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There are a couple of terms that have become more popular as Gen Y and the Digitals grow older – “Adultescent” and “Kidult.” These are the workers who are taking their time growing up or never do at all. A 2008 redo of the Peter Pan syndrome. These new terms have roots in the problems you may be experiencing when trying to hire and retain the Gen Y worker.

If you have such workers in your workplace, you know how difficult it is to understand them, much less extract some loyalty. Here’s a brief overview of what we’re talking about. Time magazine ran a story about this topic and introduced us to Matt Swann, a 27-year-old American male who took six and a half years to graduate from college with a degree in cognitive science, and is just starting to figure out what he wants to do with his life.

Matt was asked if he was looking forward to marriage, family and owning a home. “I don’t ever want a lawn,” he said. “I do not want to be a parent. I mean … why would I? There’s so much fun to be had while you’re young.”

Matt is living in what social scientists have identified as a new stage of life development: extended adolescence. Dubbed “adultescence,” it covers the ages of 18 to 29 and beyond. Sociologists claim that putting off adulthood has become a permanent trend among American youth and now young adults. As this seems to be a trademark of their generation, we have no choice but to come to grips with this social phenomenon.

Adultescents (a.k.a. kidults) often live with their parents, even after college, while hopping from job to job and relationship to relationship.

“Most of their needs are taken care of by Mom and Dad, so their income is largely discretionary,” Time reported. “(They’re) living at home, but if you look, you’ll see flat-screen TVs in their bedrooms and brand-new cars in the driveway.”

Another difficulty you run into with this group is that they cannot handle difficult conversations or corrective actions. Instead of working through issues with co-workers, managers, supervisors etc, they just quit. As a hiring manager you have to ask yourself, do I just accept this and chalk it up to generational differences or can I still get loyalty and solid production out of these people?

I believe the answer to the second half of the question is yes. When approached correctly, they’re a viable work force. We have to accept that our current work environment may not be enticing in the long term to the members of Gen Y, much less to the Adultescent. The retooling of the work environment and culture to match the largest generational needs of workers should always be a top priority. Ultimately, these workers are focused on themselves, and when they believe the company shares their focus you can gain loyalty.

Show them you care about their career development, personal development, triathlon, charities … you get the picture. It takes time, effort and patience, but when the work culture is perfected, recruiting and retention will take care of themselves.

Nick Reddin is business development manager for Manpower’s Des Moines office.