8 Things To Do When You Have Nothing To Do

by Ryan Healy 

According to Wikipedia, a Dutch newspaper once referred to our generation as “The Einstein Generation,” referring to the ability of the general member of this generation to perform many activities at the same time. We grew up with cable, cell phones and high speed internet. Chatting on AIM while simultaneously talking on the phone and writing a research paper was a fairly typical Tuesday night during my high school years.

Now that I have entered the corporate world, I tend to get bored quite easily. Usually I will begin to zone out until I get up and walk around. I need chaos in my life! I will not make the assumption that our generation is better than any other at multitasking because for one, I don’t like to lump millions of people into a group, and two, there are a few pieces of research that challenge the notion of young people being more productive while multitasking. However, this was the environment I was raised in and I am now comfortable working in this chaos.

If you need to surf the internet once an hour to keep from going insane in your cubicle, or if you have no work to do and don’t feel like asking for more or if you just don’t feel like doing any work (and aren’t worried about being fired) check out this list of eight ways to productively procrastinate at work.

1. Start a business

Its easier than ever before to start your own online business. Do you have a collection of baseball cards you no longer care about? Sell them on Ebay, or sell your friends collection and keep a profit. Have a great idea for an online start up, but don’t know where to begin looking for VC funding? Make your online “elevator pitch” at Advisor Garage. Need a partner or software designer? Go to the Tech Crunch open forum and leave a message with your contact info and what you’re looking for.

2. Join a Social Network

I’m sure by now everyone has a profile on Facebook and/or Myspace, and if not I recommend signing up. However, there are social networks that actually help you out. Do you want to lose weight? Check out Traineo. Post your current weight, target weight and track your progress on a weekly basis. Have another goal you want to achieve? Go to 43 things.com and create a profile. You can see how others are trying to achieve the same goal and how some people have already achieved it.

3. Create Your Own Social Network

If simply joining a new social network isn’t enough for you, go ahead and create your own. Ning allows you to create a network based on whatever topic you want. You can upgrade for a price, but everything starts free. Who knows, maybe you can find a niche and create the next MySpace.

4. Start a Blog

Blogs are a great way to express yourself and share your ideas with the world. Pick a topic that really interests you and base your blog on it. Read some of Penelope Trunk and Jason Warner’s posts about blogging if you really want to get inspired.

5. Write a Post on My Blog

Yes, I realize this is a shameless plug to get some more post’s on our site, but do it anyway! If you are afraid you won’t be able to maintain your own blog or will run out of things to write about, write a post about your work experiences or thoughts on the topic of Millennials in the workplace and I will post it for you.

6. Learn a Foreign Language

A friend of mine who works for a consulting firm that will remain nameless told me he has been “on the bench” for 3 months now and decided he was going to learn Spanish. How cool is that! He bought the Rosetta Stone learning program and is on his way to being fluent, and he’s getting paid for it.

7. Post Your Resume Online

Whether you are happy or not with your current job, you may as well post your resume on one of the major job searching sites. Your dream job may come knocking at your door, or maybe you will get an offer for a higher salary. At the least you can go to your current employer and see if they will counteroffer to keep you.

8. Download Some Cool Music

Ok I know this doesn’t exactly count as a productive thing to do, but I found a great new website for downloading music. Check out Amie Street.com. All music is free to begin with and the more popular the group gets, the more expensive the songs become. Transfer the songs over to your ipod and pop in your earphones to tune out the annoying guy that sits next to you.

Sure we can all sign onto AIM, read articles on ESPN.com or shop for clothes online while getting our work done, but you may as well do something productive? If you are going to be stuck in a cubicle for 8+ hours a day you may as well do your work and learn some things at the same time. Just don’t come blaming “the guys” when your boss calls you into his office for a talk.

Speaking a Different Language

by Ryan Paugh 

jar·gon

-noun

1. the language, esp. the vocabulary, peculiar to a particular trade, profession, or group: medical jargon
2. unintelligible or meaningless talk or writing; gibberish.
3. any talk or writing that one does not understand.

It’s a rough gig playing the corporate role. Or so it seems to a newbie. So many big meaningless words to throw around – like leverage, methodology, or the one that always “grinds my gears,” execute. Are we implementing something new? Or giving it a lethal injection?

I know it sounds stupid, but what’s even worse is the fact that we only talk like this in the office. You wouldn’t talk to talk to your friends, family or complete stranger for that matter in the way you verbalize in the corporate world. So what’s the deal? How did this happen? And why don’t we realize how absolutely stupid we sound?

I confronted my dad about this the other night over dinner. I knew he’d be a good candidate for discussion because his at-home teleconferences may be my earliest introduction to the corporate tongue. “Everybody does it,” was his response. So unsatisfying, yet I knew for some reason that was going to be the response no matter who I asked.

I often see it as a Cro-Magnon game of charades, like we’re incapable of articulating ourselves in a straightforward manner. The worst part is, I think some people enjoy it.

As writer, I don’t just notice this “other language” in meetings and presentations by my superiors, but in the feedback I get when I write up a draft. My boss always taught me to be as straightforward as possible; employees don’t have time to decipher. And still, when I get back my work, it’s completely morphed into some kind of style they didn’t cover in English 101.

I guess the gist of what I want to accomplish in this short, but vital rant is that we need to stop talking to each other like this. I for one will fight my hardest to keep myself from falling into that trench and I suggest all Millennials strive to do the same. You wouldn’t want anyone to talk to you that way outside of the office. So why would you want it in the office?

It’s not going to kill us if it doesn’t change, but wouldn’t it be nice to NOT sound like a bunch of tools? My job hasn’t stolen all my dignity. Not yet at least…

A Message from “the Guys”

First and foremost we want to thank everyone who has been so supportive in helping us tackle the issues surrounding Gen-Y in the workforce. We’ve gained more initial support than we could have ever imagined. We haven’t had a post in a few days, but trust us, we’re not slacking off. During our time away from research and writing we’ve been adding a few tweeks to the Employee Evolution site to better communicate with you, our beloved readers.

In honor of Professor Twenge, who claims MySpace “fuels” our already revved up egos, we just set up an account and are asking you to come befriend us on one of the world’s largest social networks. After you add us to your friends, you’ll receive bulletins on new posts and even get to learn a little more about “the Guys.” Just click on the MySpace link to the right and the work is practically done.

Our second addition is a new feed that’ll link our freshest posts directly to your homepage. Just click the “Subscribe to Feed” link, choose your home page (or site you go on to read news) and you’ll start seeing links to our posts appear on that site. Piece of cake…

Last, but not least, you can now instant message us online through the power of Meebo technology. Whenever our screename (Employee Evolution) appears online in the “Let’s Talk” tab follow the simple directions and you can talk directly and anonymously to one of “the Guys.” It’s quick and easy, what else could you possibly want?

Ok, maybe another post…trust me it’s on the way and there’s even more to look forward to. We’re currently working with an amazing columnist and author on a weekly post for her website. You’ll hear more as the project develops, but for now, check out our new features so we can keep feeding you the latest on Employee Evolution.

Thanks again for all of your support!

- “the Guys”

“A Collegial, Team Oriented Atmosphere”

by Ryan Healy 

A couple of days ago I took a trip up to my University’s career fair to do some recruiting for my company.  First off, let me say that being on the other side of the table for one of those things is probably just as unnatural as being in the students shoes.  A whole bunch of college students on their best behavior and corporate newbies pretending they really love their companies is just not my cup of tea.  And before you start calling me a hypocrite for trying to sell my company (as my brother so kindly did) take two things into consideration; 

1.)    I don’t hate my job.  In fact, its not bad at all, I typically get to work from home on Friday’s and it leaves me with plenty of time to write on this site.   

 2.)    How can I turn down an all expenses paid trip to my old school?  Do you think I’m crazy?  

Anyways, back to the point.  I received an email from a student whom I had a rather lengthy discussion with about my job.  We talked about everything from my roles and responsibilities to my weekly hours and everything else involved in the typical career speech.  After I finished laughing hysterically when he referred to me as Mr. Healy, I noticed something very interesting.  The note said, “You’re group sounded excellent as it consisted of a collegial, team oriented atmosphere.”  I thought this was very interesting.  Of all the things we discussed, he was most sold on the job because of its TEAM ORIENTED atmosphere. 

This should have come as no surprise to me, because all of the research indicates we are the most team oriented generation in history, but the fact that this kid cared so much about this trait that he mentioned it in a thank you letter really did catch me off guard.  However, I thought back to one other talk I had with a student, who for one reason or another tried to interview me. (This is another surprise companies may be in for as they continue to recruit college students.  Students know you need them, and they aren’t afraid to turn an interview back onto you)   

This guy asked me what I like best about my job.  Guess What I told him.  I said, “I like the team oriented atmosphere in my office.”  Without even realizing it, I helped to confirm this undeniable fact.  Generation Y does not just like working as a team, we need to work like this to feel comfortable.  Like it or not that’s just the way it is. 

Chalk one up to the “experts” on this one. We really are team oriented and just might care about this more than any other factor when looking for a job.   

My advice to companies based on these observations is, send your new hires to recruit for you!  We will not only relate more to the students, but we will subconsciously highlight the aspects of our job that are important to our generation.  If this isn’t possible and you must send older employees, have a quick meeting with your newest hires and pick their brains.  Not only will you gain valuable insight into areas you should focus on when talking to candidates, but you will make your employees feel important and yes they will probably feel “special” as well. 

Now retaining the students that you do hire is a whole different conversation……

Let’s Get Creative

by Ryan Paugh 

As a simple cog in the complex mechanics of Corporate America, it’s rare that I find something worth being thankful for (besides Friday), but today was a different day. I was thinking a lot about creativity, or lack thereof where I work, and I realized I probably have one of the coolest bosses in all of upper-management.

Why is she so cool? I’ve never seen someone in her position battle a bunch of dry, conservatives so valiantly only to get the majority of her creative talents transformed into mundane garbage. That’s the kind of leader Gen-Y can look up to.

For me, the hardest part about getting through a “9 to 5” is the lack of creativity in what I do. And yes, having the amazing boss that I do, occasionally we’ll get something by the head honchos and have a little fun, but that’s few and far between.

Can you imagine how energetic employees would become if big business would just “let it all hang out,” so to speak? And I don’t expect some big transformation either, business is business and sometimes you can’t get past the fact that it’s overwhelmingly dull, but a little imagination would go a long way.

As a member of Gen-Y, I know we would respond kinder to the corporate world if we added a little flare to the routine workload. For instance, the other day my division sat down together, informally, and talked to one another. Without all the business jargon, we went around the room said a few things nobody knew about each other, then offered a few ideas to improve the way we do work.

Pretty simple huh? It’s amazing what can happen when you put all the dry formalities of a staff meeting aside and talk like people normally do. And not once did someone mention how we could “leverage” something. I can’t even explain how refreshing that was.

This interaction was a catalyst for a surge of evolutionary thought. If the corporate world wants to keep Gen-Y interested in what they have to offer, it’s time to break down the conservative attitude and get inventive.

Some of my best moments in the corporate world began when a manager asked me to “get creative with it.” That phrase is rocket fuel for my ego! I feel like I can do anything when I’m not held captive by the norm. Nevertheless, the typical day of lackluster projects leave my keyboard collecting dust. Even in my own writing, I find that a long day of complying with someone else’s standards extinguishes my creative spark.

My proposal to the business world is to stop thinking that the conventional way is always the right way. Businesses seem to evolve not just by creating new business deliveries, but by creating new ways of delivering business.

So take a chance. Use your Gen-Y employees to that goal. We have a lot of great ideas that we’re too intimidated to share. Encourage a little “thinking outside the box” and we’ll crawl right out of our shell.

What do you have to lose? If it backfires, you can always just put the blame on us…

Self-fulfillment through Self-employment

Ever wonder what truly drives a person to succeed without the security of the typical 9 to 5? Here’s a chance to get into the entrepreneurial brain of a Gen-Yer and see what’s possible when you actually love what it is you’re doing.

Thanks to our friend Matt for a little perspective from an entrepreneur.  Enjoy.

Currently our country is in the largest entrepreneurial boom the economy has ever seen. More people are venturing out of their cubicles and leaving their comfort zones than ever before. Over the last 30 years a new wave of thinking has begun. College kids now have the option to wrap their brains around this concept of becoming an entrepreneur. Top universities have begun to offer entrepreneurial majors that let students pick and choose the classes that they feel will prove to be the most beneficial for their respective futures. In 2005, 672,000 new companies were started with employees, claims Fortune Small Business. Self employment has become a nation wide trend and I don’t see any signs of it letting up soon.

I’m twenty two years old and fortunately will never share the hatred of a 9 to 5 with most people. I graduated last year from a great school that had an amazing job placement program. I never interviewed. I never even stepped foot in a career fair. I never put on a shirt and tie and tried to impress a complete stranger that I most likely would never see again. I never wanted to be shipped off to a random city with thousands of other college grads to push papers for 8 hours a day. Who would? The problem with people taking jobs out of college is that they think that they have to have a job right away or they will be seen as a failure.

So kids take jobs with Hewlett Packard and GE and other huge companies so they can sleep easy at night thinking their peers and family believe that they “made it”. But they didn’t make it. The only place they made it was the fast track to credit card debt. Did they take a job with HP because they love computers? Did they enter GE because they think electricity is the best thing in the world? No, they made a blind decision and now most regret it terribly.

One of my friends, who is happy (or so it seems) with her 9 to 5, recently said there are two types of people out there; People who work to live, and those who live to work. The Gen-Y’s that think the 9 to 5 doesn’t work for them are people that should never have taken a “BS” entry level job in the first place. The Gen-Y’s that have no problem with their jobs are the ones that seem to be working more for a purpose. Some, found a passion in money markets, moved to New York, and now are learning the ins and outs of day trading. Others took entry levels at architectural firms to give wings to their artistic talents. Whatever the case, these are people that got jobs because something inspired them.

I conclude this entry with a small piece of advice. Go back to that age old question posed to you in 3^rd grade, “What do you want to be in life?” Think about what you said then and what you would say now. And then do it. Quit your job. Get a job with someone that does what you want to do. Learn all you can in a year. And then do it for yourself.

No more 9 to 5’s, no more bosses, no more meaningless busywork. Stop bitching at corporate America like your CEO is going to walk up to you tomorrow and apologize for not giving you more meaningful work. Entry level jobs are just cogs in a master plan of making a business run. The company wouldn’t run without them. The founders of GE, Sony and Hewlett Packard were people that couldn’t do the 9 to 5. They knew they were over qualified to be working at a desk for a random company, so they did it on their own. The 9 to 5 has begun to not work for more and more people because almost anyone can start a business nowadays. There are start-up businesses that fund start-up businesses. So start it up, or don’t, what do I know I’m only twenty two.

Reflections From The Road Less Traveled

We had hoped to get as many comments, posts and feedback from friends, acquaintances and other peers as possible.  To our surprise, we received even more interest then originally planned.  Because of this, tomorrow we will introduce the first post in a series titled Reflections from the Road Less Traveled. 

The series will consist of posts from members of Generation-Y who have decided to pass on the typical “9 to 5″ and are doing their own thing.  Some are running their own successful businesses, some are just trying to get established and others have taken off to foreign countries to find themselves. 

Hopefully these posts will shed some light on the wide-range of talents Gen-Y has to offer the world.  Maybe even inspire yourself (and us) to take a plunge into the “great unknown.” I’m sure we’re not the only two guys who have friends who decided to take a risk.  If you know somebody who stepped off the beaten path and enjoys to write, or wants us to write about them, drop us an e-mail and help us share the stories of the generation that is poised to change the way we think of work.

Some “Special” Solutions

by Ryan Healy 

I realize our last post was about the narcissism study and the apparent problem of the all too common “you’re special” message, but this whole issue has bothered me so much that I need to make a few more points about it. 

Are Baby Boomers beginning to regret how they raised us?  I think they are.  The same people who raised us to always believe we are special and can achieve anything we want, now have to deal with us in the business world.  We are expected to conform to a cubicle and a meaningless job for the good of the company because this is how the current system is set up.   

Well guess what? It’s not going to happen!  We are not going to conform and throw away our ingrained belief that we can make a difference and can be special.  I guess the whole plan to raise us differently has backfired.  Rather than whining and complaining about how difficult my generation is or how we expect to much, why not start adapting to and accepting these selfish little “monsters” that you created.  Look at it this way — if you’re a Baby Boomer or Gen-Xer and have children, you think they are the most special thing in the world, right?  Well, so do my parents and so do my co workers parents, and for that matter so do I!

So were a little narcissistic, to me this simply means we expect a little more out of ourselves and want to show it.  If we had the opportunity to show it, we could begin to prove that a lot of us really are special.   

I have a fairly obvious solution to this whole problem.  Baby Boomer managers should start treating their young talent much the same way they treat their own kids.  It makes perfect sense doesn’t it?  We have grown up with your peers as parents and you have lived your adult lives with our peers as kids. 

How exactly can you do this?  First off, I know that in my family, I have always had at least a voice in most major decisions.  Whether it was where to go on vacation, where to move or what restaurant we should go to on a given night.  Let us help make some decisions in the business world too.  Obviously, experienced senior managers have the background, knowledge and expertise necessary to make these important decisions on their own, but what’s wrong with a different perspective, it can’t hurt.  Simply letting us say our two cents in any important decision will greatly improve our morale and help us to feel like we are actually contributing. 

Another possibility is to have some sort of partner program.  A young “up and comer” can partner with a senior level manager.  This will establish a personal connection allowing my peers to see the business from a higher level and maybe start to feel a  loyalty that is no longer present in Gen-Y workers.   

These are just a couple suggestions to deal with the current corporate generational clash.  I know there are many more that could make everyone happy.  Anyone else have any ideas?  Feel free to comment, we love feedback.

The Most Self Centered Generation Ever?

by Ryan Paugh 

There’s an enormous problem with vanity in this country.  It’s in the malls, on the television and, of course, here on the Internet.  Nobody’s guilt-free in this self-centered world of the Twenty-first Century.  So why, all of a sudden, is my generation the one with the problem? 

CNN published an article last month suggesting that narcissism is on the rise among college students.  A group of psychologists at the San Diego State University have been conducting this study since 1982.  They call it the Narcissistic Personality Inventory.  And guess what?  We’re the most selfish brats they’ve ever seen! 

Before I delve too sarcastically into this brilliant study, I’d like to say kudos to another group of psychologists attempting to explain the generation gap through the flaws of Gen-Y.  Way to step it up a notch.  

Let me first and foremost refute the reasoning behind our vanity (according to this study).  Professor Jean Twenge and her colleagues blame the “you’re special” message.  I’ll be the first to admit, we’re told that way too much, but when you really think about it, what’s wrong with that? Maybe it’s made us a little self-centered, but more importantly, maybe it’s made us a little more self-driven. 

So yes Professor Twenge, too much of this “you’re special” talk can be dangerous, but the byproduct isn’t vanity, it’s confusion and apparently, a very real generational misunderstanding.  Confusion as to why older generations don’t think they are special, and a misunderstanding about what an entry level job should be. 

What’s more likely to happen when those post-college years creep up and the majority of us realize we’re working lame, run-of-the-mill jobs that don’t exactly confirm our beliefs that we are special?  Is it vanity?  Or is it confusion and misunderstanding?  Maybe it’s a little bit of both. 

I’ll tell you what will happen.  In fact, it’s happening right now.  We’re going to start demanding more than a cubicle and 8-hours of mundane busy-work.  We’re going to demand a “special” job, and we won’t quit searching until we find it. 

Maybe this is why we see so many articles focusing on the generation gap in terms of Gen-Y’s flaws.  The “Boomers” and the “X-ers” are scared of the fact that we are going to turn their world upside-down…

I digressed – let me get back to our inflated egos.  Twenge and her colleagues simply lose their credibility when they suggest that Web sites such as MySpace and YouTube reinforce our narcissism.  This is a ridiculous generalization based on a brand name. 

Speaking as an avid user of both these technologies, I know that there is little to no vanity associated with them.   In fact, they offer an opportunity for people of ALL ages to share information about themselves with one another.  It’s like creating a social resume, but get this, it’s actually fun!  It’s an environment that makes exclusion literally impossible.  Find the vanity in that and I’ll give you a gold medal. 

There’s one piece of Twenge’s study that does bother me about our generation.  According to the survey, being well-off financially was one of our highest priorities.  Okay, I understand completely, money is important and it will buy SOME happiness, but what about fulfillment?  You really have to love what you do to get that. 

I’ll tell you right now, I love seeing that huge direct deposit in my bank account every Friday, but that alone will never make me love my job.  I can’t stress this enough, find something you like to do. 

I’ll leave you with this.  Sure, maybe we’re a little more narcissistic than we used to be, but let’s look at the big picture here.  It’s not just Gen-Y, it’s everywhere.  And maybe it’s not all bad either.  Gen-Y is learning to harness that self-centered attitude to their advantage.  Take some notes on our behaviors…maybe you’ll learn something.

What Flexibility Really Means

by Ryan Healy 

I recently read a comment to a very interesting posting by Penelope Trunk titled What Obama Means to the Workplace. Don’t worry I will not get into politics or my opinion on the article. I am more interested in the comment posted by a baby boomer manager who appears to be unimpressed with Gen Ys attitude toward work. The comment more or less describes her Gen Y employees as selfish, immature people who still live with their parents, but make enough money to buy designer clothes, shoes and handbags. She further went on to complain about these workers leaving at five pm, while their older peers remained at the office.

To say the least, this comment infuriated me and prompted me to write this post about flexibility. Flexibility means I have enough time in the day to; complete my work, exercise, run errands, read, relax and catch my favorite television shows. If I leave for work at 7:30 in the morning and don’t return until eight or nine in the evening, how can I possibly accomplish all of these things?

I can only imagine what baby boomer managers who happen to be reading this must be thinking. Probably something along the lines of, who does this kid think he is? Or everyone has to work late to complete some tasks. Yes, this is completely true, often times leaving work at five will not cut it. If you have a major deliverable due the next day or you are simply behind on your work the typical 8 hour work day is not enough.

My peers also recognize this fact and we will not hesitate to work until the job is done. We spent our 4 years in college cramming until all hours of the night for tests and spending countless days researching and writing papers. We know what hard work is, and we know that sometimes you have to sacrifice your social life, exercise and favorite TV shows for the greater good.

However, from my minimal work experience and countless conversations with peers I have discovered that often times us entry level workers don’t actually have a lot to do during the day. How much sense does it make to stay in the office until five if we can finish everything by two? Forcing us to spend three extra hours in the office for a little face time instead of giving us the freedom to leave and run some errands or spend a little extra time at the gym will send my peers and me running for the exits at five pm every day. Eventually we will run to the next employer who doesn’t concern themselves with unproductive face time.

The only reason this system actually does make sense to many older employees is because it is how the system has always worked. You put in your 8+ hour day, every day. In case nobody noticed, this is the same system that was implemented 150 years ago during the industrial revolution when employees cranked out widgets on an assembly line!

My suggestion is to do away with this notion of a minimum amount of time worked in a day or week. Face time does not equal productivity. Hard work does equal productivity. Focus on the quality of the work being produced rather than the time of day someone leaves the office and you will have happy and productive Gen Y workers. In case you haven’t heard, our generation is one of the most self driven, entrepreneurially spirited generations in recent history. Allow us to have this flexibility of getting the job done, regardless of how much or how little time it takes and we will return the favor with an excellent product.

Obviously other factors such as allowing us to occasionally telecommute and providing adequate vacation time will contribute to this flexibility that we demand. These topics will surely be covered in the near future on this site. However, doing away with this idiotic concept that everyone must work a minimum number of hours to do a good job is an easy way to give us the flexibility that we crave while simultaneously improving worker productivity.