James Cook University: Generation Y Employees in Organization Review

This literature review examines the characteristics and impacts of Generation Y employees within organizational settings. It explores key aspects such as ethical considerations, highlighting the generation's focus on ethical conduct and their potential aversion to unethical practices. The review delves into the concept of loyalty, discussing how Generation Y employees prioritize performance and career growth over tenure. It also analyzes their innovative approach, emphasizing their adaptability to technology and their ability to provide creative solutions. Furthermore, the review touches upon teamwork and learning, suggesting that Generation Y employees often bring fresh perspectives and are adept at collaborative work. The research draws on various sources to provide a comprehensive understanding of how this generation shapes and influences modern organizational structures and cultures.

GENERATION Y EMPLOYEES IN ORGANIZATION: A Literature Review
Katherine Darling
James Cook University
GENERATION Y EMPLOYEES IN ORGANIZATION

1GENERATION Y EMPLOYEES IN ORGANIZATION: A REVIEW
Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................2
Ethical Consideration:............................................................................................................3
Loyalty:..................................................................................................................................4
Innovative Approach:.............................................................................................................6
Team Work and Learning:.....................................................................................................7
Discussion:.................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................9
References:...............................................................................................................................10
Bibliography:............................................................................................................................12

2GENERATION Y EMPLOYEES IN ORGANIZATION: A REVIEW
Introduction:
According to Hills et al., (2013), Generation Y employees are one of the major part of
the traditional workforce and they are one of the significant part for the development of a
productive organizational culture that will be responsible for the creative environment inside
the organization. This is one of the significant aspects that has the potential to contribute to
the effective implementation of cultural change inside the organisation. However, Rentz,
(2015), pointed out that there are considerable problems associated with the hiring of
Generation Y employees. Hence the paper is focused in the evaluation of the factors that
surrounds the Generation Y employees and the operations of them inside the organizations.
The research will be involved with the impacts of the Generation Y employees on the
organization. With a precise focus on the increasing level of competition in the organizational
context, it is pretty evident that the modern business organizations are facing the need of
introducing young blood into the workforces. This creates the opportunity for the fresher
candidates.
Aruna and Anitha (2015), highlighted the fact that the fresher candidates or the
employees that are belonging the youth generation are seen to be notably innovative in their
thought process and that reflects in their operations. Apart from that, Brown, Thomas and
Bosselman (2015), commented on the fact that the modern organizations are seen to put
strong emphasis on the recruitment of the young employees in order to increase the efficiency
of their organizations. With a precise focus on the health and mental issues that people
inherits with their age, Ferri-Reed, J. (2014), claimed that the main intention of the modern
organizations in the selection of the candidates belonging to the Generation Y is to avoid the
impact of the physical and the metal constraints on the aged people on the growth and
survival of their organizations. On the other hand, Bejtkovský (2016), highlighted the fact
that, with the recruitment of larger number of young candidates, the company becomes

3GENERATION Y EMPLOYEES IN ORGANIZATION: A REVIEW
vulnerable in the case of decision making. There is a perception with the inclusion of the
Generation Y candidates in the workforces which claims that the employees belonging to the
youth generation are notably influenced with the external environment which has the
potential to lead them to wrong decisions. Hence the paper is focused in the elaboration of the
behaviours and the impact of the Generation Y employees in the various aspects such as
ethical consideration, loyalty, team work, innovation and learning.
Ethical Consideration:
Ethics is one of the major aspects, associated with the modern business organizations.
With a precise focus on the increasing intensity of the competition in the modern business
world, it is seen that the ethical practice from the part of the organizations have the potential
to reduce the level of difficulty for the organizations. Considering the intensity of the
competition, it is visible that the ethical practices from the part of the business organizations
has the potential to influence the customers in a significant manner. It is visible that the
incorporation of the ethics in the business operations of the organizations creates the much
required trust amongst the customers which plays a crucial role in influencing the customers
in the repetitive purchases. Hence, it is evident that the ethical practice from the part of the
business organizations notably improves the financial stability of the organizations. Apart
from this, the incorporation of the ethics in the business organizations increases the
credibility of the organizations to the customers and in addition to this, it also makes sure that
the employees are accountable for their operations inside the organization which helps the
organization in conducting a sustainable business operations. Hence the importance of the
ethics in the business conduction of employees belonging to the Generation Y is notably
visible. With a precise focus on the range of literature surrounding the millennials, many of
the researchers are seen to portray the youth generation as lazy, more concerned in
maintaining the work-life balance instead of being involved with the work. However, Guillot-

4GENERATION Y EMPLOYEES IN ORGANIZATION: A REVIEW
Soulez and Soulez (2014), commented on the topic while mentioning that the youth
generation are focused towards their work, but their try of avoiding the unethical operations
that they are forced to conduct by the various managers in the organizational context, are
often termed as laziness. Aruna and Anitha (2015), highlighted a cruel reality of the modern
business context while elaborating the fact that the intention of a major portion of the youth
employees of earning more is seen to be notably misused by the managers of the organization
by forcing them to be involved in the unethical business conduction. Bencsik, Horváth-
Csikós and Juhász (2016), added that the employees of the youth generation have an
increased tendency of getting sacked from the companies in comparison to the tenure
employees and more often than not, the reason is their apathy of conducting unethical
operations. Hence it is visible that the employees belonging to the Generation Y are focused
in the conducting their operations in ethical manner.
Loyalty:
Loyalty is one of the aspect that is significantly prominent in the business conduction
of the young employees. Though the concept of loyalty is a broad societal study, in
organizational context, loyalty is concerned with the stay of the employees inside the
organization. Ismail and Lu (2014), highlighted the fact that the loyalty of an employee is
specific to the number of years that employee is serving a particular organization. Bejtkovský
(2016), added that the employee loyalty is a quality that varies depending on the personality
of the employees. With a precise focus on the increasing business competition and the
scarcity of the skilful employees, it is understandable that the employees with the required
qualities and the improved skills are the point of search for majority of the organizations.
Hence the demand of the employees with the sufficient skills and the competencies is seen to
be significantly high in the modern business world.

5GENERATION Y EMPLOYEES IN ORGANIZATION: A REVIEW
Kilber, Barclay and Ohmer (2014), stated that the employees of the Generation Y has
the quality of being loyal to their job however, the definition of the loyalty for them is bit
difficult. Kilber, Barclay and Ohmer (2014), further argued that the majority of the
employees of the youth generation consider that, it is the intensity of the work that they carry
out inside the organization or the additional work pressure that they undertake should be the
actual parameter for evaluating their loyalty rather than the number of years that they are
serving. Kossek et al., (2014), highlighted the topic that with a real life fact while mentioning
that there are considerable number of employees in the various organizations of the modern
business world who performs lower than a junior, who has a work culture that is worse than a
particular junior employee. However they do get appraised for the number of years that they
are serving the company. Their state of being connected to the organization is termed as loyal
here the effectiveness of their work might be significantly limited. The employees of the
young generation or more specifically the Generation Y are seen to opt for the first strategy
where they consider that the basis of the evaluation of their loyalty has to be their
performances rather than the number of years that they are serving the company.
On the other hand, Aruna and Anitha (2015), highlighted the fact that, in the modern
business world, the increasing competition is forcing the retention of the skilful employees.
With a precise focus on the situation, the companies are facing the need of recruiting skilful
and flexible employees. As mentioned earlier, the demand of such employees is significantly
high and considering that fact, the creation of the urgency amongst the senior level
management of the modern organizations in retaining the quality providing employees is seen
to be significantly high. Hence, for such organizations and the management, the tenure of a
particular employee is the reflection of the degree of loyalty.
From the above discussion, it is visible that the employees of the youth generation are
notably inclined towards a career opportunity that provides them the chance to prove

6GENERATION Y EMPLOYEES IN ORGANIZATION: A REVIEW
themselves. They are not concerned with amount of work pressure that they are subjected or
the intensity of the work, they are asked to carry out. Apart from that, the point of career
growth or their try for a better opportunity significantly comments on the fact that the
employee loyalty is not a function that is dependent on the number of years for the
Generation Y rather it is the effectiveness of their operations.
Innovative Approach:
Innovation is one of the most crucial point in support of the recruitment of the
Generation Y employees. In modern business context, the innovation or the presence of
technology in the products or the services of the organization is seen to increase the
effectiveness of the organization in a significant manner. Hence it is pretty evident that the
production of the innovative solutions is considered to be a hallmark of quality in the modern
business world.
Bencsik, Horváth-Csikós and Juhász (2016), commented that the age gap between the
tenure employees and the Generation Y employees is the main advantage for the Generation
Y employees in terms of providing the solutions that are notably innovative and technology
based. Apart from that, the level of adaptability for the Generation Y employees in case of the
innovation and the technology is seen to much higher in comparison to the tenure employees
owing to the reason of the frequent usage of the technology. Kultalahti, Edinger and Brandt
(2013), highlighted one of the crucial quality of the employees of the Generation Y while
claiming that the employees of the Generation Y evaluates the real life issues with precise
focus. Kultalahti, Edinger and Brandt (2013), further added that the in depth evaluation from
the part of the employees of the Generation Y helps them in a significant manner in the
identification of the relevant solutions. The precise concentration from the part of the young
employees is notably crucial in the production of a cost efficient solution.

7GENERATION Y EMPLOYEES IN ORGANIZATION: A REVIEW
On the other hand, Aruna and Anitha (2015), commented that the incorporation of the
innovative ideas from the part of the youth employees has the potential to increase the level
of risk associated with their solutions. Considering the freshness of the solutions and the
possibility of the insufficient knowledge of the customers, the incorporation of the innovation
can be significantly risky in terms of targeting the customers. Bencsik, Horváth-Csikós and
Juhász (2016), claimed that with evolution of the modern issues, the companies are facing the
need of introducing un- conventional ideas which have the potential to differentiate their
products in comparison to the products of the competitor organizations. Under such situation,
the need of the innovation in the products or the services of the organizations is significantly
high. Laird, Harvey and Lancaster (2015), also claimed that the employees of the youth
generation are the suitable candidates for the introduction of a change in the products or the
services that incorporates significant amount of innovation in it. Apart from being
innovative, the employees of the Generation Y are notably creative as well. This helps them
to provide solutions that are designed in accordance to the preferences of the customers. The
creative operations of the Generation Y employees is significantly crucial for the organization
in case of achieving the preferences of the customers and that helps the organization in the
effective creation of the loyalty amongst the customers of the modern generation.
Team Work and Learning:
With a precise focus on the conceptual definition of the team work, it is pretty evident
that the modern business organizations are significantly focused in providing collaborative
effort for the achievement of a common goal. The increased urgency amongst the
organizations in forming efficient teams and delivering the much required quality and
production through their operations is notably appreciated by the management of the
organizations. Mirza and Karolak (2019), commented that the formation of the ego amongst
the tenure employees as one of the major concern for the organizations. With the egoistic

8GENERATION Y EMPLOYEES IN ORGANIZATION: A REVIEW
though process, the flexibility in the operations of the tenure employees is seen to decrease in
a significant manner. This becomes a significant problem for the senior level management of
the organizations in case of introducing a change or in case of promoting the much required
team work inside the organization.
Rentz (2015), commented that the employees of the Generation Y has the quality of
being flexible and majority of them are seen to be significantly good in acting as a team
performer. Rentz (2015), highlighted a crucial point through mentioning the fact that the new
recruitments have an ocean of opportunity in front of themselves and that triggers them in
expanding their level of knowledge. Considering that, the learning becomes significantly
crucial and under such situation, the employees belonging to the Generation Y are seen to be
open to any sort of exchange of the knowledge. This is supported by their flexible nature and
increases their contribution towards the team work. With a precise focus on one of the
important the aspect of the modern business organizations in the form of change
management, it is visible that the employees of Generation Y are more efficient than the
tenure employees in conducting the operations of the change agents. With the effective
communication from the part of senior level management of the organizations regarding the
vision of the change initiatives, the Generation Y employees have the potential to perform
better as the sense of urgency can be incorporated in a better manner to them compared to the
tenure employees. On the other hand, Bencsik, Horváth-Csikós and Juhász (2016),
commented that the number of barriers that the Generation Y employees are expected to face
in the effective implementation of the organizational change are comparatively greater than
the number of the barriers that the tenure employees are expected to face. Hence, this has the
potential to decrease the efficiency of the organizations in the effective implementation of the
change.

9GENERATION Y EMPLOYEES IN ORGANIZATION: A REVIEW
Discussion:
Apart from the above mentioned points, the employees of the Generation Y are seen
to be notably emotional and that has the potential to affect their performance. In addition to
this, the strong determination of the employees belonging to the Generation Y is considered
to be a unique quality that the modern business organizations are focused in utilising in an
effective manner. The efficient operation of the Generation Y employees in case of laborious
tasks has significant amount of potential in contributing to success of the organizations.
However, their contribution towards the innovative and smart solutions that are to be
developed inside the organizations is crucial in the improvement of the overall performances
of the organizations.
Conclusion:
On a concluding note, Generation Y employees are notably crucial part of the
workforces of any organization in the world. The urge of the Generation Y employees in
overshooting their target is considered to be of great significance for the organizations. It is
pretty evident that for the Generation Y employees, the ethical values is one of the most
significant attribute along with the loyalty towards the organizations. To summarize the
study, there has been a considerable amount of study on the attributes of the Generation Y
employees and their impact on the organization, however, the work environment for their
retention is yet to be measured along with their impact on the creation of a fruitful
environment inside the organizations.

10GENERATION Y EMPLOYEES IN ORGANIZATION: A REVIEW
References:
Aruna, M., & Anitha, J. (2015). Employee retention enablers: Generation Y
employees. SCMS Journal of Indian Management, 12(3), 94.
Bejtkovský, J. (2016). The employees of baby boomers generation, generation X, generation
Y and generation Z in selected Czech corporations as conceivers of development and
competitiveness in their corporation. Journal of Competitiveness.
Bencsik, A., Horváth-Csikós, G., & Juhász, T. (2016). Y and Z Generations at
Workplaces. Journal of Competitiveness, 8(3).
Brown, E. A., Thomas, N. J., & Bosselman, R. H. (2015). Are they leaving or staying: A
qualitative analysis of turnover issues for Generation Y hospitality employees with a
hospitality education. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 46, 130-137.
Ferri-Reed, J. (2014). Are millennial employees changing how managers manage?. The
Journal for Quality and Participation, 37(2), 15.
Guillot-Soulez, C., & Soulez, S. (2014). On the heterogeneity of Generation Y job
preferences. Employee Relations, 36(4), 319-332.
Ismail, M., & Lu, H. S. (2014). Cultural values and career goals of the millennial generation:
An integrated conceptual framework. Journal of International Management
Studies, 9(1), 38-49.
Kilber, J., Barclay, A., & Ohmer, D. (2014). Seven tips for managing Generation Y. Journal
of Management Policy and Practice, 15(4), 80.
Kossek, E. E., Hammer, L. B., Kelly, E. L., & Moen, P. (2014). Designing work, family &
health organizational change initiatives. Organizational dynamics, 43(1), 53.
Kultalahti, S., & Viitala, R. (2015). Generation Y–challenging clients for HRM?. Journal of
Managerial Psychology, 30(1), 101-114.

11GENERATION Y EMPLOYEES IN ORGANIZATION: A REVIEW
Laird, M. D., Harvey, P., & Lancaster, J. (2015). Accountability, entitlement, tenure, and
satisfaction in Generation Y. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 30(1), 87-100.
Mirza, C., & Karolak, M. (2019). GCC Labor Market, Education and Generation Y Females:
A Match or Mismatch?. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 20(2), 166-181.
Rentz, K. C. (2015). Beyond the generational stereotypes: A study of US Generation Y
employees in context. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 78(2),
136-166.