Abstract
This chapter focuses on employers and their experiences of emerging and young adults in the workplace. Although there was consensus between emerging and young adults and employers as they described the workplace environment—a highly competitive arena, devoid of loyalty—assessments regarding how to best navigate this challenging terrain diverged. Given a marketplace in flux, tensions, misunderstandings, and resentments were likely to occur. Employers tended to view emerging and young adults as nonconforming and not committed to corporate norms. On the other hand, they overwhelmingly noted the flexibility and comfort with diversity emerging and young adults brought to their work environments. Common themes among employers included the perception that emerging adults are self-absorbed. Employers also focused on the role of mentoring, the impact of technology, and issues related to work–life balance. Finally, consideration of how both employers and employees can maximize their workplace contributions and minimize the worst effects of intergenerational tensions is provided.
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Konstam, V. (2015). Voices of Employers: Overlapping and Disparate Views. In: Emerging and Young Adulthood. Advancing Responsible Adolescent Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11301-2_10
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