Many young employees are planning to change jobs as the New Year approaches. Though frequent job-hopping may have something to do with young people's attitude toward work, it also reflects the reality of the rapidly changing social economy. The difference in values that managers and young employees believe in is an important factor, too.

The above factors have prompted some managers to refer to young employees as "the lost generation", a stigmata that is offensive. Rather than using a derisive term to describe all young employees, such managers should try to improve their management skills by making efforts to understand the younger generation's mindset.

According to official figures, the number of people born in the 1980s in China is about 204 million. Assuming that the average graduate starts working at the age of 22, people born in the 1980s comprise a big part of the workforce today. Also, many of the people born in the early 1990s have become part of the workforce in the country's manufacturing sector.