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Gen Y and the 'cogenerational' workplace

Young people may improve business.

Attracting younger employers to your business can be a great way to gain new skills sets without breaking the budget.

Despite reports to the contrary, there are a number of things employers can do to make their place of employment a more attractive.

A new book called Fuse: Making Sense of the New Cogenerational Workplace by Jim Finkelstein, chief executive officer of Future Sense, outlines steps to hiring and retaining younger staff.

He starts by assessing the reality of current workplaces and says that employers need to be mindful of the challenges many people face upon entering the workforce.

The first thing to be mindful of is the current level of student debt and the fact that individuals are graduating with large financial burdens weighing them down.

It may also be a good idea to reassess the amount of money that is on offer to grads and compare your own expectations with the demands of the job.

Reasons behind reviewing pay include wanting to attract the best quality candidates, as well as taking into consideration inflation adjusted earnings, which according to the author had "fallen dramatically".

However, one of the major concerns for young people living in Sydney in the cities high cost of living, which can quickly cut into earnings and make it difficult to save.

Speaking from his native America Finklestein said that "education, housing and healthcare costs have increased rapidly over the last decade".

And while each of these individual factors contributes to the list of concerns held by Gen Y when they seek out employment, it is their combined effect that has the most impact on career development.

Concern for the environment is also high on the list of things young people feel passionate about, which is why ending the interview with green business cards may just sway their opinion on the company and lead to a fantastic hiring decision.