Will Xers Want the Job?
by Robert W. Wendover
Sarah is a 33-year-old manager of a consumer finance office in New Haven, CT. She’s been with the company for five years and oversees one of the branch’s largest units. This past year she received a letter of commendation from the division’s vice president lauding her performance.
Jerry is an evening team leader for a warehouse in Long Beach, CA. Working from 3:00PM ’til 11:00 PM, he’s responsible for the loading of 20 trailers a night headed for regional supermarkets. A ten-year veteran, he’s been with the company since he was nineteen.
At first glance, one would think that these two have nothing in common, but they do. Both have turned down promotions in the past month. For Sarah, it was a matter of aggravation. “I watch the hours my boss works and the heartburn she suffers and it’s just not worth an extra five thousand a year.” For Jerry, it was the commute. “Moving up the ladder means I’d work nine to five and double my drive time. That’s an extra 375 hours a year in traffic. Yuck!”
But both Sarah and Jerry have an additional priority – balance. Sarah is a competitive tri-athlete who spends her weekends running and cycling the roads of New England. For Jerry, Little League and football with his boys and time with his wife trump status and advancement. The bottom line? The money and opportunity aren’t worth the pressures they would place on lifestyle.
As aging workplace veterans have begun to vacate jobs in the middle ranks, employers are discovering an unsettling trend: The best and brightest may not want these positions even if it means more money! While there is little direct evidence of this trend, one can see it in related studies and the many anecdotes we are told weekly. According to a study by Reach Advisors for instance, 48% of GenX fathers spend three to six hours a day on child rearing versus 39% for Boomer dads. Forty-seven percent of Xers wish they could spend more time with their kids versus 36% for Boomers. Study author James Chung observes that “GenXers are more willing to make trade-offs to spend more time with family.”
Having watched their Boomer parents throw themselves into the never-ending rat race over the past 30 years, many Xers have grown circumspect about the career opportunities before them. Millions of those in their twenties and thirties grew up as latch-key kids in single-parent families due the high divorce rate and emergence of dual-career couples. They’re leery of being drawn into what they see as a never-ending cycle of long hours. If they don’t get a new car every year or have to wait on certain luxuries, so be it.
Will all Xers react the same way as Sarah and Jerry? Of course not. But recognize that for many in this generation, the reasons for working revolve more around a means to an end that the end in itself. Veteran managers have been disappointed by the response of these young workers. “Why,” they say with exasperation, “would anyone turn down a promotion? Doesn’t he (or she) want to make something of themselves?” The answer is yes, but not at the expense of lifestyle, health, or friends. If you’ve got your eye on promoting your top performers, don’t be so sure they’ll leap at the chance.
Robert W. Wendover is the Director of The Center for Generational Studies. Contact him at
wendover@gentrends.com
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