Do more asking and less telling. Be flexible. Build partnerships.

Those were central themes that emerged during a recent roundtable discussion, "Managing Young Employees in a Tight Labor Market," sponsored by Washington CEO Magazine as part of its "Best Companies to Work For" event.

More than 50 area business and private nonprofit leaders, including CEOs, senior vice presidents, vice presidents of human resources and senior-level managers, gathered to discuss how to manage workers from Generation X and Generation Y, and how those workers' attitudes and expectations are changing workplace culture.

The definitions of Generations X and Y vary. Generally speaking, Generation X includes anyone born from 1961 to 1981, while Generation Y includes anyone born from 1978 to 2000. Roundtable participants said that, unlike baby boomers, workers in their 20s and 30s expect more latitude in how they approach their jobs and, while they want to be paid well, they also want to keep learning as they build their careers.

Bryan Moore, human resources manager for Kitsap Mental Health Services, says many baby boomers exchanged career happiness and mobility for money and long-term security. By contrast, young workers embrace mobility and see only career choices, and therefore are more willing to move from job to job seeking career satisfaction, education and pay. As a result, Moore says, young workers expect companies to be partners who help them improve, not places they go to punch a clock. "We have to be flexible," Moore says.

Michael Cindric, vice president of human resources for Comcast, said the rise of young workers in the workplace prompted his company to rework its coaching model so that managers are expected to spend 75 percent of their time listening to employees and 25 percent of their time instructing them.

Young workers also expect to be self-directed, not bossed around, says Scott Ofstead, vice president of human resources for Kibble & Prentice. And listening more enables managers to build creative partnerships with young workers that lead to more productivity and better performance. "They value lifelong learning," Ofstead said.

They also expect to be allowed, when needed, to handle personal issues at work, Ofstead said. And young workers possess the kind of multitasking skills that enable them to handle personal phone calls and to instant-message friends at work while also getting their work done. If you punish them for taking time to do those things, it only creates an unproductive "us vs. them" situation, Ofstead said. "Let people direct their own day."

Dean Allen, CEO of McKinstry Co., said young workers also expect to have a little fun on the job and, unlike some baby boomers, to not feel so guilty about it later that they put in extra hours. And if the office college basketball pool takes a couple of hours away from work, that's OK, Allen said. "We don't take ourselves so seriously."