Gen Y Enthusiasm Can Smell Like Impertinence

Sometimes when we members of Generation Y care about something, it’s mistaken as impertinence.

Bruce Tulgan, author of the 2009 book Not Everyone Gets a Trophy: How to Manage Generation Y, explained it perfectly in an article by AARP:

The classic thing is they [Gen Yers] show up on Day One and want to tell you how to change your business … It leads older people to think they have a radically different work ethic, but Gen Yers said 'I thought you want me to care about this place.'

Obviously I offer the Gen Y perspective, but here are valid points I think managers of Generation Y could make:

• Gen Y workers need to realize that there’s a lot of other non-creative crap you need to do to keep a business running.
• Furthermore, there’s a lot you might learn while doing that crap that will help shape your perspective in order to implement new ideas.
• Just because we haven’t done it doesn’t mean we haven't thought of it.
• You have to earn respect before you get more responsibility.
  

And on the other hand, here’s what Gen Yers could say back:

• If you are going to attract young, bright individuals, you need to make them feel like an integral part of the creative process.
  
• Generation Y is used to a horizontal environment where everyone’s ideas count, and where talents are more important than tenure. That should be helpful to this company because the world is moving that way; the Web is horizontal, not hierarchical.
• When I come up with new ideas, it’s not an insult to you and the way you do things; I just care about what I do.
• I see work as something with a fluid structure I don't want to fully disconnect from. It could be a good thing for you, because I sought out a career I enjoy and plan to spend a lot of time doing ... just not necessarily 9 to 5.
  

So, is there a middle ground?