Generation X And
The Baby
Boomers At Work
Getting Past the Generation Gap
Two distinct generations walk the halls in
your office today, and chances are they're not saying
much as they pass by each other on their way to meetings
or lunch. The members of one generation, the baby boomers
(born between 1946 and 1964), have walked from your
company lunchroom to boardroom for years, first full of
spunk and optimism in the 1980s, then during the
heart-palpating insecurities of the 1990s. Now these
veterans carry with them a lot of knowledge and
experience. A history with the company, they say, gives
them an understanding the new generation just doesn't
have.
That new generation is Generation X (born between
1965 and 1979), a group far smaller in number than the
boomers. GenXers constitute about 20 percent of the total
population in the United States, vs. the boomer's 30
percent. Generation X watched 90s downsizing from the
classroom or television screen instead of witnessing it
via company-wide memorandum, and planned their career
paths accordingly. So while they're dedicated to the
company while employed, the fact that they don't expect
to be there forever is plain.
Few members of Generation X believe they will work
for one company for two or three decades, as the
generation before them did. The Families and Work
Institute's National Study of the Changing Workforce
found that only half of the GenXers surveyed think that a
company should provide lifelong employment.
As a result, Generation X has invested more
in education (64 percent have some education beyond high
school, as opposed to 44 percent of baby boomers,
according to the study) and value being highly trained.
They view their contributions to a company as important
and valuable, and expect to be paid a reasonable rate for
it immediately, as opposed to the long-term raises and
inflationary pay hikes of the boomer generation. GenXers
also expect to be given the information and technology
needed to contribute quickly and concisely, something the
generation before them viewed as a privilege.
Maybe you're starting to see the source of the
conflict here. Baby boomers are in it for the long haul
and have learned, through some stress and sacrifice, the
way things work. That knowledge is viewed as a merit by
boomers, and is not simply handed out at the door your
first day on the job. GenXers walk through the door and
expect to be given the information and technology they
need to do the job they've been hired for. It's not a
privilege, it's practical.
Add a little miscommunication to the mix, and
you've got a cache of curmudgeons who won't let people do
their jobs because they're "threatened," and a bunch of
irreverent upstarts who think they can do it all without
having a clue as to the real impact of their
actions.
Bang! The gun's gone off and the generation wars
have started in your company.
Today's Workplace
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, downsizing
defined the business era. New forms of technology paved
the way for more efficient processing of
work-computerized systems and processed numbers and
procedures faster in a more fluid way that required less
staff. As a result, almost everybody knew someone who
lost a job. For baby boomers, that someone was a friend,
a partner, a sister or brother. And for families with
kids in college or in the midst of building their dream
home, the experience was devastating.
Changes in the workplace have continued
to morph. Mergers and acquisitions continue to streamline
processes, so that departments are not duplicated, and
cumbersome service centers are outsourced. The result is
that the American economy is stronger than ever. We're
fast, efficient, clean and profitable. And we are not
going back.
The American workforce has changed to suit this
new atmosphere. More professionals are becoming "free
agents": independent contractors, freelancers, temps,
telecommuters. And companies are more flexible in their
hiring practices, taking on full-time, part-time and
flex-time employees. This system helps companies meet the
demand in profitable areas without making a long-term
commitment that may not work a few years from now. For
Generation X, the new staffing flexibility is not a
problem. In fact, that works just fine, considering the
treatment some of their loyal, one-company-per-lifetime
parents received. But there are other lifestyle reasons
for members of Generation X to choose a free-agent
working style.
What Makes Generation X Tick?
Generation X saw the rise of divorce (the divorce
rate doubled between 1965 and 1975) and the dissolution
of the nuclear family. They also witnessed the fall of
President Nixon at an impressionable age, have recognized
the insolubility of Social Security and watched the
generation before them sacrifice their ideals for money
and power at the expense of the environment.
This has motivated Generation X to become what's
been referred to as the "repair generation." According to
the Cooperative Institutional Research Program's National
Survey of college freshman, teaching, nursing and other
altruistic professions are on the rise. Interest in the
environment and a balanced lifestyle are priorities.
While the average GenXer works 45 hours a week, most
would like to cut this number back to 39, according to a
recent Fortune magazine poll. While financial success is
important to Generation X, personal fulfillment through a
rich family life and happy marriage takes precedence (87
percent of GenXers plan to be married only one
time).
Being a free agent suits the desires of Generation
X. Because GenXers are for the most part highly educated
and technically advanced, they can charge reasonably for
their services and still have time to be at home with
their families.
But many in the baby boom generation are
uncomfortable with flexible, short-term working
relationships. Baby boomers grew up with the most secure
surroundings of any generation in American history, a
time of unprecedented prosperity, with mothers who stayed
home and fathers with stable company jobs. Change and
adaptability are less familiar to boomers than to
GenXers, and a regular, full-time workforce is what
boomers inherently prefer. Certainly, it's more
comforting to know who you'll pick to tackle a hot new
project, instead of flipping through a rolodex to find an
available freelancer.
Sitting Both Sides Down
According to Patrick McCormick of Boyle and
Associates Consulting in Corvallis, Ore., companies must
expend extra effort to bridge the generational
differences through dialogue.
McCormick, a research and development consultant
at Boyle, says boomers need to understand the
developmental dynamics behind the Generation X mentality,
and how this suits the current economy, to appreciate the
direct, aggressive approach GenXers exhibit at work.
Generation X, on the other hand, needs to pay attention
to the cultural standards that have informed the opinions
and nature of their older counterparts.
McCormick suggests providing the generational
groups with information about each other; statistical
surveys, for example. What the members of each group will
find, according to McCormick, is that the two groups hold
significant beliefs in common: Both generations have
strong work ethics. (A common misconception is that
Generation X doesn't like to work. In fact, more members
of Generation X participate in the workforce than baby
boomers did at their age, and for longer hours, according
to the Families and Work Institute's National Study of
the Changing Workforce.)
Sharing this type of information helps employees
understand the common interest they have in increasing
productivity, getting projects done and solving problems.
In short, it leads to an establishment of common
ground-the desire to accomplish company goals. While the
generations are accustomed to achieving these goals in
sometimes disparate ways, those ways make more sense if
we know what informs each method.
The baby boomers and Generation X must work
together-they will share the labor pool for at least two
more decades. There are differences between these groups
socially and culturally, but on a business level, they
are dedicated to the same purpose. Companies need to make
sure their managers know what these generations are
bringing to the table-Generation X is largely
misunderstood and underutilized by the baby boomers who
hold positions of authority.
With the facts in hand, it's easier to push aside
misconceptions and failed communications between the
generations and move toward commonly defined goals,
making these goals much easier to attain.
November-December
2000 Homepage
Issue Highlight —
A Sign Of Hope
