How Generations X And Y Are Coping With The Crisis
While I’ve talked about how “The Great Recession” has affected groups such as the Baby Boomers and college seniors, I haven’t really looked at Generations X (born roughly 1965-76) or Y (born roughly 1977-1998). Martha Irvine of the Associated Press talked about the approximately 51 million Gen Xers on November 15, and wrote:
They’re antsy and edgy, tired of waiting for promotion opportunities at work as their elders put off retirement. A good number of them are just waiting for the economy to pick up so they can hop to the next job, find something more fulfilling and get what they think they deserve. Oh, and they want work-life balance, too.
Sounds like Gen Y, the so-called “entitlement generation,” right?
Not necessarily, say people who track the generations. In these hard times, they’re also hearing strong rumblings of discontent from Generation X. They’re the 32- to 44-year-olds who are wedged between baby boomers and their children, often feeling like forgotten middle siblings — and increasingly restless at work as a result…
This isn’t the first time Gen Xers have faced tough times. They came of age during a recession and survived the dot-com bust of 2000. In recent years, though, more members of the generation — stereotyped early on as jaded individualists — had families or began settling down in other ways. It was time, they thought, to enjoy the rewards of paying some dues…
Now, in this latest recession, nearly two-thirds of baby boomer workers, ages 50 to 61, say they might have to push back their retirement, according to a recent survey from Pew Research.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the age spectrum are Gen Yers, who are often cheaper to hire and heralded for their coveted high-tech knowledge, even though many Gen Xers consider themselves just as technologically savvy…
But there’s also some evidence that Gen Xers really are being taken for granted at work.
One survey done this year for Deloitte Consulting LLP, for instance, found that nearly two-thirds of executives at large companies were most concerned about losing Gen Y employees, while less than half of them had similar concerns about losing Gen Xers.
Promotion prospects shelved. Gen Y colleagues more coveted. What’s a jaded Xer to do?
Leave.
From the piece:
The assumption is often that Gen Yers are the least loyal and most mobile, says Robin Erickson, a manager with Deloitte’s human capital division.
However, she points out that a companion survey of employees found that only about 37 percent of Gen Xers said they planned to stay in their current jobs after the recession ends, compared with 44 percent of Gen Yers, 50 percent of baby boomers and 52 percent of senior citizen workers who said the same.
Scene from “Half Baked” (1998)
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And what of the Millennials? Or Generation Y, as they’re also called. These 75 million young adults are getting their first taste of a real financial crisis. And how are they responding? From the Chicago Tribune’s employment section yesterday:
Over half (55 percent) of Millennials have experienced a layoff or loss of work in their family within the past year, and nearly three-fourths (72 percent) feel threatened by a possible layoff in the coming months, according to research conducted by Lumin Collaborative, an integrated communications agency. Millennials are saving less money and increasing their credit card debt more than any other adult generation. “Millennials are still optimistic and ambitious, but the pressure of the current economy are reshaping our outlook,” says Lauren Begley, a Millennial and account executive at Peppercorn.
Sounds like it’ll take a lot more than “The Great Recession” to steal this group’s sunshine…
Sources:
“Recession intensifies GenX discontent at work”
Martha Irvine
Associated Press, November 15, 2009
“Millennials fear layoffs”
Chicago Tribune, November 22, 2009
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