Essay

This question involves some very interesting perspectives. What is certain is that thirty-five years ago there has been a metamorphosis as far as work is concerned. The motivations and objectives of each individual worker today are different from those in the past, therefore a generalization with such a statement is not possible. For years the differences have been discussed and studied between different generations at work. As the global market expands, new roles are introduce at work and this leads to a change in mentality among workers of different generations.

I disagree with the statement made by the manager. The factors that affect the daily life of today and 35 years ago differ in such extent that it is very difficult to determine which work mentality or values are better. For starters, labor legislative regulations were very different from today.

An important point that I think needs to be emphasized is that 35 years ago the Australian government abolished tuition to facilitate access to higher education, with the intention of putting more facilities to all those who wanted to be educated. In 1989, the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) was implemented and created. This means that when Australians find a job and obtain a certain amount of money, they could return the money that was lent to study. Thus, 35 years ago more young people had the opportunities to study. Now many students have to come up with the money themselves, which results in a significant amount of money and debt. Despite the introduction of (HECS) and incrementation rates for some students, 26% of the young attend class in 2011, compared to 14% from 35 years ago. This mean the percentage of young people with higher qualifications ready to perform a work with better skills has increased, resulting in a stronger and increased competition between the people to get a job. The Australian government has created what is called the National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development with the intention of creating a more productive economic future by raising levels of studies of Australian citizens.1

An important point that needs to be emphasized is that the Australian economy passed through three recessions in 1970, 1980 and 1990, unemployment before 1970 was above 3%, whereas now the unemployment rate in Australia increased by three tenths in January (2015) and stood at 6.4 percent, the highest rate since August 2002, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In January, Australia had about 11.7 million people employed, some 12,200 less than the previous month. The increase in the unemployment rate coincides with the loss of about 28,100 full time jobs and an increase in part-time jobs by 15,900. Despite rising unemployment, the participation rate, which includes the number of people seeking work remained stable at 64.8 percent. Official figures placed the unemployment rate above expectations and caused a fall in the Australian dollar to 76.63 US cents. Despite these figures, the Australian economy continues to stand out against other advanced economies. Australia has a strong growth, low unemployment, controlled inflation, a very low public debt and a strong and stable financial system. By 2012, Australia had experienced more than 20 years of continuous economic growth, averaging 3.5 percent per year. The positive outlook for Australia is supported by a record investment in resources, strong growth in exports of raw materials and a strong fiscal position.2

After explaining some important points the focus should be directed to distinguishing the characteristics of workers of Generation X and Y. Generations can be defined by common attitudes, experiences and preferences that are developed in the context of social and economic events of a defined period of time. Generations are usually associated with birth year ranges (Kupperschmidt, 2000)3. Generational similarities transcend cultural and gender differences. The social and economic influences that create popular culture are experienced by everyone within a generation, despite that culture and gender plays a role in how the experience is interpreted individually. Research4 with students showed that Generation Y expects a faster career growth and therefore a faster increase in salary. Another study showed that today's generation has more confidence in themselves, is more narcissistic and tends to prioritize life over work. When compared with Boomers, Generation X is somewhere between these two generations. The results4 also show that Gen Y has a higher percentage to appreciate and enjoy more free time comparing with the rest of generations. Workers of Gen Y are characterized by having access to a faster and more sophisticated technology.

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