When I think of Generation Y I'm reminded of one of my favorite David Bowie songs, Loving the Alien. Gen Y is a species unlike any other, but if you can avoid the trap of seeing them as a pain in the rear you can start to appreciate the positive impact they're having on workplaces.

I first clued into the fact that managing this age cohort is a different animal in 2005. A drugstore manager called me for a consultation about how to handle an odd situation. One of his Gen Y employees didn't show up for his shift. About 2 hours after the employee should have been at work, this manager received a phone call.

The caller was the employee's mother. Not surprisingly, the manager jumped to the conclusion that something terrible must have happened.

In fact, Mom was just calling to say that her son was taking the day off because he'd been up all night playing video games and needed sleep.

This was just the tip of the iceberg. I started talking to customers about Gen Y and heard the same stories over and over again: parents involving themselves in employee/employer matters, Gen Y'ers walking off the job because of a minor incident, quitting without giving notice and then asking for a reference ... no wonder managers are pulling their hair out over what to do with a generation more used to hearing, "you deserve to do or be anything you want in life" instead of that old chestnut of wisdom, "work hard and you'll succeed".

Like it or not, managers need to accept that Gen Y isn't going to change. Managers are the ones who need to adapt.

Gen Y has an intense need for social interactions. Stick a Gen Y in an office by herself for hours on end, and you're probably going to end up with an unhappy employee.

If you're in the Gen X age range or older, you were raised in a time when individual accomplishments were what counted. You knew that your final grade hinged on how well you could perform on exams and assignments. You may have had a few forward-thinking teachers who made a sizeable chunk of your final grade hinge on a team project but, overall, you were the captain of your destiny.

Gen Y was raised to understand the value of working in a team. Collaboration and sharing ideas comes much more naturally to them than the individualistic mentality of preceding generations. They're perfectly capable of doing tasks on their own, but they really shine when they can brainstorm and talk things through.

So what does all of this mean for a manager? If there are opportunities to get your Gen Y employees talking to each other, act on them. Arrange meetings where you can be present to show your support for them and to give overviews of what the company is doing. Don't be quick to assume that an employee chatting with someone else is either goofing off or doesn't know how to do his job.  He may be just gathering valuable information that will help him succeed.

Gen Y is all about teamwork. Working in isolation and not having a say in how things run is foreign to them. They're used to working in groups to find a popular consensus, and options are more familiar to them than direct orders.

Depending on your comfort zone, you may or may not be okay with getting questions and suggestions in response to a direct order. Obviously, there are times when there is no room for discussion. In other situations, giving Gen Y the mesage that their feedback matters--without creating the illusion that they have a full vote in your decision-making process--can go a long way to getting them on board with what you need done.

Another strategy that can help Gen Y accept orders and decisions is to give them some contextual information. This generation craves information; "because I said so" grates on everyone's ears, but Gen Y's tolerance for this approach is razor thin.

Common sense dictates that you wouldn't want to spend half your day giving a context for every small thing you're asking your employees to do. Nor should you provide justifications; as a manager, you have to explain yourself only to the higher ups in the food chain. But a general discussion about how a change in procedure will benefit the organization, or an explanation about why Plan A was picked instead of Plan B, can help Gen Y feel included and engaged.

Most people who are new to the working world aren't thrilled about having to start off in junior-level positions. Stocking shelves or doing data entry isn't terribly rewarding, and it's even less appealing when you can see your boss sitting at a comfortable desk doing what looks like a whole lot of nothing.

But most people understand that this is how the world works. Unless you have the right connections or an education that allows you to jump into the job of your choice, chances are you're going to have to pay your dues.

Gen Y understands this, too. Sort of. They know they're not going to get a dream job right off the bat, but they're not prepared to stick around indefinitely, slowly climbing the corporate ladder.

Lateral advancement can help keep this cohort engaged. Whenever possible, find out what areas and projects pique your Gen Y'ers interests, and give them opportunities to participate.

Training opportunities can also help satisfy Gen Y's need to pole vault to the top of the company. Developing skills that will help them get to where they want to be can ward off feelings of stagnation. Boomers and Gen X may be willing to stay in a dead-end job as long as the pay or other forms of compensation justifies it, but Gen Y isn't going to put up with boredom and stagnation.

This article is based on general trends that have been observed with respect to Gen Y. Like any other group of people, some of them will not fit with cohort trends. You will find Gen Y'ers who thrive on working alone, love overtime, or would rather die than have their mom or dad talk to their boss about anything.

If you have Gen Y in your workforce who fits the trends, it's up to you to make the workplace relationship a success. No, you can't permanently ban them from using computers for fear of wasting time on social networking sites. If taking more bathroom breaks is the only way to keep connected with their peers, you can count on an increase in scenarios when you'll ask, " Where's Jill? Oh, um ... again, huh? Maybe I should call HR and find out our policy on multiple lengthy bio-breaks."

The only thing you can really control is your attitude about Gen Y. Let's face it: if you think someone is a headache, you're going to treat them like a headache. And if you treat someone like a headache, take a wild guess about how they're going to respond to you.

Depending on how you view things, Gen Y is making a positive impact on workplaces.  Overtime and working weekends at the expense of relationships doesn't fly with this crowd.  Work/Life balance is becoming a reality instead of a platitude highlighted in workplace newsletters.

Gen Y isn't bad or lazy. They're simply behaving according to how they were raised: they are the best and the brightest, and there is no such thing as a loser. The world is their oyster. Your job is to help them go as far as they can without compromising you or your organization. It's up to them to accept that not every oyster has a pearl.