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Confessions of a Helicopter Mom
Youth fades, love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; a mother's secret hope outlives them all."
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes (1775-1817)
I have a confession to make....I have some of the characteristics of the dreaded "helicopter" mom. Why is this important to you? If you are working with anyone between the ages of 18-29 in the workforce today, you may wondering why they do not act and behave the way you did when you were their age. Why do they have a tendency to want continual feedback and why do some of their parents call you to complain when their child gets a poor performance evaluation?
Let me explain...you see I am blessed with two wonderful daughters; Lisa age 20 and Jenna age 17. While pregnant with Lisa in 1990, and after her delivery, I read every possible parenting book I could get my hands on from What to Expect When You Are Expecting to The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families to Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls. The reason for this reading frenzy was simple; I wanted to be the best parent I could be.
From my daughters' early stages of life I was looking for the best schools and life experiences that would help them develop into successful adults. For my oldest daughter, Lisa, she was lucky enough to get on a long waiting list to enroll in the first public Montessori charter school in the nation. To make sure she was accepted I called the school once a week for months to see if she had moved up the list of students that would be accepted. I thought persistence would pay and it eventually got her into the school.
I encouraged them to try many activities when they were younger like dance, tennis, horseback riding, violin, flute, clarinet, drama club and just about every sport. All of these activities made their lives incredibly busy, and at times, overscheduled!
Today, our bond is tight and they share many of their happy and sad moments with me over the phone or during dinner. Oh, and I learned from all of my reading that praise was extremely important so I made sure their self esteem was intact. By the way, it seems like every sporting event they attended gave them a ribbon just for showing up!
So, now I present to you, the Employer, a well-nurtured and loved, slightly overprotected, highly praised young adult who has been exposed to many experiences in life and ...she needs a job.
Because of their childhood upbringing, they may be expecting the following things from you, their employer:
1) A tight bond with their boss. Just like their close, warm, caring relationship with their parents, they expect that their boss will care about them, give them praise and gentle feedback and check in with them often.
2) Chance to multi-task with many projects and balls in the air. They have great experience with doing homework, listening to their Ipods, Skyping, texting and watching TV....all at the same time.
3) Opportunity to volunteer. Both of my daughters had numerous opportunities and school classes that allowed them to volunteer during class time and they would like paid time off to do the same. They are attracted to companies that are socially responsible and want to give back to their communities.
4) Show concern for the environment. On one vacation with my oldest daughter, Lisa, she brought an empty plastic water bottle all the way home because there was no recycling bin where we stayed. As an employer, you will need to be aware of how your organization is affecting the environment and allow Gen Y to create programs and policies that will reflect your concern for our planet.
Next week we will explore a few more tips that will help you attract and retain this valuable generation.
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