So we’re in a recession now. Some more than others. Some are saying that things are so bad that there will be a depression. Others think that idea is just insane.

There’s a lot of uncertainty, but no one is really saying anything all that optimistic. We’re facing a pretty terrible economic reality.

So let’s get to what really matters. Let’s get all stereotypically Gen Y about it and ask what’s really on our collective minds: how does this affect me?

Aside from a relatively quick blip during the dot-com burst and some turmoil when we were in grade school, Gen Y has had consistently rosy economic times. Unemployment was low, credit was easy to get, and mortgage brokers would literally give you your own house if you had non-velcro shoes on.

That game of candy land is ending, and some people think we’re screwed. The credit crunch has yet to really impact the job market, but it very well could. And some journalists are already speculating about how that will hurt us Yers:

But my question is: what are they going to do if they can’t shop? Our society has been based around consumerism for the past 15 years and these kids have racks of CDs and plasma TVs and comparatively unparalleled riches.

I guess that’s a bit of a theory. We don’t have as much money (or credit). We can’t buy as many iPods and other confusing gizmos. We… lose our minds and riot in the streets?

Others are more positive. From the same article:

Anyone born after 1983 is not really used to considering anything other than wealth, but students are much more determined to build up a broad skill base; they’ll work hard to get it and demand we provide the teaching,’ he said. ‘They will be successful no matter what; they are independent self-learners who are better equipped than any previous generation.’

The article I linked to, from The Guardian, makes a big show about interviewing young people who respond with dull comments, designed to make the whole generation look like a bunch of apathetic goof-offs. But I’m used to that. The point made is still, essentially, a true one — for most of Generation Y, this economic downturn isn’t going to be much more than a footnote in our lives.

Let’s face facts: even if the job market contracts, even if people put off retirement and work until they literally keel over on their desks one day, the worldwide demographics still put us in a workforce shortage. It may be more of a challenge to find a position that isn’t terrible and soul-sucking, but the odds of companies closing their doors to new hires altogether seem unlikely in both the short- and long-term.

More facts: If Gen Y has debt, it’s of the student loan and credit card variety. Neither are any fun to have, but unless you’ve done something monumentally stupid like pay off credit cards with other credit cards or bought yourself a jetski for every day of the week, that’s not the kind of debt that’s going to sink you. Set up a payment plan and pay it off. We’ll buy fewer iPods. We can do that.

What really strikes me as amusing about this whole mess is that it, in a lot of ways, rewards the shiftless slackers in their 20s who haven’t really got their life started yet. Are you 24, an English/History/Drama major, who rents an apartment, has no investments or retirement savings plan? Do you blow most of your money on booze and trips to Europe? Have your parents been constantly nagging you over the past few years to stop “throwing your money away”, to buy a house/condo, to start putting more of your money into investments? Have you been ignoring them, in favour of a bottle of vodka and a three-week backpacking jaunt through Croatia?

If so, congratulations. You’re in an excellent position to survive the current worldwide financial crisis.

I’ll be watching the job market closely, to see how this affects things on the ground floor. Keep checking back for my thoughts. We’ll get through this together.

Photo by Felice de Sena Micheli

Playing with a new design for the site. Be patient as I put up all the new wallpaper.

In the meantime, check out this little article from ZDnet: Businesses Struggle to Serve Gen Y.

It’s a standard article on Generation Y and businesses’ total inability to rationalize how things are changing and what they need to do to meet those changes:

Although 75 percent of respondents said the Gen Yers will impact their organization as consumers in the next three years, 54 percent have yet to establish business or marketing strategies for this generation, despite wide recognition that such steps are needed.

That’s not surprising data, though I do love uncovering stats like this, especially in the face of those who still have trouble admitting anything is changing with Generation Y coming into maturity. The flip side of that, of course, is the crushingly depressing reality that, despite struggling with generational differences, no one has any idea what they are going to do about it.

Read more »

ITWorldCanada.com has the scoop on a survey of 27,000 Canadian university students, the results of which are pretty interesting:

The study found that two of the top five places to work were tech companies: Google and Apple. According to DECODE partner Eric Meerkamper, “The brands that were chosen are considered to be authentic and innovate; part of some new and important values emerging in the workplace. All of these organizations are places that resonate as being stable and secure. This is an important variable considering the substantial debt load many students will carry upon graduation given rising tuition costs.”

You could essentially distill this down to “people want to work somewhere cool.” And a lot of what’s cool is admittedly perception more than it is reality. Is that fair? Not particularly. But I’d argue that’s almost unavoidable. Think about this question, and answer honestly — would you rather work at Exxon Mobil or Google? Deloitte or Apple? Ernst & Young or Nintendo?

People tend to gravitate towards the younger, hipper companies, even if there’s really not a huge difference in individual experience at the entry-level. And what makes these companies seem “young” and “hip” are actually small things, which don’t have to impact your bottom line. In fact, employers can make their businesses instantly more Y-friendly through just a few small changes to their corporate culture.

Here’s five to get you started:

Read more »

Drawing on our commuting theme from yesterday, the latest issue of Wired has a great article on telecommuting, a favourite topic of mine.

I thought these stats were interesting:

Last year, researchers from Penn State analyzed 46 studies of telecommuting conducted over two decades and covering almost 13,000 employees. Their sweeping inquiry concluded that working from home has “favorable effects on perceived autonomy, work-family conflict, job satisfaction, performance, turnover intent, and stress.”

The article also notes that managers are taking notice, or at least they’re SAYING that they are:

Earlier this year, an IDC report from Asia found that 81 percent of managers believe telecommuting improves productivity, up from 61 percent in 2005.

Interesting stuff. Read the whole thing. Maybe we ARE looking at a turning of the tides on this issue.

General Motors this week revealed photos of their production plug-in hybrid car, the Chevrolet Volt. Containing both an electric engine and a smaller conventional gas-powered generator, the Volt, when it rolls out in the US in late 2010, offers all the benefits of an electric car — environmentally friendly, freedom from the pump — with none of the drawbacks. If you’re ever out driving and you run out of charge, the gasoline engine kicks in automatically, and you’re in essence driving a standard car — but one that still gets 50 miles to the gallon.

Needless to say, I think this is really really cool.

I also think it has some pretty interesting implications for the future of work. If — hopefully when — these types of cars become commonplace, they’ll contribute significantly to where people choose to work in relation to where they live. In effect, technology like this will give workers an “ideal range” for their commute. In a climate where many are already choosing to work closer to where they live (or vice versa), these cars will push people even further into defining a live/work “zone”.

And it will all be due to an on-board computer, a battery, and good fiscal sense.
Read more »