Reckoning with Chinese Gen Y

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A typical answer was: "I would be instantly happy if my parents could have a beautiful house so they could feel really good." We then asked a follow-up. "And if you already had that, then what might your second wish be?" One answered in a flash: "I would like my parents to also have a fish pond in their garden."

The desire for harmony is exhibited in how the Chinese respondents describe their personality characteristics. Western respondents describe themselves in polar terms, while 46% of the Chinese presented themselves as seeking balance. When put into new environments, Chinese Gen Ys emphasize the development of new friendships while Western respondents focus almost entirely on the new aspects of a novel environment and the emotions arising from the experience. Chinese have higher interdependency; it is part of their cultural pattern emphasizing relationships and groups rather than individualism.

The single most surprising result of our research is that 70% of the young Chinese consider themselves spiritual, while only half the Westerners do so. Many Chinese respondents answered: "I don't have a religion but I believe in a universal power." More important, almost every Chinese interviewed used the word "destiny" in talking about their spirituality, regardless of whether they claimed adherence to a particular religion. Gen Y seems to be further expanding the resurgence of spiritual traditions described in a previous posting.

The evidence indicates that it is smart for the Chinese government to allow the expression of spiritual feelings in these channeled ways because the young generation needs it.

The Impact of Gen Y

Our research shows that Gen Yers remain deeply Chinese in their values and perceptions. They do not look like their grandparents, but their motivations and priorities are very similar. Chinese Gen Ys modernize, they do not Westernize.

Our research results show that Gen Y is the first group in China to seriously question one of these core values, as they challenge the preeminence of hierarchy. While they take for granted that hierarchy exists, Gen Yers are less willing than earlier generations to accept it. Hence some of the issues that employers raise about their young staff: "How do we get good results from someone who won't do what we say?" "How do we win their loyalty?" "Why don't they trust us?" These difficult questions demonstrate the area in which Gen Yers are least like their parents: unquestioning acceptance of hierarchy and authority.

For many Western China-watchers, it has been a question of when, rather than if, the Chinese young will claim the right to personal freedom in the wake of economic growth. Looking closely at the Chinese Gen Ys makes us wonder whether this assumption makes sense. Chinese Gen Ys want to keep their society built on collective harmony and effective relationship management. At the same time, their refusal to accept authority unquestioningly indicates a new level of critical thinking.

This combination is already causing difficulty in the workplace illustrating the inherent dilemma between maintaining harmony and questioning authority. Chinese culture is strong, and when these 240 million Chinese Gen Ys come into power we may see a progressive new face of this traditional society, but they will have to face the modern dilemma they are creating. In our next column, we will focus on Gen Y's new relationship to the workplace, looking at the challenges for their supervisors who need to find ways of managing Gen Y more effectively.

Lynton is faculty at the Euro-China Centre for Leadership and Responsibility at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai. With more than two decades of international experience in the private and public sectors, Lynton focuses on developing effective leadership in global organizations. Thøgersen is a professor at Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou and currently a visiting scholar at CEIBS. A Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Aarhus, she has worked in international clinics in Beijing and Brussels for 20 years while running a private counseling practice.

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