Let’s get something straight: Gen-Y wants to work with you, not for you. Yes, its members have short attention spans, their attention to detail is poor, and they expect instant access to any level of the organisation. But they also have abundant energy, they are IT savvy, and they want to work for organisations that are ethical. One final thing: they are ambitious.

Renowned for their arrogance and fleeting company ties, Generation Y workers are now more loyal thanks the adverse economic climate a new survey has revealed.

Nearly half of Generation Y employees in Canada say they routinely bypass IT usage policies and a quarter of them face no repercussions for doing so, according to a national study conducted by IT World Canada and Harris/Decima.

When Bill Horne sauntered into an evening meet-and-greet being held by a local packaging company in search of fresh IT talent, the retired computer engineer knew his chances of leaving the event with a job offer were slim.

Generation Y is known for being high-maintenance in the workplace. So when an economic downturn brings Gen Y workers pink slips instead of promotions, you might think they'll wither like flowers. In fact, they may be better positioned for survival than their older co-workers.

Gen Y'ers are used to checking their e-mail, Facebook updates, and texting friends and family whenever they want. But new university graduates might be in for a rude awakening when they join the workforce and find that many of the tools they view as essential aren't allowed or banned altogether.