The Millennial generation, or Generation Y, has entered the workplace and their Baby Boomer parents are keeping a closer eye on them than ever before, in many cases taking a very active role in post-college recruitment that continues through a Millennial's young career. Many leading employers are, perhaps unwillingly, embracing the idea of so-called “helicopter parents,” so just how has this swinging change in demographics affected the workplace?

Many Generation Y experts define a Millennial as under 30 or born between 1979 and 1998. As a group, or stereotype, they are tech savvy, keen to succeed quickly and friendly with or reliant on their parents much more so than Generation X that preceded them. Both groups had very different influences and patterns of parental involvement from a young age. Trick is, Generation Y started entering the workplace after college or grad school about three years ago, which is when some surprising tales started emerging from employers about helicopter parents.

Annika Hylmo, a partner with the Interchange Group, which offers consulting services to businesses, says instances of helicopter parenting in the workplace are "definitely more prevalent." She adds: "Parents are in the background. It is impacting workplaces significantly. It adds to workloads, managing both parents and offspring. When you're not only dealing with an employee conflict, or a review that didn't go well, the parents are calling in, 'Why did my little Johnny get a bad review?' That's something that HR has to deal with.

"A lot of younger employees want to take their parents to the workplace to show them around. It becomes almost a given, or they would participate in a family day. Younger people are staying in touch with their parent even at work, often several times a day.

Phillis Weiss, a generational expert and author of The Rainmaking Machine, agrees. "We've heard of a couple instances of parents calling up when they were unhappy with performance reviews. People are talking to their parents five times a day. They ask a lot of questions now in the workplace; it drives their bosses crazy. If they expect an immediate response from a manager, they might not get it.” Heidi Golledge, CEO of Cybercoders, confirms that a candidate will often ask to run their compensation package past their parents before they accept or reject the offer.

Some employers have adjusted their hiring or workplace practices to the new generation. Both Dow Chemical and Merrill Lynch offer a parents day to let young employees show their parents their workplace. Many are increasingly tailoring their recruitment materials to the parents of a recruit.

Anna Livey, a career coach and Generation Y expert, says: "In some ways there's an opportunity. There are plenty of Gen Y'rs who are professional and mature and they are really sticking out now. There's now a meaningful way to distinguish themselves."

Source: Aol.com

About Fred Harteis: Fred Harteis leads Harteis International.    Fred Harteis has a background in agriculture and has created many successful business ventures.