someone is born on December 31, 1979, and someone else is born on January 1, 1980, that they have two completely different generational perspectives?” Naturally, that would be ludicrous. These birth years are simply a way to frame the generations and serve as a point of reference. It’s the events and conditions that occur during a generation’s formative years that are most important in defining how that cohort behaves. Because of this, you may see other books or articles that cite slightly different birth years. They aren’t set in stone, nor is any aspect of generational theory. It’s what you do with these facts and figures that makes the rubber meet the road.
Events and conditions are the heart and soul of generational theory. It is here that we can identify the key influencers that go into forming generational identities. Before diving deeper into this concept, consider using the exercise in Table 2-1 to get your mind in the right place.
TABLE 2-1 Nostalgia Exercise
Exercise instructions: Find your generation and circle two or three events, conditions, or icons from the corresponding list that you feel had an impact on you. The next part is the hard part: Think about how those things influence who you are today. It’s not just about how it made you feel at the time, which is entertaining and fun, but how it still impacts you. If you are up for an extra challenge, ask yourself: How does this event/condition/icon impact who I am at work?
Below this chart you’ll find examples of what we’ve heard members from each generation say in response to this exercise, but don’t read those until you’ve done the exercise yourself. No cheating. You’ll be disqualified.
To help move the conversation along, or if you’re just curious to know what people typically say, read on:
Traditionalist condition: Radio
“Unlike kids today who get all their news and entertainment from their phones, we all gathered around the radio growing up. Everything from listening to shows like Superman to a presidential address was all audio, so you had to imagine what you couldn’t see. I think that it still makes me better at visualizing things when no picture exists. We may not have had as much information as we do today, but we were still able to make decisions with what we had. At work, I am able to imagine the unseen and make decisions with the information in front of me.”
Baby Boomer event: OPEC oil embargo
“I’ll never forget the gas shortage. I was 14, and my dad made me wake up two hours before the gas station even opened – on our assigned day, no less – to get in line just to fill up our tank. Growing up as a Baby Boomer, it felt like there was never enough for us. We were just such a huge generation that it felt like we were too big for the world that was built for us – we had to fight to get not just what we wanted, but what we needed, whether that was gas, a good grade in school, or a job. Today, it has definitely made me a more competitive person. Just like I got to that gas station two hours before it opened, I’m always the first one in the office. I know that if I don’t do the job right, there are plenty of others who will.”
Generation Xer event: Challenger explosion
“I’ll never forget. I was in eighth grade. The teacher rolled in a TV cart so the whole class could watch the shuttle launch with a teacher on board. Within minutes, the entire classroom was filled with stunned silence as we watched the Challenger explode. I remember being so scared and sad. And then, it didn’t end on the day of the explosion. Cable news replayed the footage over and over and over, and as the months went on, it was discovered that the cause of the explosion could have been prevented, but someone was trying to save a buck. I think that event still impacts who I am today because I just don’t feel like I can trust anyone or any organization. I mean, if NASA is willing to cut corners and put people at risk, who am I to think that my organization wouldn’t do the same?”
Millennial condition: Napster/streaming music
“When I started high school, Napster was all the rage. Until that point, if you wanted to hear a song you had to wait until it came on the radio or buy the entire album. Thanks to Napster, you could listen to any song you wanted with the click of a button, whenever you wanted to. And not only that … it was totally free! I think this has affected me at work in a few ways: My generation expects immediacy, we want to be able to customize our experience at work and not just do things the way as generations past, and at times it’s like we expect to get something for nothing.”
Generation Edge condition: YouTube
“I use YouTube so much in my life right now, it’s hard to think of a time without it. It’s just the greatest tool because I use it to learn how to do anything. I guess my entire generation is self-taught in a way, because if we want to know how to do something, we can YouTube it. And then if we’re especially good at it, we can create our own tutorials!”
Of course the events, conditions, and icons a person experiences are inextricably linked to the country he lives in. Some events have implications worldwide, like world wars, but others, like the tripling of the divorce rate and extreme hikes in college tuition, are specific to the United States. Taking this into account, it should be no surprise that the generations topic plays out differently across the globe. A Boomer in the States is going to have different traits than a Boomer in India. Primarily in the West, certain countries show generational similarities across borders in large part due to similar access to technological innovation and shared experiences of international events. However, in more emerging economies like China and India, there can be stark differences from country to country. Research has shown that when it comes specifically to Millennials and Generation Edge, because of globalization and the Internet, there are more similarities than differences across the globe.
How does a Millennial whose grandparents and even great-grandparents grew up in the United States differ from a Millennial who is a first-generation immigrant? The answer is slightly complicated. Most simply, generational theory has a cyclical component to it. Research has found that first-generation immigrants tend to behave much like the Traditionalist generation (loyal, hard-working, patriotic, grateful for the job). The second generation tends to behave more like Boomers (pushing for more education, finding ways to get ahead, working within established systems), with the third generation acting more like Generation Xers (questioning the status quo, not totally trusting institutions, finding individual paths). These are only general trends, but they should help give a framework for examining people you work with from an immigration perspective.
Overcoming the “Yea, Buts…”
Generational differences is the one area of diversity where it’s considered okay to cast shade, throw people under the bus, and just plain make fun of perceived failings. For example: “Millennials are entitled babies, Gen Xers are so cynical and apathetic, and don’t even get me started on Boomers. What a workaholic bunch, not to mention they can barely figure out how to send an email from their phones!” Can you even imagine saying these types of things about another area of
