Nokia is not the only company trying to get inside the heads of its youngest employees. talentsmoothie, a London-based organisational development consultancy, runs seminars on understanding and managing Generation Y, which are popular with many sectors, including the financial services, legal and financial sectors.

Sally Bibb, talentsmoothie's co-founder and director, says she is often asked whether Generation Y is really that different from other generations and whether they won't just "become like Generation X or baby boomers when they reach 40?

"The answer to that is no," says Bibb, who is also the author of Generation Y for Rookies: From Rookie to Expert in a Week. "The reason is they've grown up in a completely different world. They've been brought up in a world with the internet. They're natives, whereas the rest of us are immigrants so we have to translate our experience into the online world."

The other reason why Generation Y is different is because of the liberalisation of parenting and education, Bibb adds. From childhood they have been asked to participate in decision-making, whether at school or at home. This means there are distinct differences in how they learn and how they like to be managed. While older employees tend to see the world as a hierarchy, their younger colleagues think of it as a social network and are not afraid to challenge authority, says Bibb. She advises clients to involve younger workers in decisions, take the time to explain why things are done and give regular feedback.

"Generation Y love feedback because they really want to learn and they really want to get better at what they do, whereas the older generations tend to think of feedback as a negative thing," she says.