Gen-X Has Career Middle Child Syndrome — Not Techy Enough, Not Yet The Boss
Gen X is the only generation that puts its head down, goes to work, and gets it done.
Dean Drobot | Canva First, let’s be clear: I have never been a big fan of generalizing about generations. I am making a small exception for parts of the argument in this post. I think it's worth it here.
Gen-X has career middle child syndrome — not techy enough, not yet the boss
OK, so late 40s … career peak, maybe? Right? After all, Gen-X means you were born between 1965 and 1980.
The big tropes about Gen-X are “latchkey kids” and “alt-slackers” or something. But while The New York Times recently called them “a mess,” they also admitted in doing that how Gen-X is the only generation that puts its head down, goes to work, and gets it done. Word. The Trains Moving Generation!
Gen-X by the numbers
Here’s some data on what’s going on with Gen-X. Let me bullet point out a little bit for you:
- In the past five years, the majority of Gen-X leaders (66%) had received only one promotion or none at all — significantly fewer than their younger Millennial counterparts (52%) and more senior baby boomers (58%) who were more likely to have received two or more promotions during the same period of time.
- Only 58% of Gen-X feel that they are advancing within their organization at an acceptable rate, in comparison to 65% of Millennials.
- 34% of Gen-X frontline leaders are saying that they are contemplating leaving to advance their careers.
Seems like X is getting the shaft here. But why?
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Career stereotypes for the generations
Millennials have 'shiny object syndrome'
That would be Millennials. If you want to be a “mobile-first” or “digitally transformed” org, the thinking is often that you need Millennials rising up, because they “get” that stuff. So Shiny Object Syndrome is coming home to roost there.
Boomers believe 'he with the most gold wins'
That’s Boomers. They still control the money and the decisions tied to money.
So Gen X is … lost?
… in this weird middle place professionally, where they’re not tech-shiny but they don’t yet often control the purse strings, and that weird middle place is driving a lot of the statistics you see listed above.
So what can Gen-X do?
Treat people like people, manage them humanely, and give them opportunities for growth. Wait, that might be too logical… I guess we find more money for the people actually doing the work and making the trains run while we claim automation will solve everything?
Execs won’t love that, though. I think the easiest idea is just groom X to take over for Boomers. That would be logical. And don’t fire X as much — it’s hard to get jobs north of 40.
Millennials — well, younger Millennials — still have time before they’re iced out of the workplace by ridiculous hiring assumptions. Older millennials are almost Gen-X anyway (“xillenials”) and that’s a different ballgame.
Ted Bauer is a writer and editor. Originally from New York City, he is now based in Fort Worth and has written for publications including HBR, Fast Company, and more.