Gen Y ... Unprepared for the Real World?

In this article, Managing the Facebookers, the Economist discusses the differences between Gen-Y (us, the Net Geners) and the old-schoolers who, in many cases, are our bosses once we enter the workplace:

"The Net Geners have grown up with computers; they are brimming with self-confidence; and they have been encouraged to challenge received wisdom, to find their own solutions to problems and to treat work as a route to personal fulfilment rather than merely a way of putting food on the table."

The old-schoolers often welcome the current economic troubles, the article says, as a wake-up call to idealistic youngsters. Certainly, there are differences between generations; we've grown up in different times, acquired a slightly different set of values. But I'd hypothesize that the management difficulties created by this generation gap have been exaggerated. It seems like people who find their work personally fulfilling might be better to manage - they show enthusiasm, increase productivity, and contribute to morale, etc. in ways that those who see their job as putting food on the table do not.

Still, kind of an interesting article, tying everything to the current crisis.