Generation Y and the Workplace Annual Report 2010 - Haworth

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Global WorkPlace Innovation
Who is the Generation Y in China?
China’s Generation Y is composed of
approximately 200 million 15 to 25 year olds. Like
their peers around the world, they are a techsavvy,
ambitious, multi-tasking, better educated,
openminded,
individualist cohort that is seeing the
country transform from a communist government
into an emerging global capitalist market. They are
‘significantly more entrepreneurial and capitalistic
than their parent generation’ 26 .
The Generation Y has a large exposure to the
technological advances in China’s present day,
they are connected to the internet, mobile and
social networking websites. Heavily influenced by
Western culture, they generally know more about
Westerners than Westerners know about them.
Having grown up as a single child in the One- Child
policy era, China’s Generation Y is more inclined
toward a lifestyle devoted to freedom and personal
satisfaction rather than the more traditional “work
Figure http://www.publiclibraries.com/authors/mico14/chinageny/
5: China – Demographic pyramid, 2009 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Data Base
http://www.gallup.com/poll/15934/Chinas-Gen-Bucks-Tradition.aspx
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Intellectual Property Johnson Controls, Haworth and iDEA.
hard and get rich” mentality 27 .
The Generation Y is no exception when it comes
to valuing work life balance, and working long
hours is not something they can adapt to.
Entrepreneurial by nature, they would rather start
their own business and work for themselves. In
the workplace Generation Y are regarded as ‘high
achievers, extremely adventurous, impressionable,
and consequently highly employable’(??). With
many graduating in Engineering and Sciences,
there is a high demand for them in multinational
companies.
The Generation Y’s spending habits are noteworthy.
As single children it appears they may be
pampered, as findings show they often consume
an astonishing 50% or more of family expenditure
in some major cities.
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