It's hardly news that employers and would-be workers often see things differently. And it's admittedly been a buyer's market for employers the last couple of years with a glut of out-of-work, qualified candidates, but as the job market recovers, so will the clout job seekers bring to the interviews.
I mean, you saw the latest numbers, right? As we reported right here last week, the Department of Labor announced the country added more than 227,000 last month, holding the jobless rate at around 8.3 percent.
(How sad is it we get excited about that? It's a lot like cheering three-dollar gas prices.)
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Anyway, what didn't get as much press last week was the hours worked rate climbed last month, as well. So, maybe things really are looking up.
And the biggest – and growing – segment of this recovering work force is Generation Y, with nearly half of their 70-million-plus population kicking off their careers. But this financially savvy and well-connected group of employees isn't always easy to work with.
For starters, they're not huge fans of our traditional dress codes – which include a much higher tolerance for body art in all its shapes and sizes. In fact, I just read a story that predicted neckties would become obsolete in the next 50 years or so – fading into obscurity with my beloved fedora.
(It's a good thing Mad Men returns later this month.)
They're also big on working from home, a battle that's only beginning as more conservative employers fight this perceived loss of control. Most of this new generation take this workplace flexibility for granted. And some employers are getting the hint. In fact, we ran a story last week that indicated roughly that 93 percent of employers will be open "mobile work styles" next year – a huge jump over the 37 percent that offer it now.
Change is tough, I know. But fighting it only makes things worse.
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