A. Describe Generation X. What social, economic, and political issues affected this generation?
To quote myself in an earlier class, Generation X was socially retarded at first. Nearly half of all marriages ended in divorce, resulting in a life of “joint custody, visitation rights, and weekend fathers” (Zemke, et al, pg. 94). Add to this the need for their parents to have dual incomes (whether together or separate), and you’re left with kids that ultimately had to become self-reliant above all else. These children were given their own key to the empty house to come home to after school, and were later given the name “latchkey kids”. This ultimately served them well, however, as Generation X learned how to fend for themselves and not rely too heavily on security, whether it was relationship-wise or job related.
In the beginning, everything was going well for Generation X economically. They arrived just in time for a labor shortage in the early 90’s, where employers were in desperate need for people in Information Technology (IT) (Zemke, et al). In fact, this is where this cohort earned their reputation for being slackers. Before them, everyone worked for survival. Now this new generation was working for status, and the income they earned to fit the companies’ needs was enormous. Then, about as quickly as it began, it ended. The dot.com bubble burst and massive layoffs came into play. Hundred thousand dollar educations went out the window as overly qualified IT technicians were out of work.
Not a whole lot (in respect to other generations), happened politically for Generation X. They grew up post-Vietnam, and in the early 70’s women’s liberation movements were in progress. The Watergate scandal involving President Nixon resulte...
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...oject through the use of screensharing in real time as well as instant messeging. This allows them to get real time critisism or reinforcement on a project and can create an environment where more than one project can be worked on at a time. Through a lifetime of caring and scheduling parents and teachers, their confidence in the job they do is very high.
References
Gravett, L. (2007). Bridging the Generation Gap. Pompton Plains: Career Press.
Kahn, M. E. (2007). Environmental disasters as risk regulation catalysts? Journal of Risk & Uncertainty, 29.
Martin, C. A. (2006). Managing the Generation Mix. Amherst: HRD Press.
Scheid, J. (2010, July 4). Types of Communication Styles: Bridging the Generation Gap. Retrieved from Bright Hub: http://www.brighthub.com/office/home/articles/76498.aspx
Zemke, R. (2013). Generations at Work. New York: AMACOM.
It appears that Generation Y is executing the wishes that other generations of workers subdue, and are subsequently portrayed as a vocal group by default. As a result of millennials’ demands, various companies are now beginning to conform to the ideas this generation presents. As such, new policies are being implemented,
Not So Much”, explains how Generation Y is not necessarily lazy, but rather conforming to fit changing times and a changing system. Her degree in journalism from Princeton, and experience in writing about economics, politics and data-driven journalism, more than qualifies her for writing about such a topic. I was one of those people who believed that today’s generation is too dependent on their parents, always looking for a hand-out and have a sense of entitlement. After reading this, I now have a slightly different opinion about Millennials. Of course, there will always be slackers in every generation whether past, present or future, but there is always more than what meets the eye. Just because someone may not spend their forty-hour work week all in the office, does not mean that they are working any less, but that because of today’s technology they can work from almost anywhere. As for the amount of graduated college students that return to live at home with their parents, it is not necessarily because they are too apathetic to go out and support themselves, but rather the reason being the high unemployment rate among sixteen to twenty-four year olds. After the Great Recession in 2009, many Millennials either lost their jobs, or were simply unable to find one after graduation. While I was raised to believe that if you wanted something, you worked for it, I truly hope that today’s generation is still
Boomer’s see millennial’s as having a short attention span which is not what millennial’s intend. If they don’t see a job working out, they are faster to jump ship than Boomer’s and that fearless attitude actually leverages them more power with their company. Sherry Buffington, co-author of Exciting Oz: How the New American Workforce Is Changing the Face of Business Forever and What Companies Must Do to Thrive, says that they have the upper hand because they are perfectly fine working dozens of different jobs in their lifetime. “In a survey conducted by IdeaPaint of 600 employed Millennials, 49 percent believe that poor management is dragging their company down; 45 percent attribute that to the lack or misuse of technology solutions.” (Avallon) This helps the reader to better understand the mentality of millennial’s. They are typically more tech savvy then their older bosses and feel they could make more of an impact if they were in charge. Millennial’s are hard-wired to think that time really is their most important resource. If they feel they aren’t being treated completely fair then they won’t hesitate about trying to find a new
The millennial generation is made up of people that were born from 1978-1999. People from older generations say the millennial generation people are growing up being unprepared for the real world. In an article titled “The Tethered Generation” written by Kathryn Tyler she talks about why the millennial generation is so different than any other generation. She also explains how they depend heavily on their parents well into adulthood. In this article Tyler allows the reader to see why HR professionals are worried about the millennial generation entering their work force. Using Toulmin’s schema the reader can judge the effectiveness of Tyler’s essay to the audience, and this schema is used to persuade the audience to
career yet, the life of a student is proving to be just as busy as those
You would have to be to run out in a field of gunfire… something i
By 2025, about 75% of the American workforce will be made up of Generation Y workers, said Emily Matchar, author of “Why Your Office Needs More Bratty Millennials.” Generation Y, also known as millennials, are those who were born within the years 1982 and 1999. Time management has become a persistent issue for people in the United States because of the lack of flexibility in the workforce. Work is taking over people’s lives. The current generation of workers tend not to demand because of the fear of unemployment; jobs are scarce these days. Generation Y workers have shown that they will not accept today’s hierarchical workplace, on the contrary, they will begin to change the workplace to their likings.
Edmondson, J. (2009). Let's be clear: How to manage communication styles. American Society for Training & Development, Inc., 63(9), 30-31. Retrieved from http"//go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE|A212767598&v=2.1&=novaseu_main&it=r&p=ITOF&sw=w&asid=0abb8dfff77dba5f747cb1b4c13a9d9f
Nearly 3.7 million American babies born in 1982 were the first members of the new Generation Y, or more affectionately known as millenials (Thompson, par. 1). Many things play into whether a generation is considered to be faring ‘better’ than another one; job opportunities, the state of the environment, whether the U.S. is at peace or at war, income vs. living expenses, the general happiness of the people, and the list goes on. Millenials are part of a special generation because for decades, “The American Dream” has included the belief that the future generation will fare better than the present one; however, millenials are not projected to fare better than the present generation X for many reasons.
During Generation Xers formative years, “investigations called into question many major organizations including the U.S. presidency, military, organized religion, and corporations” (Fore, 2013). As a result, this generation generally had little confidence in institutions and instead placed more faith in themselves. At home, Generation Xers became “‘latchkey children’”, who came home from school without a parent or adult supervision, and their mothers now worked outside the home. They were responsible for themselves, and often became dependent on video games and television sets, which resulted in them being characterized as “independent and resourceful” (Fore, 2013). At work, Generation Xers relied on themselves and their peers to accomplish goals, and did not put much hope in companies or organizations. Unlike Veterans, Generation Xers disliked traditional hierarchy, challenged authority, and expected their leaders to demonstrate competence and fairness, as well as embrace a participative and diverse workplace (Fore, 2013). Similar to the Millennial generation, Generation Xers placed a stronger focus on their personal lives much more than the generations before them. “They were likely to stay with one company throughout their career as long as it did not interfere with their private lives” (Gilley & Waddell, 2015). This lack of organizational loyalty is often attributed to
Salahuddin (2010) provides a summary of four cohorts that remain in the workplace and the historical events that shape generations. Traditionalist or Veterans (1922-1943) experienced World War II, The Great Depression, and the formation and rise of labor unions. The Baby Boomers (1943-1960) experienced such events as Vietnam War, The Civil Rights Movements, and assassinations of key political influences. Generation Xers (1960-1981) had there set of historical challenges such as latchkey kids, single parent homes, computers and the Challenger. Lastly, the Millennials or Nexters (1981-2000) experienced such events as computers, schoolyard violence such as Columbine and Oklahoma City bombing.
First of all the economics of today are vastly different to the economics of even only a few decades ago. The prices of many things, especially college of skyrocketed causing many people to not be able to afford his/her own car out of college unlike the “Good old days”. This has been a center focus for many parents as far as stress and anxiety go when they see that their kid has to move back into their house since they have not “Done well enough” to live a normal life as soon as their education ends, “Moving back home is so common today that it doesn’t have the same stigma, so twentysomethings are trying on different identities before they settle down into their long-term relationships and careers” (Covey, 11). If parents could just stop worrying so much about what their kids are doing and stop being a “Hovering parent” then they would be able to be much more productive at their own work place and could worry about their own life. Also as far as changing times with technology and new rights of people that have been established Generation X needs to learn to concede more credit on the millennials knowing more of the time what they are talking about the X. In multiple studies and polls, signs that millennials were more lenient to everyone having the same amount of rights was clearly displayed when the studies showed that a much higher percentage of young adults allowed for gay marriage when compared to every other age group that was polled.
Their children were exposed to a sexual revolution where not only they had to live with the idea that their parents were not together, but the fact that their parents would bring their sexual partners to their homes provide them fear. In fact, divorce caused an emotional impact on children by the reality they had to face where they had limited relationship with one of the parent due to legal expectation. During the 1970s, the U.S develop a joint custody where children get to have a relationship with both of their parents with an equal amount of time and responsibilities. Also, politically during this era children were exposed to poverty because the government’s decision over funding been delivered to insurance such as Medicare, and protection for the elderly population taking away insurance and program for children (Eastman,
Generation X is a group of individuals that was born in the years of 1964-1980. This very interesting generation is a generation that is often forgotten. Reasoning being is because of how small this group is. During the time that this group of people was growing up their parents, the Baby Boomers were at large in the workplace. Layoffs were on the rise and the job market was very competitive. This led to one of the nicknames of this generation which is, “Latchkey Kids” (Zemke 2013). This term was instituted in order to define what was happening in the home of this generation. Due to their parents having to work hard in order to keep their jobs as well as food on the table, the children were often given keys in order to come home from school and take care of their siblings. Surely this type of parenting was not pleasant to either the parent or the child; however the money had to be made.
Parents want what is best for their kids, right? What if what was originally thought to contribute to the growth of today’s youth is hindering their success? Millennials had their start during the “Generation Me” movement¬¬— making themselves their top priority. This has led to a sense of self-importance and selfishness, both unadmirable traits from an employer’s perspective. Generation Me was also the start of increased protectiveness and overparenting. Millennial kids were sheltered from the world around them and the problems that can stem from it. Although parents had the best of intentions by protecting their kids, this practice only encouraged the idea that Millennials do not have to conform to the world around them, despite opposition.