orbit event, hopefully broadcast live, will inspire students and also spur citizen's space interests in a country with 1.3-billion people, making this an unparalleled popularization of science in human history.

Similar to other space giants, China's space program was carried out by astronauts selected from air force pilots and supported by military resources. But China has reaffirmed that it opposes militarization of the space and will utilize the space in a peaceful way.

After the year 2020, China's future space station will probably be the only one of any kind in service considering the ISS's retirement plan. By then, China's space dream will not only serve its own people but also contribute to space exploration for the human race.

By Xinhua writers Yan Hao, Meng Na and Li Huizi

China's space dream crystallized with Shenzhou-10 launch

JIUQUAN, June 11 (Xinhua) -- China successfully launched its fifth manned spacecraft late Tuesday afternoon, sending three astronauts on the country's longest space trip.

With 10 astronauts and six spacecraft launched into space in a decade, China is speeding up on the path of exploration and building a home for Chinese in the galaxy.

At a see-off ceremony held hours before the launch, Chinese President Xi Jinping extended good wishes to the three astronauts.

"The mission's crew members carry a space dream of the Chinese nation, and represent the lofty aspirations of the Chinese people to explore space," said Xi.

The President later watched the launch at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, and shook hands with staff at the center after the successful launch.

Unlike the space trip of Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut who boarded the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft in 2003, of less than a day, the three astronauts will stay for half a month.

In its journey, Shenzhou-10 will dock with the orbiting space lab Tiangong-1 twice, once through automatic operation and the other manual, and a lecture will for the first time be given on board the assembled orbiter to a group of teenage students on the ground.

Compared with the previous nine Shenzhou spacecraft, the Shenzhou-10 is no longer experimental but considered an applicable shuttle system for transporting astronauts and supplies to orbiting modules.

"It is like developing a new type of car. You have to try it on roads of different conditions. Now trials are over and the car can be put into formal operation," said Zhou Jianping, chief engineer of China's manned space program.

On the other hand, the upgraded Long March-2F carrier rocket is technically the same as the one used with the Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft.

"No alteration means that China's rocket technology is becoming mature," said Jing Muchun, chief designer of the carrier rocket.

This mission aims to further test technologies designed for docking and supporting astronauts' stay in space, as well as to use new technologies related to the construction of a space station, said Wu Ping, China's manned space program spokeswoman, at a press conference on Monday.

The Tiangong-1 space lab has been in orbit for about 620 days, and about three months are left before the designated end of its service.

The module is considered the first step toward China operating a permanent space station around 2020 and making it the world's third country to do so.

The nation is likely to launch a space station before 2016.

There are risks that the conditions of some components on Tiangong-1 might not be at their best since the module is near the end of its service and has gone through four docking tests, Wu said.

For Nie Haisheng, commander of the three-member crew and a second-time space traveler, this mission will be longer, with more experiments to be conducted, than his previous outing in 2006.

"It will be a new challenge with greater risks," Nie told the media on Monday.

However, he is looking forward to entering the space lab module. "My colleagues and I will work in a home for Chinese in space," he said.

For this mission, the manned space program also considered approaching the public.

In a lecture through a live video feed system, female astronaut Wang Yaping will introduce motion in a microgravity environment, surface tension of liquid, and help students understand weight, mass and Newton's Laws.

Wang will also interact with students and teachers on Earth and the lecture will be broadcast live.
Ordinary Chinese, especially science enthusiasts, are excited about the new mission.

"It is a festival for space fans," said Zhao Yang, a researcher with the China Science and Technology Museum, who just watched the Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster Star Trek Into Darkness on Monday.

He was very much interested in the lecture to be given in space, saying, "There might be an interesting introduction about the weightless condition."

For renowned science fiction novelist Liu Xinci, Tuesday's events reinforced his belief that he will live to see space travel become accessible for all common people.

He has a very vivid vision of future life.

"In the next century, human beings will set foot on all planets in the solar system. People will inhabit the moon and Mars. A lot of people will work in space as space journeys will be as easy as flights."

COMMUNISTS IN SPACE

The three-member crew were all veteran Air Force pilots before being selected as astronauts. Nie is the first general visiting space while his teammate Wang Yaping is China's first space traveler born in the 1980s, a generation growing up in era of reform and opening up.

All of them are members of the Communist Party of China.

Yang Liwei, the country's first astronaut, once told Xinhua that Chinese astronauts might not pray like their foreign counterparts do before they set off on a space mission; however, Communism, as their shared faith, supports them.

"If the country has its own space station, Chinese astronauts, who are Party members, might set up a Party branch up there," Yang said.

Of the crew, 48-year-old Nie is commander of this mission, and responsible for the manual docking operation with the Tiangong-1 target orbiter.

Zhang Xiaoguang, 47, will assist the commander to accomplish the spacecraft's manual docking with Tiangong-1. Another job that Zhang will be doing in space is to film Wang's lecture lecture, which will be broadcast to middle and elementary school students in China.

Wang, 33, is the second Chinese female astronaut after Liu Yang in the Shenzhou-9 mission, which blasted off in June last year. Wang will be responsible for monitoring the conditions of the spacecraft, space experiments, operation of equipment and taking care of fellow crew members.-  Xinhua