Generation X
“The Gen Xers”
This generation are shopping and working in our stores today and it’s a whole new ball game.
They are between the ages of 32 and 47 years.
When you think of Gen Xer’s, think of Addie Loggins, played by Tatum O’Neal in the 1973 Film, Paper Moon.
It is so important to get to know them, as our customers and as our employees, for the future of our industry. Here is an extensive profile of their character, their attitudes and their approach to work.
_______________________________________________________
This material was gathered and compressed from many sources from many authors, publications and presentations. If you find your words in these profiles, please contact me and I will be happy to attribute your name to the comments.
Gen Xers do not want to be labeled or neatly categorized
They hate to be defined
Nothing is more important to the Gen Xers than relationships
Because they have been deprived of intimacy they value it more highly. They value relationships the most, even though they do not have the skills and ability to have true and meaningful relationships.
Most Xers are the children of Boomers, parents who were so deeply involved with their own "selves"
While both parents got ready for work every morning, Xers made cereal for breakfast and stared at photos of their peers on milk cartons. They are our own MIAs.
The concept of the "latchkey kid" is one that was defined for this generation.
This is also the generation that has spent every other weekend at their other parent’s home. They have seen a profusion of different family relationships, such as "dad’s girlfriend" or "mom’s previous ex-husband"
Friends and peers become surrogate families, as a small number of dependable relationships which are valued highly.
They do not know how to have the very thing the want the most: a relationship.
It is vital that they have acceptance by a group of people which will validate them.
They are looking for a safe place, where they can feel important and where they can be loved.
The concept of "safe sex" has been invented for this generation.
There is also an unprecedented level of cohabitation before marriage, and of "open marriages" after marriage.
Sex is certainly no longer viewed with the puritan glasses of the Christianized past. Xers expect sex, and hope that will fill the void they feel inside.
They are comfortable with an unprecedented number of different music styles, fashions, and self-expressions,
They have had a lifetime of learning how to fend for themselves
They are the first American generation to lack a common cause.
They are the most racially diverse generations to grow up in human history.
"We trust ourselves, and money - period
They do not only distrust others, but also distrust themselves.
They are pessimistic about the future
They care more about today and this week than next year or eternity.
They are looking for an anesthetic to ease the pain, not a cure for their disease.
Due to divorce, neglect, broken and bad relationships and abuse this generation carries emotional pain.
They will do anything for a few minutes of relief: alcohol, drugs, sex, turning music up, smoking, and many other things are being used as symptomatic relief agents.
Because of their pain, this generation is characterized by anger which is simmering and sitting very near the surface.
Today’s young people are exceptionally cutting and verbally cruel to each other.
For them, it is speed and ecstasy, which are high energy-boosting drugs
"I feel the need, the need for speed".
"It’s better to burn out than fade away".
They are prepared to take many risks to achieve a desired goal.
They don’t care about the truthfulness of the answers, but rather about the workableness and applicability of the answers.
They care about giving their lives meaning, and filling the holes in their hearts.They believe that we, as a human race, have tried Christianity and Jesus, and it hasn’t worked.
They are not searching for truth; rather they are searching for meaning.
Xers are very skeptical of what they see on TV
They have been called many things - stupid, apathetic, shallow, greedy, angry
This generation loves stories, especially true stories of people’s lives
Music is their voice.
Music is more that a beat or a style it is the language of this generation, it is their very soul and an expression of their feelings.
They have come to expect material things, and are thus seen as very materialistic.
Today’s young people are influenced by cultural trends from all over the world.
They openly explore their spiritual sides, and terms like spiritual, healing and soul are all common.
While they are spiritually oriented, their interest is much broader than the One God of the Bible, and includes Buddhism, Hinduism, and all kinds of New Age philosophy mixed in with remnants of Christianity.
They are good friends and value friendships. They're hungry for someone who will take time to listen, relate in a low-key way, and avoid being preachy. They are open to friendship, but closed to (overt) evangelism.
They do not respond to the same carrots and sticks that motivate its elders.
The workplace
They can be classified as the “Net Generation”
Computers are everywhere
Digital technology is no more intimidating than a toaster
Their parting expression is E-mail or Facebook or Tweet me
Xers have the potential to be the most well equipped workers in the new telecommunications dominated workplace of the next millennium.
"The only constant is change" They have not only accepted this high level of change, as Boomers before them have done, they actually embrace it and enjoy it. They look for something different each day, and get bored very quickly. They need innovation and are easily attracted by gimmicks.
In business, they would prefer to be in smaller business units, and not be seen as a cog in a machine.
Paying short term dividends is the key to their motivation.
Xers are not willing to embrace the bottom rung of the ladder as a matter of course
Xers have gained the unfair label of "slackers".
They spurn traditional jobs, and seek quick money in short-term relationships with companies.
They have been seen as not having any commitment.
This generation does not commit itself to anything, or, at best, commits itself very slowly and warily.
They favor short-term commitments to small-scale projects with definable objectives and ending dates.
They are more content to try to make a difference on a localized level,
This generation of young people is determined not to be caught in the economic treadmill that they see Boomers on.
Their attitude to work is that it is a necessary evil, which is a means to an end.
The end is "having a life".
The means is "earning money".
They do not have moral boundaries.
They really do want someone to give them a road to follow. But they don’t accept just anyone giving them direction.
Xers, by contrast, hold no truck with positional authority at all.
They respect people because of the way that person treats them and because of who that person is.
Position and title are nothing! Person is everything
“
Memo to Generation X from previous generations;
Pull your pants up, turn your hat around, and get a job"
This generation does not need to be taught the rules, it needs to be helped to understand them, and then given the space to learn to apply them for themselves.
Most of them plan well in advance for events.
In addition to their over-organization, they are also incredibly stressed.
Xers embrace these changes and the technology driving them.
It may be Boomers who are gaining financially out of being the visionaries of the computer age, but it is Xers who are the wizards behind the scenes, making the thing work.
“What looks to some [adults] like a lack of attention in Xers is, rather, a rapid-fire style of interacting with information which comes naturally to us as children of the information revolution"
They have brilliant coping mechanisms for a world overloaded with information.
They have the ability to multitask - to do many things at once, well and the ability to process visual information very rapidly"
77% of Gen Xers say they'd quit in a minute if offered "increased intellectual stimulation"
51% would jump ship for the chance to telecommute.
61% of Gen X women would leave their current jobs if they were offered more flexible hours elsewhere.
The top three things they want in a job
Positive relationships with colleagues
Interesting work
Continuous opportunities for learning
"Recognition scored very low, and power and prestige ranked dead last.
They are looking for two common traits in a company;
The company believes in equality for all employees and second,
The company believes in their employees' desire to get a life outside of work.
Gen Xers are suspicious of hierarchies.
Rank and seniority mean nothing to them.
They want to participate as equals."
They want an interlinking web of relationships in the workplace
No job titles and no bosses.
The authority gets passed around via a system of rotating team leaders.
How companies respond to the Gen X employee
Whole Foods Markets organizes its people into self-managed work teams. Each employee takes turns leading.
At Intuit, workers at all levels, from the mailroom to the CEO's office, are encouraged to take part in new-product development.
Starbucks also has an empowered employee culture. Store employees get to do a lot of decision-making without having to call someone at headquarters."
The firm's policy is that its highest paid employee can earn no more than 10 times the salary of its lowest-paid employee.
Plante & Moran, an accounting and consulting firm has these approaches;
Every new employee starts off with four weeks' annual vacation.
A "PTA" committee -- for "Personal Tightrope Action" -- teaches new parents how to cut back on their work hours (yes, that's right, how to under schedule themselves at the office) in order to spend more time with their families.
Every employee is also eligible for a one-month sabbatical after seven years of service.
The standard workweek is just 35 hours.
A software developer has;
An on-site day care center
It offers employees $300 a month in child care benefits,
It encourages job-sharing and flexible schedules.
The company gives its employees paid time off every month to do volunteer work and six-week sabbaticals every four years.
Gen Xers love this, because they want to make a difference
"There's no absenteeism policy, and no one keeps track of sick days.
The philosophy is, these are all capable people, so let's assume they can behave like adults. Employees respond to that with an unusually high level of commitment.
Myths about Gen Xers
Myth 1: Gen Xers are slackers and don't want to work hard at anything.
Generation Xers like to hang out a lot, to get together with friends and do fun things, but that is during their leisure time
Generation Xers are not afraid to challenge authority. Unlike Baby Boomers who stuck it out at work even if they were unhappy, Gen Xers are very willing to pick up and leave a job if that does not satisfy them.
Generation Xers are looking for peace of mind and leisure time
Myth 2: Members of Generation X do not care about themselves or their future
"Generation X is more environmentally, economically and socially conscious than previous generations,"
Generation X is more health-conscious than previous generations
Generation X cares about their future, exercise, the environment and a healthy body and mind are all ideas that we care about."
Myth 3: Gen Xers hang out in coffee shops all day smoking cigarettes with the post-college blues because they have nothing better to do.
Myth 5 “Gen Xers stay at home longer because their parents believe in a strong sense of family."
Myth 5: Gen Xers are frustrated, hopeless and cynical
"We're frustrated and cynical because of Baby Boomer's censorship and unwillingness to understand what we're all about,"
It is this realism and ability to deal with issues rather than ignore them that creates some uneasiness in Baby Boomers and gives Generation X a bad name.
Tips on How to Deal with Gen Xers in the workplace
When asking Type Xs to work on a problem, ask them for two sets of solutions, one more traditional and one creative. The latter may be too far out, but the stretching exercise is good and could lead to an unexpected answer.
Give Xs praise – more than you would give other employees – and over small things, too. Because of their dependence on parents and their long schoolings, they are used to it and respond better to it than other workers.
Put Xs to work with older people. Xs and “Ward Cleavers” tend to get along famously.
Give your X and impressive title. This seems cynical, and Xs will be the first to make a little joke of it, but it costs nothing and acts as an added incentive to perform well in a job that otherwise might be less glamorous.
Type Xs do not worry about choosing the wrong career and will cheerfully take this threat of job security as an opportunity to leave. Using phraseology like “team spirit” will not cut any mustard with Type Xs. They will immediately suspect someone is out to get something for nothing.
They do not get along with younger members of the Baby Boom Generation
They are accepting of just about everything except narrow-mindedness. They have absolutely zero tolerance for intolerance
The conversation reflecting this value best:
Question: Why do you choose to only work four days a week?
Answer: Because they didn't make three days a week available.
Give Xers the ball and they will run with it
We want a self-directed work force?
These workers have been self directed from a very young age.
We want computer literacy?
Generation X comes out on top
We want flexible employees?
They are the most adaptable workers in the workforce
Xers don't want over-your-shoulder, in-your-face managers who constantly check what they're doing. Perhaps as a result of their latchkey childhood, these young workers are not used to being closely supervised and are remarkably good at working on their own.
They don't want to spend a lot of time talking about things or having meetings. They want to get in, do the work, and move on to the next thing.
Xers want new challenges and the opportunity to build new skills. Training is one of the best motivators. They have a tremendous capacity to process lots of information and concentrate on multiple tasks.
Words for the Xers about the gardening and the industry
Some tuned in garden shop owners have traditional garden statuary decked out in neon colors. This is not your father’s Oldsmobile and definitely not “a place where old ladies shop.”
We have written off the next generation of gardeners as mass-merchandiser shoppers. We gave those uneducated, unappreciative young folks to the big boxes.
I do think gardening lacks a hipness factor, though. Sadly, my young relatives think gardening is pretty lame. These are smart, vibrant, college-going kids who would rather gossip about Paris Hilton than Eliot Coleman. Eliot who?
Even when I was a mere thirty-something, someone said to me, "Aren't you a little young to be a gardener?" Seriously! Blew me away and made me feel like a complete fud.
Those of us who are lucky enough to be able to afford houses (either buying or renting) are working our asses off to afford them. This does leave fewer hours for gardening and everything else--no getting around it.
Have you seen the new housing developments being built? There's often not more than 3 feet between the exterior walls and the property line fences. I mean there's no back yard--zero, zip, nada. And the front yards in these developments often fall under the governance of homeowner’s association rules--no vegetable gardens in those front yards, you can bet.
While my parents, aunts, and uncles all retired between the ages of 50 and 65 and spent even more time in their gardens, there isn't the slightest chance that that will be happening for me. Again, it's about economics.
Almost none of my friends are into gardening and I think most of them would say it's because of lack of time. These are people with jobs, spouses, and children and their calendars do seem filled to the brim. Personally, I would rather spend a peaceful weekend with my kids (if I had kids) messing around in the back yard than frantically driving them from one activity to the next, but I guess that's a matter of choice.
Whereas the boomers, he said, were focused on the environment in their youth, "these kids aren't into the outdoors."
“It’s a simple binary formula: bold colors and wild plants equal rock-and-roll gardens!”
“I think ours is the best-equipped generation ever to do bold things in our gardens. After all, we are a generation that embraces change”
“Can’t we muster a few creative gardens? Are we so removed from our agricultural roots that we’re nonplussed by the green side of the world? Doesn’t the constant buzz of technology make us want to stick our hands, and maybe our heads, in some compost?”
“I think this is mainly because we’re turned off by the old ways of gardening (i.e. gigantic lawns, excessive water use, chemical bombardment, and fussy plants). To me, the traditional American way of gardening seems silly and wasteful and generally out of place; I surmise that other Xer’s must feel the same way”.
“World-renowned landscape architect Steve Martino boils down the genius of his work with bright colored walls and native plants to this same formula: “walls and weeds.” Walls and weeds are a remedy for blandness and a call to action among my slacking peers who seem to be fixated on
