With 85 million baby boomers and 50 million Gen Xers, there is already a yawning generation gap among American workers--particularly in their ideas of work-life balance. For baby boomers, it's the juggling act between job and family. For Gen X, it means moving in and out of the workforce to accommodate kids and outside interests. Now along come the 76 million members of Generation Y. For these new 20-something workers, the line between work and home doesn't really exist. They just want to spend their time in meaningful and useful ways, no matter where they are.

美國職工中，8,500萬嬰兒潮世代和5,000萬Ｘ世代之間已經有極大的代溝，他們對平衡工作和生活的看法尤其南轅北轍。嬰兒潮世代工作和家庭兩頭忙。Ｘ世代則為了兼顧子女及其他興趣，而經常進出職場。如今，7,600萬大軍的Ｙ世代又來了。對這些20來歲的新進員工，工作和家庭之間其實是沒有界線的。不管他們在哪裡，他們只希望以有意義及有用的方式打發時間。

The first challenge for the companies that want to hire the best young workers is getting them in the door. They are in high demand--the baby boomers are retiring, and many Gen X workers are opting out of long hours--and they have high expectations for personal growth, even in entry-level jobs.

對那些有意雇用最優年輕職工的企業，第一大難題是把他們請進門。目前對這些人才的需求很大，嬰兒潮世代陸陸續續退休了，Ｘ世代很多職工選擇不要長時間工作，即使是入門基層工作，他們對個人成長期許也很高。

More than half of Generation Y's new graduates move back to their parents' homes after collecting their degrees, and that cushion of support gives them the time to pick the job they really want. Taking time off to travel used to be a resume red flag; today it's a learning experience. And entrepreneurship now functions as a safety net for this generation. They grew up on the Internet, and they know how to launch a viable online business. Facebook, for example, began in a college dorm room.

Ｙ世代社會新鮮人，逾半拿到學位後搬回去和父母同住，這個支撐他們的護墊，讓他們有較充裕的時間，選擇他們真正想要的工作。休假去旅遊原本對資歷不利，今天則成為學習成長的經驗。企業精神和倫理現在也成為這個世代的安全防護網。他們在網路上長大，知道如何在網上建立成功的企業。以Facebook為例，就是從大學宿舍起家。

With all these options, Generation Y is forcing companies to think more creatively about work-life balance. The employers who do are winning in the war for young talent. The consulting firm Deloitte was alarmed by the high turnover of its youngest employees, so it asked one of its consultants, Stan Smith, to find out more about what attracts them to and keeps them at a job. His research reveals that job hopping is not an end in itself but something young workers do when they see no other choice.

有了所有這些選擇，Ｙ世代正迫使企業對如何平衡工作和生活，能有比較創意的思考。能這樣做的雇主，在年輕俊彥爭奪戰中才能勝出。勤業眾信財稅顧問公司懍於最年輕的員工流動率高，因此請出公司一位顧問史密斯多方調查，到底什麼工作吸引他們，同時可以留住他們。他的研究顯示，跳槽本身不是目的，而是年輕員工發現別無選擇時會做的事。

"People would rather stay at one company and grow, but they don't think they can do that," he says. "Two-thirds of the people who left Deloitte left to do something they could have done with us, but we made it difficult for them to transition." So Smith, who is now in charge of recruiting and retaining Generation Y as national director of next-generation initiatives, created programs at Deloitte that focus on helping people figure out their next career move. Smith is betting that in many cases, the best place for a restless young person is simply another spot in Deloitte. This saves the company the $150,000 cost of losing an employee--not to mention the stress for employees of changing jobs.

「他們寧可呆在一家公司學習成長，但他們不認為自己可以辦到，」他說。「三分之二離開勤業公司的人，離職後所做的事，在我們公司也可以做，但我們使他們很難轉型。」因此，目前負責招募和留住Ｙ世代，培育他們成為下世代全國主管方案的史密斯，在勤業公司提出一項計畫，重點放在幫助他們想想下一步就業動作。史密斯相信，在很多個案中，對一個老愛換工作的年輕人，最好的去處應該就是勤業公司另一個部門。這可以使公司因留住一位員工而省下15萬美元成本，更不用提員工因換工作所產生的壓力和焦慮。

Old assumptions about what employees value in the workplace don't always apply with Gen Y. Friendship is such a strong motivator for them that Gen Y workers will choose a job just to be with their friends. Boston-based Gentle Giant Moving once hired an entire athletic team. "It looked like a great work environment because of the people," says rower Niles Kuronen, 26. "It was huge to be able to work with friends." It feels normal for Gen Y employees to check in by BlackBerry all weekend as long as they have flexibility during the week. Sun Microsystem's telecommuting program, for example, has kicked into high gear in response to Generation Y's demands. Today more than half of Sun's employees work remotely.

過去認定，員工在職場所重視的價值，不見得適用於Ｙ世代。對他們來說，友情是很強的動力，所以Ｙ世代職工會為了和朋友共進退而選擇某個工作。波士頓Gentle Giant 搬家公司一度雇用整支運動團隊，「人使這裡看來是個很棒的工作環境，」26歲的划船選手庫洛能說。「能和麻吉一起工作實在太爽了。」Ｙ世代認為，只要工作日可以彈性上班，周末靠黑莓機向公司報到是很正常的事。以昇陽電腦公司遠距上班計畫為例，對Ｙ世代的要求就有求必應。今天，昇陽一半以上員工遠距上班。

Generation Y's search for meaning makes support for volunteering among the benefits it values most. More than half of workers in their 20s prefer employment at companies that provide volunteer opportunities, according to a recent Deloitte survey. The software company Salesforce.com gives 1% of profits to its foundation, which pays for employees to volunteer 1% of their work time. Salesforce.com staff will do 50,000 hours of community service this year. "This program has dramatically increased our ability to recruit and retain high-quality employees," says CEO Marc Benioff. It's what attracted Eliot Moore, 26. "When I heard about the Salesforce.com Foundation, it was plus after plus for me," he says. "It's a way to take the skills I learned in the corporate arena and give back to the community without leaving the company."

由於Ｙ世代追尋人生的意義，使支援志工，成為他們最重視的福利之一。據勤業公司最近一項調查，一半以上20來歲的職工，寧可選擇到提供志工服務機會的企業上班。軟體公司Salesforce.com提供1%利潤給其所屬基金會，基金會再付錢給貢獻1%工時從事志工的員工。Salesforce.com員工今年總共投入50,000小時從事社區服務。「這項計畫大幅提升我們招募和留住優質員工的能力，」該公司執行長班尼歐夫說。這點也吸引26歲的摩爾。「當我聽說Salesforce.com有個基金會時，那對我是利上加利，」他說。「這種方式，讓我得以把在職場學到的技術回饋社區，又不需要離職。」

Understanding Generation Y is important not just for employers. Older workers--that is, anyone over 30--need to know how to adapt to the values and demands of their newest colleagues. Before too long, they'll be the bosses.

了解Ｙ世代，不只對雇主重要，年過而立較年長的員工也應該了解，如何調適這些最新進員工的價值觀和要求。要不了多久，他們就會當老闆了。

（原載「時代雜誌」Penelope Trunk專欄）

《詞解》
Geneneration Y （Gen Y） Ｙ世代
baby boomers 嬰兒潮世代
Gen Xers （Generation X）Ｘ世代
yawning gap 極大的代溝
juggling act 兩頭忙
in high demand 需求殷切
entry-level jobs 入門基層工作
red flag 激怒不利的因素
entrepreneurship 企業精神和倫理
safety net 安全防護網
turnover 流動率
job hopping 跳槽
transition 轉型
motivator 動力
BlackBerry 黑莓機
Sun Microsystem 昇陽電腦公司
telecommuting, work remotely 遠距上班