This is why I wish I belonged to Generation Y

I am not here to crucify Generation Y, I actually wish I was born in their time. It took me A long time to have the privilledge of resting my behind on a swinging chair Im sitting in as i write this; as if sitting on hard wood wasn't enough in both primary and secondary school, my first, second and third office furniture was no different from the furniture I used in school.

The first time I got into employment, I wasn't even allocated a seat for crying out loud! All I was told was that since I spent 70 percent of my day in the field, I would not need a chair anyway. So I resorted to securing my behind on empty seats whenever I popped into the office and their owners were away.

That was back then, now let's look at the life and times of Generation Y. Someone gets from college and even before graduating they secure themselves positions in big organisations and just like that, they debut their careers on swinging chairs soft enough to replace a masseuse's touch.

Before you know it, they are 'catching up' in social joints with the high and mighty in the organisations they work for and even taking one for the road together.

Isn't this one lucky lot? I remember when I first got employed, I was not even given the opportunity to be introduced to the management team. In fact, I was just shown my desk, my immediate boss and the bathroom.

The first time I ever laid my eyed on our organisation's director was at a parking lot in a supermarket when a colleague noted his car parked outside and suggested we stay put at the parking lot until he showed up. That was the only way I was ever going to lay my eyes on him. I remember standing in the scorching sun waiting to see him for over 20 minutes when he finally appeared walking towards us.

I was tensed when I saw him approaching us and for a moment I was sure I was about to pee on myself. He got to us, passed us like we were mannequins, got into his car and drove away. Just like that, I had been introduced to my director. I later figured out that my fellow colleague who had been in the organisation for two years had never met him personally as well.

This introduction to the employment world installed in me the impression that these people were untouchables and it took me years to uninstall the software from my brain.

Anytime I would see anyone from the management team ahead of me whether it was in the office or at a public place, I would look the other way, freeze and hold my breath until they had passed. If any of them walked into our office and found me standing, I would quickly sit and bow my head and vice versa. These people never talked to employees. They always wore that stern face as if warning you about the next five minutes of your life.

That's why today as I sit on this chair swinging left and right, I marvel at how the Generation Y has brought sweet change. In this generation, an employee can afford to park their V8 next to the director's Toyota Premio and they will both laugh about it. An employee can afford to call the director's direct line and enquire about one or two things.

Before, you would not even know the director had an office, leave alone a direct line. You could be caught dead standing next to a director's car, leave alone parking. To some new employees, you would not even know you have a director!

For sure, this is the luckiest generation I have come across career wise, even though they have mounted pressure on some of us to up our game. Because of you generation Y, I no longer have to hide at a parking lot to spot my boss.