The Newest Generation (iGen): they are the future, today!

Just as leaders got used to managing their millennial subordinates, there is a new generation knocking on the doors of Companies: The iGen’ers.

This newest generation was born after 1995 and have been totally influenced by the very rapid changes in our world. They tend to be socially active, tolerant, and committed to causes such as the environment and diversity. They have strong ties to their parents and have been raised in a media-saturated world. To say they are dependent on technology would be an understatement, so be sure your communication strategies include mobile applications because this is a generation that finds email too slow! Companies and leaders need to take note: The techniques that worked to recruit, retain, and manage millennials won’t always work for iGen.

The good news! Jean M. Twenge, in analyses for her books (iGen and Generation Me), found that iGen is more focused on work than millennials were at the same age. In a large US survey conducted every year, 55% of high school seniors in 2016 said they were willing to work overtime to do a good job—up from 44% of millennial teens in 2004. iGen’ers are also more likely to say that they would work even if they had plenty of money and to expect work to be a central part of their lives.

iGen’ers grew up more slowly as teens, taking longer to work, drive, and date than previous generations. Although there are lots of positives to those trends, more young people now arrive in companies with less experience with independent decision-making. Give them careful instructions for tasks, and expect they will need more guidance. Leaders who learned to be cheerleaders for millennials will find they are more like therapists, life coaches, or parents for iGen’ers.

Another big difference is that iGen is not as brash and confident as the millennials. In the large US surveys, iGen feels less optimistic about their career prospects and are lower in self-confidence than millennials were at the same age. Thus, they might be less likely than millennials were to expect to be CEO of the company within 3 years and less likely to express feelings of entitlement. As iGen begins to dominate the pool of entry-level talent, expect to see more young employees who are eager to do a good job but fear to make mistakes. Whereas millennials demanded praise, iGen’ers want reassurance.

This generation socializes differently, using their smartphones instead of getting together in person. The number of high school seniors who say it’s important to have a job where you can have “a chance to make friends” or that allows “contact with a lot of people” reached all-time lows with iGen. They are so focused on connecting via social media that the social aspects of work hold less appeal. Thus, don’t expect social outings and get-togethers to be much of a selling point for this generation. In addition, some iGen’ers may have more trouble with social skills, given that they have spent less time socializing in person than any previous generation.

Another piece of good news: Contrary to popular belief, leaders needn’t worry that young iGen’ers will all be itching to be entrepreneurs instead. Likely due to their risk aversion, iGen is actually less likely to want to own their own business than previous generations: only 30% of US high school seniors in 2016 believed that being self-employed was desirable, down from 48% in 1987. Instead, iGen wants stable jobs in enduring industries. This is a fantastic opportunity for leaders at established companies, who can recruit a generation looking for steady work. Practical, career-focused, and cautious but with less experience with independence, iGen is willing to work hard for the leaders who can understand them. Do so, and their potential is limitless.

Obviously, companies need to provide iGen’ers with state-of-the-art technology in order to really engage them in their work—or get them to help you find good technology solutions.

The impact this newest generation has on the workplace can be a challenge for leaders and for HR, but as long as we acknowledge that each generation has distinct behavior, habits, expectations, and attitudes, and we understand those differences, HR can help organizations to smooth out the differences and use the strengths that each employee brings.

Bibliographic Reference:

MITCHELL B.; GAMLEM C. The big book of HR. Revised and expanded edition: Career Press, 2017.

TWENGE J. M. Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--And More Miserable Than Ever Before, 2014.

TWENGE J. M. iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us, 2017.

TWENGE J. M. Meet iGen: The new generation of workers that is almost everything millennials aren’t. (https://qz.com/work/1177712/igen-the-new-young-generation-of-workers-is-almost-everything-that-millennials-are-not/), 2018.