THE Y EMPLOYEE PROFILE

WITHIN THE SUSTAINABLE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Hospitality industry has to make a bigger step toward a more sustainable future [18] and, in
consequence, the need for sustainable behaviors will greatly increase. Even it may seem paradoxical, most
sustainability related actions ignore the most vital portion of the Hospitality industry - the people [18].
Human capital is a vital resource that provides substantial competitive advantage for Hospitality
organization [7]. The way the service is provided by the Hospitality employee is critical to the customers
overall enjoyment of the product or experience being purchased [7]. Therefore the story of successful
Hospitality organizations is largely about people [6]. With such critical importance of Hospitality
employees, this industry is forced to make a move toward sustainable employee development [18].
Some of the biggest challenges facing the Hospitality organizations which are trying to develop in a
sustainable way are: a high rate of employee turnover [19]; the image of low skills and poor pay; it being
seasonal and/ or part time and highly feminized; it offering few chances for promotions and wage raises
[13].
In this context, the main aim for Hospitality organizations has to be to develop and maintain a
stable and sustainable workforce [20] in a very complex environment due to the unique multigenerational
architecture of labor force that exists nowadays [19].
MEETING THE PRESENT GENERATIONS OF HOSPITALITY EMPLOYEES
It is vital for Hospitality employers to familiarize with the particularities of each social generation of
workers because managing a multigenerational workforce means gaining sustainable competitive advantage
[4]. The Hospitality workplace requires collaboration and cooperation among workers from different
generations to deliver the best possible service to customers [11]. The generational gap/ intergenerational
conflict are likely to negatively inuence the service delivery [11]. Therefore, understanding the main
particular traits, values and behaviors of each social generation of workers is crucial for Hospitality
organizations in order to successfully surpass the generational gap and develop a sustainable
workforce.
Individuals are indeed unique, but those of similar age can have common experiences of historical or
social significance, which can lead to common values and behaviors [8]. Managers of Hospitality
organizations are working with multigenerational teams; hence they need to understand characteristics and
communication preferences of employees from the three present working Generations (Baby Boomers, X
Gen and Y Gen/ Millenials) and find ways to address their specific needs in order to enhance the Hospitality
organizations workplace environment [16]. Also, they need to accept that each generation brings unique and
valuable assets to the workplace.
A short presentation of the main particularities of the three Generations of employees who are
actively working at present is given below [2, 1, 3, 18, 11, 16, 5, 4, 12, 17 and 8]:

AGE
WITH

SUSTAINABILITY

RELATIONSHIP

PRESENT

BABY BOOMERS
(approx.) 50-70

They are the inventors of sustainability.

They have conceived the main conceptual definitions and values of Sustainability.
They are proud of their theoretical baby, but they are respecting the values of Sustainability
into their own real lives only if it is for their own comfort and wellbeing.
Sustainability is mainly about ecological issues.
They do not see sustainability as a source of gaining immediate competitive advantage.

CHARACTERIMAIN
STICS AND
VALUES
THE
FOR
SUGGESTED
GENERATIONMANAGINGSTRATEGIES

1. They live to work workaholics priorities are work, their own interests, ethic and
principles
2. They like to be in charge great visionaries
3. They are not tech savvy
4. They have never developed multitasking
5. They respect authority and hierarchy in the work place
6. They are very loyal and expect loyalty job security is crucial
7. They like details
8. They enjoy and want personal gratication but, they are willing to wait their turn for
promotions and rewards
9. They like to be mentors they are the most egocentric generation
10. They do not like those who do not share their vision and values dislike laziness
11. They are idealistic and highly competitive
12. They have an all-comprising approach to information they like to provide everything on a
specific topic
13. They prefer face-to-face communication open &direct speech
1. Consider Mentor programming classic techniques give them a chance to mentor younger
generations by utilizing their life experiences.
2. Create opportunities for them to be rewarded, recognized and respected.
3. Offer face-to-face communication opportunities (meetings, public events).
4. Take into consideration their training about multigenerational issues and problems.
5. Give their full attention and show them respect.
6. Provide public recognition opportunities and perks for their performance.
7. Provide continued opportunities to upgrade their existing skills and even acquire new ones
(through classic training programs or Reverse mentoring techniques).

SUSTAINABILITYWITHRELATIONSHIP AGE PRESENT

GENERATION X
(approx.) 30-50

They are the developers of sustainability.

They have analyzed, described and made clear the main conceptual aspects and values of
Sustainability, revealing its complex and comprehensive nature.
They are the creators of the Sustainability Best Practices concept.
They are the educators of how the sustainability values should be put into practice.
Sustainability is in their way of behave; they want to act sustainable because they understand its
importance for them and for their kids.
Sustainability is about the three pillars.
They started the theoretical demonstration of sustainability being a source of gaining competitive
advantage.

VALUESSTICS ANDCHARACTERIMAIN

GENERATIONTHEMANAGINGFORSTRATEGIESSUGGESTED

1. They work to live the life/work balance is the most important priorities are leisure time, life
experiences, family and freedom
2. They are very self-reliant and self-sufcient they work better in isolation/ are no team-workers
sometimes they lack interpersonal skills
3. They are tech savvy they have great respect for technology
4. They have multitasking skills
5. They are rebel against authority they tend to complain about everything they are
pessimistic
6. They are not very loyal to any particular company they change jobs they are very skeptical,
self-focused and self-protective at work
7. They like to have fun while working
8. They are very impatient they are immediately solving problems they want instant reward
and recognition through title, praise, promotion, and pay
9. They search for mentors with experience
10. They dislike ignorance and red tape
11. They are eclectic, resourceful and adaptive
12. They have a get-to-the-point approach to information they like to synthesize information
13. They prefer e-mail communication straightforward&informal speech multicommunicating
1. Consider mentor programming.
2. Clearly communicate the objectives and provide autonomy and resources to get things done.
3. Give them several things to do at a time and let them take control of prioritizing
4. Conceive really exible schedules for them.
5. Spend time assessing their performances and give them candid, frequent constructive feed-back.
Give them immediate recognition through title, praise, promotions and pay.
6. Invest in technology - they see investments in technology as an investment in themselves and in
their work
7. Offer to them Leadership training programs for successful Succession planning.
8. Take into consideration offering them training about multigenerational issues and problems/
generational communication training.
9. Be direct with them.
10. Offer free workout facilities, free childcare facilities and free meals.
11. Do not micromanage.
12. Avoid unnecessary meetings.
13. Encourage informal, open communication.
14. Provide short learning activities.
15. Teach them to avoid stereotypes based on ageism through classic mentorship or reverse
mentorship techniques.
16. Offer real job enrichment sources and authentic life and work experiences.

SUSTAINABILITYWITHRELATIONSHIP AGEPRESENT

MILLENIALS/ GENERATION Y
(approx.) 10-30

They are putting into practice sustainability values together they are transforming the world
They are very civic-minded and put a high value on volunteering.
They act sustainable because they accepted sustainability values as being their generation values
and that is their way of acting. They dont question whether sustainability is good or bad; it is
theirs and they have to put it into practice together. They also choose to act sustainable because it
is trendy.
They believe in their own collective power and therefore they consider its their generation - and
not their parents that will do the most to help the environment over the next twenty-five years
[8]

VALUESSTICS ANDCHARACTERIMAIN

1. They work to get connected the life/work balance is vital they are hard and ambitious
workers but they are not workaholics their priorities are friends and family
2. They are great collaborators and favor teamwork they embrace diversity, tolerance and
multiculturalism
3. They are very tech savvy
4. They have significant multitasking skills they assimilate information quickly they are
smarter than most people think
5. They respect and trust authority but they are rule challengers (not breakers) they are likely
to challenge workplace norms
6. They are not very loyal they keep their career options open they change career or build
parallel careers
7. They like to share their work
8. They are very self-condent and have high self-esteem they need lots of praisals
9. They value professional development and seek mentors to show them the ropes they are eager
to learn they have a high dependence on managers for mentoring they have developed an
inability to act independently
10. They dislike negativity and things going slow
11. They are optimistic they have unrealistic expectations
12. They have an apparent superficial/ ignorant approach to information if & when needed,
can be found online
13. They prefer any form of technology to communicate respectful speech
multicommunicating

GENERATIONTHEMANAGINGFORSTRATEGIESSUGGESTED

1. Consider Mentor programming classic and new techniques such as Reverse mentoring
techniques, which are based on role-reversal, offering to younger/new employees the opportunity to
assist older workers with technology and thus reversing traditional roles at work.
2. Clearly communicate the objectives and expectations and provide autonomy and resources to get
things done. Clearly explain what the steps are for promotion.
3. Give them several things to do at a time and let them take control of prioritizing.
4. Be flexible when it comes to workplace norms such as dress codes, standard workday and
employeesupervisor relations.
5. Provide exible schedules.
6. Spend time assessing younger employees, give them frequent constructive feed-back and praise.
7. Invest in up-to-date technology.
8. Take into consideration training programs about multigenerational issues and problems.
9. Dont treat them like being immature. Treat them with respect and embrace their fresh
perspectives in order to make them feel important and part of the team. Also, ask for their opinions.
10. Offer more responsibility as a reward for their accomplishments.
11. Provide help and guidance for improving their interpersonal skills. In this context, offer
opportunities for them to socialize with other employees make them feel like they are a part of a
bigger family.
12. Provide short meetings with online training opportunities.
13. Assign to them working tasks that are interesting, meaningful, &important.
14. Prepare succession plans which include them and internally promote the future sustainability
of the organization.
15. Offer them opportunities to develop strong, even personal relationships with their superiors at
workplace and outside workplace.
16. Do not criticize them directly.
17. They like authenticity but they are less creative than older generations, so they must be taught/
helped with this issue, for example, by offering them new/authentic jobs (use/conceive job names
that sound unique because unique is trendy for them).
18. Demonstrate your commitment to diversity
19. Keep them actively engaged and do not allow them to be bored at work.
20. Offer them a combination of financial and nonfinancial incentives (the so-called "cafeteria
approach").
21. Develop employee volunteer events or workplace credit linked to volunteer hours in the
community.
22. Build an organizational climate that allows them to look at their workplace teams as a pseudofamily.
23. Develop training mainly around the concept of team. Incorporate new technology components
into their training systems.
24. Use Internal brand management techniques in order to provide role clarity for them and to
obtain stronger brand commitment from them.
25. Develop a Green Team for the purpose of employee input, progressive sustainable
development, and access to sustainability information for all employees.

Hospitality organizations have to identify authentic ways to build intergenerational equity and
empathy at workplace for their employees in order to develop in a more socially sustainable way. Also,
sustainability has truly become an imperative for this industry because nowadays employees are interested in
working for companies that strive to create sustainable economic, social and environmental prosperity
worldwide [9].
FOCUSING ON THE Y GENERATION OF HOSPITALITY EMPLOYEES
Within the last ten years, the new Y Generation of young workers has started entering the workforce,
proving to be significantly different from their predecessors [8]. They are much more numerous than the
X-ers [4]. Also, in the next few years, we will witness a concentrated exodus of Boomers from the
workforce [5]. In this context, due to the fact that the Millenials will become the main component of the
Hospitality workforce, Hospitality managers need to focus on them. Another important motivation for

focusing on the Y Employees is that they are much likely to become loyal/to be retained than the Xers, of
course through the right strategies. They worth being highly-regarded because they will correct what they
will perceive to be the mistakes of the Boomers and Xers by placing positivism over negativism, trust over
cynicism, science over spiritualism, team over self, duties over rights, honor over feeling, action over
words [12]. They actually have the potential to stay at the top as they grow older [12] and to positively
influence the world we live in. Therefore, it is the responsibility of present Hospitality managers to help
them be best selves.
Being called the hottest commodity on the job market [1], the Yers are arriving in organizations
expecting more than any other previous generation, not only expecting, but demanding what they want out
of the work environment [1]. An organization which is not prepared to manage the Yers puts itself at greater
risks than losing talents because they are so well connected with one another that if an organization does
not match their expectations, they can tell thousands of their cohorts in just a click of the mouse [1].
By consequence, the Y employees worth being treated like talents in the Hospitality industry
and therefore organizations will have to make real efforts to satisfy, motivate and retain this ever challenging
generation. Becoming talent-magnets [6] has become a true responsibility for Hospitality companies
nowadays in order to properly address the social component of the sustainability imperative.
DEALING WITH THE WAR FOR TALENTS WITHIN HOSPITALITY ORGANIZATIONS
Because Hospitality organizations vitally rely on talented and devoted people, the fight for
attracting, retaining and transforming such human resources in precious assets for the companies was
named the "war for talent" [6]. In the new generational context, even if unemployment rates are currently
high, the war for talent in the Hospitality industry still exists and will only escalate as the economy
recovers [5]. Several major triggers of the ongoing war for talent were identified in the Hospitality
industry [2, 15], such as:
the continuing growth in specialization;
the desideratum to manage diversity;
the shortage of the right skills (hard-to-fill vacancies);
the change in the psychological contract (talented people need the organization less than the
organization needs talented people);
the flexibility imperative of X and Y Generations.
As a consequence of the war for talent phenomenon, a new specialty was born the talent
management. The core aspect about talent management is that it is based on the assumption that there is
potential in each and every one, and any approach should be to try to release that [2]. Because both X
and Y generations are great fans of authenticity and they like things to be very clear, the key to successful
talent management in the present generational context lies within differentiation each Hospitality
organization should differentiate itself, as an authentic Employer, through creating its own organizational
definition of talent and through conceiving the accompanying talent strategy.
The reinvented respect key concept to winning the war for Y and X talents
The concept of respect has been reinvented by the X and Y Generations of Employees. Thus, for
the Y and X Hospitality employee, respect also means: empathy, authenticity, meaningfulness [19] and
the opportunity to be best selves at work while enjoying personal life [14]. Employers who show them
such comprehensive respect will certainly obtain the same content of respect from their employees. It means
that the Y and X employees have a huge potential to become truly valuable assets for Hospitality
organizations if they get what they ask for reinvented respect.
Another key word when it comes to X and Y employees is creativity; there is a great need for
creativity in the HR departments in Hospitality organizations in order to meet the needs of these two
Generations of employees. New and more attractive names has to be invented for jobs in Hospitality in
order to make them attractive for X and especially Y employees who hate standardization (such as brand
officer, innovation officer, green officer). The Xers like to be unique individuals; Millenials like
uniqueness because it is trendy it defines their generation, everything new, one-of-a-kind is attractive
because its trendy. For the Xers, new is attractive too but only because it offers them the possibility to be
unique, exceptional. By consequence, the fact that these two Generations crave for authenticity represents
the trigger for the Hospitality commitment to creativity and innovation.

Several years ago, it was the employee who had to match the culture of the organization [7]
Nowadays, taking into consideration the sustainability imperative, Hospitality organizations have to build a
right climate (interrelations) and culture (core values of the organization) and tailor the appropriate HR
techniques [7] in order to suit the particularities and needs of each present working Generation.
Research studies demonstrated that employees in Hospitality nowadays value at an organization:
team and people orientation, innovation, valuing customers and life, honesty and ethics [7]. These and all the
above-mentioned ones (respect and creativity) are important challenges for Hospitality organizations
nowadays. And new threats are coming! For instance, experts have recently identified an even bigger
challenge for the Hospitality industry - organizations with satisfied and committed employees still
experience employee high turnover [19]. They proposed the strategy to make the employees feel more
embedded in their organization. The concept of Job Embeddedness [19] refers to: (a) the links people have
to other people or activities, (b) the fit between people within the organization and their personal lives, and
(c) the sacrifice people have to make if they quit. [19] The stronger the links, fit and sacrifice are, the more
an employee will feel professionally and personally embedded in their organization [19].
LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF EMPLOYEES
The social generation coming after the Y Generation has no officially accepted name. They have
been called Homelanders or the Z Generation and they are approx. 0 to 10 years old at present. Their
personality is being shaped by their Xer parents. They will live in a world shaped by the Yers. By
consequence, they will share both Xers and Yers values. Like the Xers, they will be individualists and
authentic human beings, by definition. Like the Yers, they will be high-tech, well prepared [10], socially
responsible and active. It has been said that the Y and Z generations have in common that they quit talking
and start doing [12]. Also, it has recently been stated that theres a revolution under way among todays
kids a good news revolution. This generation is going to rebel by behaving not worse, but better [12].
The Z Generation will certainly be genuinely sustainable people. Learning how to develop a
sustainable workforce through talent management of the Yers and Xers will definitely help Hospitality
organizations get prepared for the coming of the Z Employees in less than ten years from now. As recently
stated, battles for minds will dominate the future [2].

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