by Jen Whitfield

Created on: January 04, 2008

Generation Y is changing the face of the business world as we know it.

Generation Y, Echo Boomers, Millennium Generation, Gamersfew of the many names for the baby bulge. Estimated at 70 million strong, the generation born between 1977 and 2002 only fall two million short of the baby boom. Some are too young to have forged a name for themselves while some are forging full steam ahead.

According to Bruce Tulgan, founder of RainmakerThinking, Generation Y is the fastest growing segment of the workforce, growing from 14 percent to 21 percent over the past few years. Gen Y is young, independent, wired differently than any other generation and supervising folks old enough to be their parents.

Employers are beginning to recognize the value of Gen Yers and are examining new ways to recruit younger workers. Joe Hammill, director of talent acquisition for Xerox says, "Gen Y is very important. Xerox and other Fortune-type companies view this emerging workforce as the future of our organization."

What sets Gen Y apart?

Generation Y is more diverse than any generation before it. One in three is not Caucasian, one in four lives in a single-parent household and three in four have working mothers (OnPoint Marketing and Promotions). And Gen Yers are exposed to more foreign media by the age of 10 than most baby boomers see in their lifetimes.

Above all else, Gen Y also grew up with a massive amount of technology right at their fingertips. Youngsters these days are performing Google searches before they are potty trained. To Generation Y, the internet isn't new, home computers always were, and the Jetsons lifestyle doesn't seem too far in the future. But the major player in Gen Y's technological boost to career stardom may surprise you: video games.

Boston.com conducted a nationwide survey of about 2,500 business professionals with a goal of distinguishing between those who grew up playing video games and those who did not. According to Boston.com, professionals who grew up playing video games make better business people. They are more serious about achievement; more attached to the company they work for and the people they work with; more flexible, persistent problem-solvers; and are more willing to take only the risks that make sense.

For the love of the game:
The gaming technology itself does not necessarily matter; its how that technology changes the way you think. Children play the most video games at the same ages when the basic neural pathways of the brain are being formed and

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