It appears that it is not just accountants that are feeling the pain as lifestyle centered Gen Y'ers enter the workforce. The lawyers are feeling it too. Not just in the US as this article suggests but in Australia as well. I have seen some frightening attrition figures for some of Australia's leading firms amongst graduates. The reason; there is a generation of partners who gave up a great deal in terms of time and energy to make it to the level they are at, who are now managing Generation Y graduates and junior associates who fully expect to reach the same level of career success but want to do it working 40 hours a week and having a social life, instead of the 90 hours the current partners had to do.
The legal industry is at an advantage becuase they have no problem attracting the best talent, however as time progresses they seem to be having a problem retaining them. With estimates as high as $190,000 for replacement costs for a 3rd year graduate in a national law firm, this is no small cost either.
Similarly for the accounting profession, the business model most law firms are built on is going to make it difficult to manage Generation Y. The profitability of the firm is directly proportionate to the billable hours that can be achieved. Therefore, there is an inbuilt desire for partners to have their staff working as many hours as possible. As a generation who have an outcome focus, not a process focus, they will see no need to do "long" hours if they can get the job done in a shorter time. Not to mention the ethical debate about what activities those extended hours are filled with.
The US study conducted by Edge International, a professional services consulting firm, found that the 25- to 30-year-old group ranked the following factors as motivators at their jobs:
- time for personal life
- opportunities for advancement
- professional growth
- achievement
- intrinsic nature of work
- security
- leadership
- and being a member of a team.
US Article: http://www.nylawyer.com/news/05/02/022805h.html
