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Sep 26, 2010
Understanding Y
They have been labelled self-centred, restless, job-hopping spendthrifts, but are Gen Y-ers actually a product of society today?
By Sandra Leong
At 24, self-described 'wanderer' Joan knows she is lucky. After graduating from university in Singapore two years ago, she took a gap year to backpack across Europe.
On her return, she tried an online clothing business before deciding a few months ago that she really wanted a media job.
Declining to give her full name for fear of 'jeopardising my career', she says with a hint of embarrassment: 'I'm lucky because I'm young and have no commitments. So I can take my time to find myself and decide the direction I want my life to go in.'
Older Singaporeans would label young people such as Joan as restless, individualistic, overly reliant on their parents and keen to avoid adulthood and its responsibilities at all costs.
Yes, these are some of the afflictions of the much scrutinised Generation Y.
The term Gen Y generally refers to people born between 1977 and 1999. Many are in their early to late 20s, or in their early 30s.
Amid the criticism they attract, one wonders: Are Gen Y-ers misguided or simply maligned? Is it really them or are they what society has shaped them to be?
A recent New York Times article asked: 'What is it about 20-somethings?' In the piece, a psychology professor at Clark University in Massachusetts observes a phenomenon he calls 'emerging adulthood', where social and economic changes have caused an extended adolescence.
These include youngsters staying in school longer because of the increasing need for higher qualifications, putting
off marriage and women delaying pregnancy because of career options.
In Singapore, the state of Gen Y has also become something to ponder.
Cultural critic Kirpal Singh says: 'Of course, each generation will find the next disappointing in some ways because of the fundamental fact of change.
'But there is a difference with Gen Y. I have noticed a growing self-centredness, a sense that 'I' comes first and everyone else is there to help me, serve me. Gen Y individuals are choosy, don't always want to carry their weight and seem frequently to be insolent, even indolent.'
Recent studies here have thrown up worrying observations. In one commissioned by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices, older employees found Gen Y-ers difficult to work with, while another by the National University of Singapore Business School found youths to be rash and impulsive, pre-occupied with the present and reluctant to learn more.
Broadly defining Gen Y as people between the age of 15 and 31 and who number at almost 40,000 - or 20 per cent - of the economically active population here, a 2008 Singapore Human Resources Institute study found the Gen Y workforce to be confident, tech-savvy, unconventional but also restless.
They showed a tendency towards 'scatter-brain syndrome', described as an 'inability to concentrate and focus on one particular thing for long'. Twenty-seven per cent had not identified their profession of choice.
Consequently, job hopping and career switching were norms. Seventy-one per cent of Gen Y respondents in the survey agreed or strongly agreed that it was 'normal' for Gen Y-ers to job hop.
Mr David Ang, executive director of Singapore Human Resources Institute, says: 'It's a case of half-glass full versus half-glass empty. If you say someone is restless, it sounds negative but if you say he is looking for challenges, it's positive.'
Ms Cheryl Liew, chief executive officer of Lifeworkz, a work-life consultancy specialising in generational workforces, says Gen Y-ers fall into two groups.
'One down to earth, willing to work hard and be a team player. The other is in a hurry to learn, be recognised, move on or simply let matters run the course. But if you can find a chance to interest them, they can really be on fire,' she adds.
Mid-career sabbaticals - to travel, go back to school or to simply reflect on life - are becoming commonplace.
Two years ago, Xin Huiwen, 29, left her marketing job to teach English in Japan's remote Shimane prefecture. She says: 'I wanted to experience a kind of life that would be totally different from Singapore.
'I did not see it as being airy-fairy, not just putting my career aside to play for two years. The experience opened my eyes to a lot of things that I take for granted.' She is now looking for a job here that will allow her to use her Japanese language skills.
Finding themselves, both professionally and personally, is an oft-cited goal.
Ms Vivian Tan, 26, says: 'We were raised to believe that we could be anything we want to be, not limited by our circumstances, unlike the post-war generation.'
She is 'exploring options' after leaving a bank analyst job in New York and adds: 'We think about issues such as our quality of life and pursuing our dreams and passion.'
Financial freedom is a luxury that fuels these Eat Pray Love-style pursuits.
Many unmarried Gen Y-ers still live comfortably at home and have few commitments, as reflected by their spending habits. The institute study found the top three expenditures of Gen Y-ers were tobacco/alcohol, mobile phones and food.
The institute's Mr Ang says: 'Their consumption is spontaneous and personal. It can be on the basis of 'want to have it, like to have it', even if they might not have the money.'
Guest relations officer Ahmad Syafiq Roslan, 26, confesses to spending about $1,500 a month, almost his full wages, on his daily and 'personal leisure' expenses. He is a member of a breakdance crew and has about 40 pairs of sneakers in a collection worth about $5,000.
'I like to dress fresh,' he says. 'Some people simply go to town in bermudas and slippers but I believe I should look good as if every day matters.
He adds: 'In our parents' time, they did not have the freedom to splurge on things even if they worked. But young people who have just started working probably feel that now is the time to spend.'
Still, he says he is approaching a 'mid-life crisis' where he is trying to save money. 'At some point, you have to draw the line, except that the line is not very clear now,' he says with a chuckle.
The flip side to this seemingly cavalier attitude towards money is that even with rising affluence, long-term investments such as buying a house are increasingly out of reach. So what else is there to spend on other than the latest Apple gadget?
Ms Merry Riana, 30, financial services director of Prudential Assurance and a Gen Y-er herself, says: 'In some ways, with education debts and house prices going crazy, Gen Y-ers just can't afford to be adults. It is little wonder that private home ownership is an almost impossible dream for many of them.'
Gen Y-ers were raised to focus on potential
Sociologist Paulin Straughan adds that unlike with previous generations, social mobility is harder to achieve.
'As the economy becomes more mature and inequalities become institutionalised, there becomes less room at the top,' she says.
'It's not fair to say that Gen Y-ers cruise through life, as they have to deal with their own sets of constraints in a fairly stressful system as well.'
These struggles have given rise to another 20-something trait: Citing careers as a priority, many have refused to settle down and start a family, much to the chagrin of government planners looking to arrest the low birth rate. National statistics show that over a period of 30 years, the median age of marriage has gone up from 26.9 to 29.8 for men, and 23.1 to 27.3 for women.
Mr Andrew Chow, owner of dating agency Table For Six and former managing agent for the now-defunct national initiative Romancing Singapore, laments that it is more than that: 'Their lists of the ideal partner have nothing to do with the person's character, but how tall they are, what car they drive, what job they have.'
This is a group, he says, that is lulled into a false sense of security about singlehood till it is too late. Marriage is also seen as 'just a piece of paper' and the actual wedding a 'financial blackhole' because of its high costs.
It all sounds like a grim assessment. But then again, are we being too judgmental?
Ms Liew points out that negative stereotypes can also be applied to the Baby Boomer generation, known to be resistant to change. 'But the more people reinforce them, the more they become self-fulfilling prophecies,' she says of the stereotypes.
Gen Y-ers are but products of their time, says Prof Straughan. 'We can't blame them for being self-centred. That's the way we raised them, to be focused on their potential and to rise to their calling.'
So there is little point shaming and blaming, without greater understanding.
Dr Singh says: 'We need to be very careful about how we move forward in terms of the ways in which we relate to the young. They are beautiful and want to do well. Gen Y is our creation and we do need to accept ownership for much of its make-up. We need to truly, really engage.'
sandral@sph.com.sg
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