Generation X in the Workplace

Given how small Generation X is compared to the Boomers or the Millennials, there is much written about Generation X in the Workplace.  Below we discuss:

• Why managers should care about Generation X in the Workplace.
• What has shaped Generation X in the Workplace
• The expectations of Generation X in the Workplace
• How to lead and motivate Generation X in the Workplace

First, we should define Generation X in the Workplace

Traditionalists:             1925 – 1945

Baby Boomers:           1946 – 1965

Generation X:              1966 – 1980

Millennials:                  1980 – 1999

Why Managers Should Care About Generation X in the Workplace

• Clashes between generations can directly affect turnover, and unwanted turnover is expensive and time consuming.
• If team members do not feel like they “fit in” or that their values are not reflected in the workplace, they are more at risk of leaving.
• Generation X in the Workplace has been influenced by different life events and thus has different perspectives that can impact motivation and performance.  For Example, Generation X in the Workplace:
  • Has unique ways of viewing quality.
  • Has distinct and preferred ways of managing and being managed.
  • Has different priorities that effect how and when they show up for work.

The Shaping of Generation X in the Workplace

• This generation watched their parents get downsized out of their jobs after a lifetime of loyalty.
• They graduated from high school and university into a poor job market.
• They were the most educated generation in history at the time.
• Gen X came from families that had triple the divorce rates than that of the previous generation.
• They came of age during the end of the Cold War
• They saw the beginning of the digital revolution
• They were the first generation to wonder if they’d be able to do as well as their parents.

Expectations of Generation X in the Workplace

• They are skeptical of everyone and everything.
• After watching their parents struggle with large organizations, they expect to be screwed.
• They are as loyal to their organizations, as they expect their organization will be to them (not very loyal!)
• They expect to be independent and to do it on their own.
• Rather than challenge authority they tend to ignore it.
• Job security is about mobility, not stability.  They believe job security comes from proactively jumping from job to job.
• They are entrepreneurial.
• They approach work as a process of acquiring skills or resume building.

How to Lead and Motivate Generation X in the Workplace

• Let them take risks.  Allow them to take some chances.
• Respect their time.  Time off or away is often a motivator for this group
• Be Creative with Time Worked: Sabbaticals, compressed work-weeks, telecommuting, are all very popular amongst this group.
• Reward them with training or other experience building offers. Gen X values the opportunity to build their resumes.
• Let them do it their way.  Take advantage of their entrepreneurial spirit.   Give them a challenge and let them figure it out.

3 Things that frustrate Generation X in the Workplace about the other generations:

1. Boomers are self-absorbed workaholics, who took all the good jobs, and now won’t give them up.
2. Traditionalists reject change, and are too rigid.
3. Generation Y expects everything to be handed to them.

Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about Generation X in the Workplace (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):

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