While other kids on my block were eating Fruit Loops and watching cartoons on Saturday mornings, my weekends were spent working along side my father out in the garage or at the small print shop he owned in Denver.  He would allow my four sisters to sleep until eight on weekends, but he got me up for bacon and eggs at a quarter-to-seven so we would have the energy to get our work done and “wouldn’t waste any daylight.”

W. Grant Chester, my father, was raised by a single mother during the Great Depression and was forced to drop out of school in 10th grade to help support his family. But what he lacked in formal education he more than made up for in drive, ingenuity, and work ethic, and he was determined to pass these values on to his only son. 

So while we were working side-by-side on the weekends, dad would hit me with an endless barrage of clichés (and original ‘Grant-isms’) designed to teach me about hard work, sacrifice, success, and money.  The timeless truths and precious values are now permanently etched on my brain: “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.” “Put some elbow grease on it.” “No one’s ever going to give you anything in this life; you’ve got to earn it.” “You sign your name to each and every job you do, so take pride in it.” “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” “Don’t ever let a little hard work scare you.” ”The harder you work, the luckier you’ll be.”

If you’re north of forty, I’d bet you heard at least some of these before.

Now flash forward.

Outside of the Gen Y’s who were raised on a farm, what percentage of your front line workforce would you estimate has heard similar messages from their parents? What percentage are hard-wired to get up and get productive at the crack of dawn, cut the grass, do the dishes, and shovel the snow off the walk—without being begged or bribed?

Conversely, how many of your young, emerging leaders believe that good enough is good enough and if they can manage to lay low and fly under the radar they can get by with the minimum daily requirement and coast ‘til something better comes along?

Ouch.

We all agree that teens and twenty-somethings approach work in a radically different way, but most of us struggle with understanding why. And we’re really lost when it comes to motivating them to get out the elbow grease and take pride in their work if there’s not an immediate pat-on-the-back or tangible reward attached.

I like money, and I love praise. However, I learned years ago that it didn’t take either to motivate me to work. Whether I’m clicking out an article on my laptop or planting a tree in my yard, hard work feels darn good. Nothing else provides the same satisfaction as tackling a difficult project and seeing it through to completion. But I don’t know if I would have this view of work had I not spent Saturdays with dad in the garage or at the print shop.

Messaging Influences Behavior

As adults, we live out the messages that were engrained in our hearts and minds throughout our youth. That’s why as parents, we take great care to protect our children from harmful influences. This is getting harder to do, but even if you succeed in blocking the bad, where are they supposed to see the good played out?

A study by Yankelovich Research concludes that Americans are exposed to almost three times the number of advertisements that they were thirty years ago, and this figure does not include the enormous amount of ads on the Internet. Unquestionably, advertising that encompasses imagery and messaging impacts human behavior.

Look around your workspace and you’re likely to see motivational messages and inspirational quotes imprinted on your mouse pad, calendar, and coffee mug, and you may walk by two or three framed Successories posters featuring eagles, waterfalls, or mountain tops that offer clever sayings and thought-provoking axioms.

By themselves, these ubiquitous messages are not going to propel you to a greater level of productivity or make you stay past quittin’ time, but they may help keep you focused or philosophically balanced when you're traveling down a rocky road.

Most of these kinds of messages are targeted a mature or experienced adult. Not much is available in the way of inspiration and direction that appeals to a young mind beyond the ridiculously trite mantra “don’t give up on your dream.” (I believe that there are millions of people who should ‘give up on their dream’ and get serious about their work, but that’s a topic for another day.)

Eager to tap into the billions Gen Y annually pumps into the national economy, marketers are consistently searching for new and creative ways to get them to buy. Employers who want to tap into this rich talent pool need to match that effort in order to get them to buy-in.

Here are three steps to get buy-in and develop work ethic.

1. Create a list of a half dozen quotes, axioms or “(your name)isms” that you want etched on the minds of everyone who reports to you. Keep them short, simple, easy-to-remember, and positive. Refrain from anything that makes people feel stupid or incompetent. These are used to build work ethic, not destroy it. Gradually, begin to interject these in teen meetings and individual coaching sessions.

2. Embrace imagery. Reinforce your key messages with icons, images, posters, and subtle imprints on workplace communication pieces like schedules, notes, and meeting agendas.

3. Keep relevant. Search for fresh, relevant messaging and imagery that speaks to the mindset of today’s teens and young adults. Telling them to “keep their nose to the grindstone” means about as much to them as “rich, chocolatey center”.

Share Whys News

Whys News is published by Generation Why. Copyright © 2010 ChesPress Publications. All rights reserved. www.GenerationWhy.com.

back to top