A New American Dream
When I say the words “American Dream,” what comes to mind? Our answers may vary drastically, but for Gen X and Baby Boomers, the common answer is a house, a padded 401K and a healthy family — with health insurance.
Gen Y also grew up with that influence, and while they would love to add “white picket fence” into the mix, financial stability, work/life balance, and opportunities for professional growth are really the hallmarks of what constitutes their American dream. As Penelope Trunk put it best, “our dream is about time, not money.”
Simply put, the traditional ways that Gen Y feels rewarded in their personal and professional lives speak to the depth of relationships, and not necessarily the depth of their pocketbooks. If we step back and look at the economic picture that Gen Y sees, this truly is no surprise. Their parents who gave them advice on which 401K to select watched their own retirement savings plummet in the last year. Therefore, they have a completely different definition of success — and can be viewed as irresponsible by their employers.
In her 2007 Huffington Post article,Trunk best addressed the generation gap by saying:
“The boomers mistake a rejection of their American Dream as a rejection of reality. But here’s some news: Young people know that work is a reality for everyone. It’s just that everyone needs to work toward something; so young people have a new American Dream.”
She also gives some tips for Gen Y to define their new American dream, but I think they’re worth rephrasing as employers looking to understand Gen Y’s rationale.
- The Flight Back Home: Many Gen Y employees are fine with moving back to their parents after graduation. Most of this is a way to save money and make the most of their low paying entry-level job. In the same vein, they’re also more conservative with their finances than in past generations. According to an MSN Money article by Kathy Kristof, their investment practices mirror those of Depression-era counterparts.
- Take Some Risks: Gen Y believes that the American Dream is worth taking the risk. Even though I’m not fully Gen Y, I definitely put this to practice by leaving a full-time job and its comforts to start my own consultancy. Gen Y will be more willing to take the risks to reap better and stronger relationships that are more inline with their goals.
- Protective of Time and Relationships: One hallmark of Gen Y is that they do not want work to overpower other relationships, unlike how they view previous generations. They truly do want to have their own identity, but not allow work to define exactly what the details of their lifestyle.
- Personal and Professional Fulfillment Doesn’t Equate to 60-Hour Work Weeks: Gen Y is able to highly multitask everything that they need to do. We see this in the amount of social networks that they can update simultaneously. With this characteristic, Gen Y has a great aptitude to manage multiple projects at once. Also, they would rather take a job that pays less, but is more fulfilling and inline with their identity.
- Downsize Your Large Financial Purchases (i.e., a home): Especially after the housing lending problems this country has seen in the last three years, Gen Y is leery to begin the process of owning a home. Where previous generations wanted to buy the biggest house as an “investment,” Gen Y would rather scale down their purchases so that they have flexible options should the economic climate turn south.
With all this in mind, we’ll look at different ways to help Gen Y redefine their American Dream. If you have a Gen Y’er you who is innovative and forward thinking and you would like me to profile them, please let me know!
About the Author
Amy Liz Martin is a PR professional whose work centers on social media, media relations, corporate relations, publicity and cause-related PR campaigns. Amy was a fundraiser and event communications chair for the American Cancer Society, ran small development and communications campaigns for the International Center for Journalists, and led social media publicity efforts for artists at EMI CMG Label Group. She earned her master's degree in mass communications/public relations at Louisiana State University and is a member of the Public Relations Society of America.
