- Wasn't the baby boom from 1946 to 1964?
- Where did the title "Generation X" come
from?
- Isn't this an age thing?
- Isn't this stereotyping?
- Don't the generations have more commonalities than
differences?
- How do race and ethnicity factor in?
- You talk about adapting your management style to the
needs of each generation. But don't you think good management getting to know
people as individuals and treating everybody respectfully cuts across the
generations?
- I was born in 1939. Don't some of the experts put me
in a generation of my own?
- Don't the generations actually overlap?
- Aren't there a lot of people who don't fit the
profile for their generation?
1. Wasn't the baby boom from 1946 to 1964?
Yes, you have your dates right. The post-war boom in
births began precisely nine months after the end of WWII and continued through
1964. But most people who study the generations find that the Baby Boom
perspective is found in people who were born in the early 1940s. That group of
people went to school with the Boomers, listened to the same music, and shared
the same heroes. On surveys, the majority of them say they identify more with
Baby Boomers than with the older generation. On the other end of the birth
curve, we've found that people born in the early 1960's, though officially
considered Boomers, identify far more with Generation X. They weren't old enough
to be aware of JFK's assassination and they didn't feel a part of the sixties, a
decade Boomers typically associate strongly with. That's why we usually say the
Baby Boom profile begins around birth year 1940 and runs through about
1960.
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2. Where did the title "Generation X" come
from?
It comes from a Canadian writer by the name of Douglas
Coupland who wrote a novel called Generation X. He'd heard his generation called
"Twentysomethings," "Thirteeners" (because they're the
thirteenth generation since the Declaration of Independence),
"Post-Boomers," and "Baby-Busters." He didn't like any of
those titles. They were all inventions of Baby Boomers, and he, like many
others, felt the Boomers had been especially judgmental of his generation. He
was looking for a generic title, sort of a non-label, and that's how he came up
with "Generation X."
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3. Isn't this an age thing?
Aren't you just talking about life stages? No, it has to
do with far more. In fact, each generation approaches each stage of life with
its own unique style. For example, it looks like the Baby Boomers will make a
very different type of senior than the World War II generation. Marc Freedman,
in his book Prime Time, says aging Boomers will sign up for far more adult
education courses, serve in parks and recreation departments, and join in
entrepreneurial start-ups. Today's Millennial Generation teens are more
optimistic and have more heroes than the Gen X teens before them.
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4. Isn't this stereotyping?
Our generational data comes from a variety of sources,
including demographic surveys of tens of thousands of people. It's a matter of
how the information is used. If we use it to stereotype and pigeonhole others,
it can be extremely detrimental. If, on the other hand, we use the information
to look at ourselves and find ways to be more effective by developing empathy
and understanding, being better listeners, and communicating with others in
mind, then we've spent our time well.
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5. Don't the generations have more commonalities than
differences?
They do, and it's important to remember the commonalities,
but it's the subtle differences that cause conflict at work. That's why it's
important to understand and deal effectively with the differences.
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6. How do race and ethnicity factor in?
All members of a generation grew up in the same era. As a
result, most of them saw the same news events on television, read the same
headlines in the papers, and listened to the same music on the radio. However,
racial and ethnic differences, along with socio-economic differences, are every
bit as important, probably more important, than generational differences in
shaping our perspectives. Those differences require that we educate ourselves
and develop our appreciation for people from varied backgrounds.
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7. You talk about adapting your management style to the
needs of each generation. But don't you think good management getting to know
people as individuals and treating everybody respectfully cuts across the
generations?
Learning about the generations doesn't mean managers don't
need to get to know people as individuals. That's still required. But what it
means to "treat people respectfully" varies from generation to
generation. Many Gen-Xers would say that respectful treatment means being direct
and straightforward, while a member of the WWII generation might define
"respectful" as using good grammar, "Sir" or "Ma'am,"
and "please" and "thank you."
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8. I was born in 1939. Don't some of the experts put me
in a generation of my own?
Yes, some demographers call the group of people born
between 1939 and 1945 the Sandwich Group.
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9. Don't the generations actually overlap?
Yes, generations overlap by as much as 7 or 8 years. Just
as eras don't have start and end dates, a generation doesn't end one day and
another begin the next. That's why a lot of people identify with at least two
generations.
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10. Aren't there a lot of people who don't fit the
profile for their generation?
There are. When we talk about generational profiles, we're
talking about the millions of people in the middle of the bell curve. The
information about those millions is tremendously valuable in all aspects of
business: running meetings, communicating with colleagues, resolving conflicts,
making sales calls. There are, however, lots of people out on the tails of the
curve, though, making it essential we get to know people as individuals.
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