Gen Y Hacks and Workarounds

© Jensen Group, 2015 Simplicity Project
Simplicity Toolkit
GenY Will Hack
Workarounds
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GenY
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Search for a Simpler Way Study research used for
HACKING WORK, by Bill Jensen and Josh Klein
© 2013
Bill Jensen • bill@simplerwork.com
www.simplerwork.com
Also see Josh’s site:
www.josh.is

It began with a hack.
Our hypothesis was that the Millennials, also known as GenY
(folks born during the early 1980s or after), would be a
generation of hackers — that the first generation to be raised
within a total democratization of information would certainly
rework anything and everything that got in their way.
So in mid-2008, we wrote a computer script to pull email
addresses from university and job site databases, yielding over
350,000 potential participants. That netted us over 800 GenY
interviewees with about an hour’s worth of work. (Yep, that’s
hacking. Personal productivity at its finest.) During late 2008
and into 2010, we then paired those GenYers with Boomer and
GenX managers we already had in our database. In all,
we sponsored over 350 conversations between Boomers,
Xers and Yers ranging from just two people chatting online to
entire staff retreats dedicated to digging deep into the impact
of GenY and hacking in the workplace.
We were partly spot-on and also way off. As we reported in
Hacking Work...
GenY will definitely hack their work, whenever and
however it suits them — and only then. They will hack around
most anything that gets in the way of their personal productivity.
Or how they define productivity: If they need to work around a
process so they don’t have to work weekends and nights the way
their Boomer parents did, they’ll do it without thinking twice.
The impact of GenY hacking their workplace cannot be
overstated. They’re better equipped than any previous generation
with the tools and skills to work around most anything that gets
in their way, and more importantly, they do not see workarounds
as an ethical dilemma. If hacking is what’s necessary to be
productive, well, that’s not their problem, that’s a problem that
Research used in
Hacking Work
by Bill Jensen, Josh Klein
© 2013
www.simplerwork.com
Bill@simplerwork.com
2

the institution or their boss created. Add that on top of what they
saw their parents go through — learning the hard way that
corporate loyalty carries no rewards — and it’s easy to
understand why GenY sees benevolent hacking as a practical
approach to problems in their working lives.
However, we were way off on our assumptions that all
of GenY would be revolutionary with their hacks — that
they’d create rapid change, on a massive scale, all on their own.
When we looked across responses, we found a normal bell-curve
distribution of attitudes: some will be revolutionary in how
they focus on their needs and their team’s needs; others will
be more evolutionary and be willing to go along with whatever
the organization’s needs are. Most will be somewhere in
between.
So don’t look for predictability on where, when, how and why
GenY will hack. If a form that they filled in last week suddenly
bothers them this week, they’ll hack it. If they feel they can
hack one system-wide process but not another, they’ll work
passionately to hack that one process, while being compliant
participants in the other.
To an outsider, these behaviors may not make sense or have
a pattern. To GenY, the pattern is whatever’s practical at that
moment under those circumstances. They’ll hack whatever and
whenever they feel they can make a difference, and they’ll follow
other corporate-centered processes where it makes the most
sense to do so — for them, from their perspective.
What this means to you: If you’re a Millennial, feel free to be
fickle and inconsistent (at least in how others see you) — as long
as you’re producing results! If you’re older, work hard to see root
causes — what’s causing GenYers to hack one area and not
another. You’ll then have rare window into new ways to suddenly
improve employee productivity.
Research used in
Hacking Work
© 2013
www.simplerwork.com
3
GEN Y
CONVERSATIONS

GEN Y
CONVERSATIONS
Two conversations...
During 2008-2010, we ran two different sets of conversations.
We asked our 350 groups — pairings of GenYers with either
Boomers or GenXers or both — to discuss:
What’s wrong with work, and how would you fix it?
Here, we focused on the differences between what GenY
wants and needs and what companies/leaders want and are
doing or need to do.
GenY does or does not have the skills they need for
tomorrow’s workworld: What’s your view?
Here, we focused on GenY's values, education and skill sets,
an what companies, customers and the global marketplace
will demand of them.
On the following pages, we summarized our findings to each
of those questions, as well as sharing some sample verbatims.
But know up front, that while there are some deep divisions
between the generations, there is also a lot of common ground.
Most every conversation revolved around timeless and
transformational basics.
Timeless...
The need to be respected, to have the tools and training
to succeed, to make a difference, and more.
...and Transformational
But there was also an undercurrent that will either be a threat
to today’s leaders or, if embraced, will fully transform how
everyone work:
GenY will not just quit if the system doesn’t work for them.
They’ll change the system.
Not by overthrowing it.
By hacking it one piece at a time.
Research used in
Hacking Work
© 2013
www.simplerwork.com
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GEN Y
CONVERSATIONS
What’s wrong with work,
and how would you fix it?
SUMMARY
GenY will go after what everyone has always wanted —
but in very different ways.
They will exert far greater control over their destiny than
any previous generation.
Mostly, they yearned for higher accountability for everyone:
better ways to get rid of slackers; better ways to recognize
individuals; much more accountability on the system to deliver
what they need to be their best
SAMPLE VERBATIMS
“Challenge Me: Not with more work. Help me learn, grow
and fulfill my potential.”
“Fire more bad performers.”
“Validate Me: We grew up with gold stars and remarks designed
to increase self-esteem. Yes, we know we need to really earn
those stars now, they’re not given out easily — but there’s so
little recognition at all...just don’t feel validated.”
“Provide me with the technology I need, but don’t police me.”
“I expect larger responsibilities and projects where I decide how
to complete the project by the deadline.”
“Pay for actual performance with no cap on potential earnings.
Pay the whole company smaller salaries and give everyone stock
options or performance based incentives. If you have a great
year, you earn great pay, if you choke, you feel that too.”
“Eliminate the old coasters making peak wages while contributing
little but old stories of the ‘70s and how it used to be. It would
drastically reduce costs and increase profit.”
“Need better vision and leadership, because there’ll be a lot more
turnover (less loyalty or patience for reward). There’s definitely
a power struggle going on between us and those who are
currently 30—40. Needs to be watched and well facilitated.”
Research used in
Hacking Work
© 2013
www.simplerwork.com
5
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GEN Y
CONVERSATIONS
What’s wrong with work...
FOLLOW-UPS
As we monitored these conversations, we saw a rebellious
undercurrent — hints and outright declarations of hacking.
But when we followed up those paired conversations with
targeted questions about GenYer’s proclivity for hacking,
we found that they bounced back and forth between complete
indifference and pseudo-revolutionaries. As that bouncing
back’n’forth pattern emerged, that lead us to the conclusion
that GenY will hack if they feel like, they won’t if they don’t!
ONGOING THEMES THAT FLOWED THROUGH MOST CONVERSATIONS...
GEN Y IS THE SAME AS EVERYONE ELSE. THEY WANT TO BE:
Respected for how they define success at work and in life
Recognized for their accomplishments (both monetarily
and otherwise)
Remembered as having made a difference
Coached rather than subjected to fault-finding
Consulted on what actions will affect them
Connected to something bigger than themselves
AND GEN Y IS DIFFERENT FROM EVERYONE ELSE. THEY:
Won’t wait for their bosses to fix what needs fixing
Have demographics on their side. For those in the top half
(or more?) of the performance bell-curve, there is a global
worker shortage looming
Have tools on their side.
This is the first generation to be raised using the same worktools
that business uses to get stuff done, plus a whole lot more that
business has yet to adopt
Have Google on their side.
Businesses are primarily information-flow machines.
In hierarchies, information flows best in one direction, and
not-so-well in all other directions. Backed by Google (and
MySpace and YouTube and wikis and the entire Web),
Research used in
Hacking Work
© 2013
www.simplerwork.com
6
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GEN Y
CONVERSATIONS
GenY is the first generation to be exposed to the total
democratization of information — where information flows well
in all directions.
INDIVIDUAL THEMES
All of the following were mentioned again and again.
Most are not new, but all are extremely important.
Most everything here is common to all generations in all
workplaces. GenY is just less concerned about hacking to get
them. If that’s what they have to do, that’s what they will do.
Ability to self-manage will greatly determine everyone’s success
Accountability for our own choices
Adaptable Jobs: Employer must keep up with our
evolving interests
Be open to Bottom-Up driven changes/suggestions
Blending of Life/Work - Multitasking does the blending for us
Career Path/Promotions: No set path — extremely flexible/quick
Career Path: I’m in charge, not the company
Want/need freedom to explore what interests me
Communication: Relationship between Mgr/me is critical
Communication: Clear goals and objectives,
tell me what I need to know
Communication: Constant feedback
Communication: Honest, open, transparent —
Stop the opaque, cryptic, politically correct, safe approach:
Encourage dissension
Community is big for us; family, friends, home, teammates
Compensation: In line with achievements
Pay for performance with no cap on potential earnings
Constant personal growth
Effective managers who are armed with the tools to lead
and develop their employees — a must
Entrepreneurship: The best and brightest will be entrepreneurial
Feedback, feedback, feedback!
Feel valued
Research used in
Hacking Work
© 2013
www.simplerwork.com
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GEN Y
CONVERSATIONS
Fire slackers/bad performers — fast!
Flex-time: No set office hours
Freedom to do my best, to make a difference
Good benefits
Great people surrounding me
I Work to Live, I Don't Live to Work: Life/Work balance
Know Me, Understand Me:
What motivates me, what I want, what I need
Loyalty is to Self, Team, Project, Customer — (the order of those
four may switch depending on our personal priorities, but loyalty
to company usually is last after all of those)
Meritocracy: True meritocracy, not like companies practice it now
Personal productivity: My ability to increase my
effectiveness/efficiency
Personal/Professional Goals (mine, not the company’s for me)
must drive my work
Professional Development: Much greater personal
accountability for
Professional Development: Much greater corporate
accountability for
Project Portfolio: Allowing every employee to select and
develop their own
Project Structure: Hierarchies should be built to support
project teams, not the other way around
Rewards and Recognition: Unique to who I am, what I need/want
Social connections and social spaces are important
Success: I co-define it — I don’t buy into the company’s
sole definition
Teamwork (in the classic sense)
Teamwork: GenY version: Lots of independence
Collaboration is when I want, how I want, when I need it
Technology/Tools: The best are a given
Telecommuting/Remote working as much as possible
Training and Development: Very personalized to me
Tools/Resources: Equip me with what I need to get the job done
Research used in
Hacking Work
© 2013
www.simplerwork.com
8
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GEN Y
CONVERSATIONS
Tools/Resources: Ensure there are enough people around me to
get the job done too, and that they have what they need
Trust (Personal): Critical, especially when face time is limited
Trust (To Be Accountable to Deliver): Critical, especially
with limited face time
Trust (Two-Way): Up and Down the hierarchy
Work must be meaningful, purpose-driven
Work must be personalized, MyWorkMyWay
Zero tolerance for politics, ass-kissing
GenY does
or does not
have the skills they need for
tomorrow’s workworld
SUMMARY: DOES GEN Y HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?
Yes and No.
GenY is probably both the best-prepared generation to inherit
and lead tomorrow’s workworld, as well as having major gaps
they must address if they are going to solve the challenges
they face.
BUT MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT PEOPLE SHARED
WAS HOW THEY FELT
Polarization is deep and pervasive.
The divisiveness is intense.
The two camps — that business has a lot to learn from GenY
and that GenY has a lot to learn about how the world really
works — do not share much middle ground.
It is going to take a lot of leadership and a lot of work to
bring the two views in sync with each other.
Research used in
Hacking Work
© 2013
www.simplerwork.com
9
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GEN Y
CONVERSATIONS
SAMPLE VERBATIMS
GEN Y IS AMAZING!
“Their ability to operate on many levels at once while
seemingly effortlessly integrating what is both awe inspiring
and exciting to watch and to consider what it might do to the
workplace.”
“GenY embodies the concept of ‘work smarter, not harder,’
and we thrive on efficiency and automation.
Why is facetime still the standard when productivity should
be king?”
“GenY-ers believe that we have a responsibility for the
future of this country and the world. Many can be
characterized by their sense of purpose complimented by
optimistic attitudes.”
“GenY has the values, education and skills they need for
tomorrow’s work-world, BUT Boomers and Gen X have
different ideas of what they will need.”
“They may have a better value system than my GenX
cohorts, but I believe this portends difficulties in their careers.
Being more idealistic will likely expose them to ethical
challenges they may not expect.”
“GenY’s are well-versed in socializing, multi-tasking to
an insane degree, and adapting their lifestyles to new
technology, all valuable skills in the future Web 3.0 world.
GenY will be invaluable in helping transition the world
from Gen X’s resistance to new technology to Gen Z’s
ravenous hunger for it.”
“GenY is entering with a more radical approach than we had,
and a global mindset and network that can be brought
to bear for advice and to accomplish a thousand tasks
that were undoable 35 years ago. There’s potential for
something brand new — a synthesis of what's good and
useful from the old way, with the agile, fast-moving,
just-in-time style of the GenYs.”
Research used in
Hacking Work
© 2013
www.simplerwork.com
10
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GEN Y
CONVERSATIONS
GEN Y NEEDS TO GROW UP!
“I have been so distressed at my generation’s lack of
preparation to enter the current work world.
We want with a push of a button. We don’t know how
to work hard anymore. Our initiative, patience, and creativity
have disappeared. We expect to be given everything
without having to plan for it, sweat for it, and deserve it first.”
“We’ve done a rotten job of preparing GenY with
adequate education to be successful.”
“I teach at a Top-20 university: Recently, I did a lecture
for a gifted K-1 class and used most of the same PowerPoint
slides and in-class experiments with a college class.
Yes, you read correctly, first-grade students understood
what I struggle to get my college kids to understand.”
“This generation of momma's-boys and computer-geeks
hasn’t had the playground salts needed to stand up
and say to themselves: ‘What we’re doing is wrong.
I have a better idea.’ Gen Y is not a failure, but they are
a setback. We are dead in the middle of this process
of transformation, and at a rough point in our economy
where examining our roots and adopting would be
to our advantage.”
“Eight out of every ten GenYers I’ve worked with in
the last five years has struck me as: 1. Entitled 2. Lazy
3. Intolerant of other people’s workstyles.”
“Most of the GenYers I’ve worked with are more in
a ‘What’s in it for me?’ or ‘What do I get out of this?’
frame of reference.”
THE LAST TWO PAGES ARE A PRETTY GOOD SNAPSHOT...
...of what we found. Polarization is deep and pervasive.
The divisiveness is intense. GenY-ers will be gutsy hackers
who will take on the world. GenY-ers will be whiney snot-nosed
kids who should grow up. Both views seemed by be shared
by all generations. Buckle your seatbelts, we’re in for
a bumpy ride!
Research used in
Hacking Work
© 2013
www.simplerwork.com
11
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GEN Y
CONVERSATIONS
Lots of deeper dives...
Many conversations went deep into specific dimensions of
all of the above, giving us insights into what would be hacked
and why. For example...
FROM JOHAN:
“This generation wants to grow. By trainings, by daily
interactions, by doing always something new and not just a
repetitive task, by being creative, by being supported in
their college goals.
We want to grow not only as professionals, but as human
beings. We want our tribe (our circle or partners, friends /
co-workers) growing too. We want to develop our own
companies and business, how does your job offer is going to
help me to achieve all that?
DEGREE OF CHANGE: Volume: A lot (Extrinsic factors are
not enough (money, health insurance)...
Velocity: Increasing in intensity over the next 5 years.
Employers must...
START: Thinking how your processes, services and business
add value to your employees life....Understanding which
are the intrinsic motivations for this generation....
Creating social spaces in your business sites.
Employers must...
STOP: Thinking that we’re just interested mainly in money...
Managing your company as if in the Industrial Revolution
era — we are people not machines....Firing experienced
people from companies because they’re not too young.
This generation needs mentors!...Hiring just based mostly
on technical skills.
Employers must...
CHANGE: The current economic models used to run operations
in our companies....The way they hire people....
Recognition programs.”
Research used in
Hacking Work
© 2013
www.simplerwork.com
12

GEN Y
CONVERSATIONS
AND THIS EXCHANGE BETWEEN CARLO AND TED:
TED: “I currently work for the Department of Defense....
The biggest challenge is establishing trust with the
employee. A missed deadline on a critical project could be
disastrous for a company's reputation and profit margin.
If employees are given free reign to work “off the leash,”
supervisors would have to be able to trust that their
employees are doing their job. Some sort of motivation
needs to be maintained which can be difficult if there is
no direct day to day interaction.”
CARLO: “In Italy the biggest challenge is how to manage
communication. Body language and non-verbal communication
is an important part of how people in Italy interact.
Working from home and mainly writing can generate
mis-perceptions and misunderstanding that can affect
negatively every type of work.
Collaboration also isn’t easy and it will require constant
management investments and attention.
I agree with Ted that trust is another big issue but this is
true also if people work in a shared physical space.
The real problem is how to maintain trust and authority
in relationships that not necessarily happen face-to-face.
Today people can avoid to write and use video-conferencing
or Skype to collaborate. These are today very powerful tools
that help but still not enough to substitute the value of a
face-to-face meeting.”
Mostly, we saw real life...
As we reported in Hacking Work, no matter what aspect of
hacking people discussed, most every conversation seemed
to bounce back and forth between life, career, family and
company needs. Everybody blurred them all together,
bound by a feeling that something just wasn’t working the
way it should. Most everyone was searching for something —
better balance, more clarity and less clutter and chaos,
Research used in
Hacking Work
© 2013
www.simplerwork.com
13

GEN Y
CONVERSATIONS
more focus… something — some better way to handle it all.
For example, take Debbie Rood. She’s currently overseeing
more than 26,000 employees for Wal-Mart. Before that she
held executive positions in operations for Staples, the Gap
and Toys R Us. Here’s part of her online conversations with
GenYer Derek…
“I’m an unusual boss who watches contributions, not the clock.
With that said, there does need to be some protocol and
structure to stay organized. If you are managing a large team,
letting them work ‘whenever they want’ requires coordination
that may not be affordable or reasonable. Taking a call from
home late in the afternoon because of a commitment is fine
because you can still orchestrate and accomplish the goals.
But it bothers me when folks show up at 9:15a.m. for a
9:00a.m. meeting because they were in the café getting
breakfast…it says to me they don’t respect the group.
…I have seen what I feel is a needy person who wants public
praise because they completed the assignment — excuse me,
that’s what you get paid to do.
…re: Tools, technology and training: my team at the Gap
wanted formal training every three months. Yet, in my opinion,
they didn’t take the time to practice and perfect what had
already been taught.”
Deb also shared life lessons with Derek: “I’ve raised a
GenYer who said ‘You guys work too much…I’ll never do that.’
Well, he didn’t have to because we did! I was raised very
poor and wanted more for myself. I saw my mother struggle,
so I did what it took not to be her. My son watched us work
hard and he is doing what he can to not be us. What are the
upsides of working his way? Naturally, his goal is to be a
happier person. From a business perspective, does his
happiness mean a more productive person? Will he be more
loyal? It’s nice to believe that all businesses want happy people,
Research used in
Hacking Work
© 2013
www.simplerwork.com
14

GEN Y
CONVERSATIONS
but what I’ve seen is what they want most is to create
shareholder value. Happy people need to be more creative,
innovative and productive. I’ve got more to say on all of this,
but right now I have to run to the doctor. Later, Deb”
Right there was real life as it occurs for most of us. Jumbled,
streaming, not tightly edited. Tension between personal needs
and corporate responsibilities, between corporate-centered
structures and user-centered priorities.
GenY didn’t create these tensions. They have existed since
the first group of people came together. But GenY will
certainly see these tensions ramped up to higher degrees
than any previous generation. And hacking will be just one
of the ways they bring things into better balance.
“It just is...”
John and Jinny will get the last word here. GenY-er Jinny
stressed that community and relationships were super
important. John absolutely agreed. But since he works for
Microsoft, he ended up being the one — more than Jinny —
who touted technology’s ability to connect us all as human
beings. Pages and pages went back and forth between them.
Then finally John ended with: “Is this technology and the
Internet revolution a bad thing? It’s not a good thing OR
a bad thing. It just is.”
The same applies to all the demands and skills and needs
and wants and passions and paradoxes presented by
GenY. Good thing or bad? Neither and both, take your pick.
Whichever it is, it just is. And we have to deal with that.
Research used in
Hacking Work
© 2013
www.simplerwork.com
15

Some people see things
that are and ask, Why?
Some people dream
of things that
never were and ask,
Why not?
Some people
have to go to work
and don't have time
for all that...
George Carlin
THE CV OF
A Simpleton
Bill Jensen makes it easier to do great work.
Bill is today’s foremost expert on work complexity and
cutting through clutter to what really matters.
He has spent the past two decades studying how work gets done.
(Much of what he’s found horrifies him.)
He is an internationally-acclaimed author and speaker who is
known for provocative ideas, extremely useful content, and his
passion for making it easier for everyone to work smarter.
His first book, Simplicity, was the Number 5
Leadership/Management book on Amazon in 2000.
His next best-seller is Simplicity Survival Handbook:
32 Ways to Do Less and Accomplish More.
His latest books — The Courage Within Us and Disrupt! —
coach us through the character traits, skills and aha’s we need
to thrive in today’s era of personal disruption.
Bill is CEO of The Jensen Group, whose mission is:
To make it easier to do great work.
Among the Jensen Group’s clients are Bank of America, GE,
NASA, the US Navy SEALS, British Petroleum, American Express,
Chevron, the government of Ontario, Pfizer, Merck, L’Oréal Italia,
Johnson&Johnson, Guangzhou China Development District,
and the Swedish Post Office.
Bill’s personal life fantasy is to bicycle around the globe
via breweries.
The Jensen Group bill@simplerwork.com
1 Franklin Place www.simplerwork.com
Morristown, NJ 07960 USA
1 (973) 539-5070
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Gen Y Hacks and Workarounds

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