Generation Pooped On

At work, management takes classes about "Leading Across Generations." I have to say I found the whole generation topic very interesting. Let's see, before my generation was the Baby Boomers, a generation defined by the explosion of births in the country which lasted roughly between 1945 and 1965. The Baby Boomers redefined and restructured our society by the force of their numbers alone. Next came Generation X, my generation, which lasted roughly from 1965 to 1985. This generation was primarily defined by being the unlucky number 13th generation from our founding fathers. Cool, huh? Then, this last bunch of cradle rockers to hit the work force is of Generation Y,which roughly started in the 1980s and will end in the year who knows??? They're about 20 years old now and defined by the Net - blogging, tweeting, being socially connected.

In the work place, Baby Boomers know they have to earn every dime they get. They work hard and believe that their job defines who they are as a person and where they fit into society. Generation X-ers know how to work just enough to not get fired, and they believe their job is just a job and nothing more than a means to earn money, which is what life is really all about. Generation Y-ers know how to work if they're interested in their jobs enough to keep their attention on it. They are not defined by their jobs but define themselves by their personal lives. They don't care if they start a new job and immediately ask for time off.

Where I work, I manage and schedule people in all three generations. It's amazing to see the differences between them all. Of course there are people who don't 100% fit into their generation's description, but in general, they do. Especially in their attitudes toward work.

Another issue we've been discussing at work is Eminent Domain (courtesy of 60 Minutes). There's a nasty stretch of road near work that has become a haven for delinquents and druggies. The local city is seizing property along the road to turn it over to developers to refresh the area and bring in "new money." Ha! The very idea of new money is a joke. Based on the arguement from 60 Minutes, most cities are getting new money from people in my generation - the 30 somethings that are making more money than seniors and spending more money on "non-necessaities." Ha!

I would like to argue that my generation is one of the most pooped on generations of them all and that 60 Minutes couldn't be more wrong.

If you've read my previous posts, you might have come across this one where I mentioned the men from the Baby Boomer generation hogging all the good positions in management. It's still true because they still haven't retired yet! On top of that, the new, hip generation is coming in with their techno-savy skills and baby faced freshness. Entry level jobs are being handed to them because they can type (text) faster with their thumbs then Generation X-ers can with all of their fingers. My generation is sandwhiched in the middle with thankless jobs and no way up and out - until all the Boomers retire that is and we, plus the new kids on the block, will be promoted helter skelter. We're stuck in the job area and totally being pooped on there.

Landing that thankless job comes from after first having wasted years and money at college. Did you know that most Generation Y-ers didn't go to college? And they're still being handed jobs because they were raised on computers, the real work horses of industry. Most Generation X-ers went to college and suffered as colleges charged more and more. Now we're in debt to our necklines - before we even get a job or start a family. Baby Boomers landed jobs without degrees and got into debt once they started families. Generation Y-ers aren't in debt yet, and they haven't started families yet. We're pooped on in the debt area too.

Now that my generation is in their thirties and forties, we should finally be making "expendiable" money, which of course we're not thanks to this tanking economy. We have no "expendiable income" just like everyone else. Based on the ideas from the cities in the 60 Minutes article, cities should be catering to my generation right now. Instead, they're really catering to the Baby Boomers still. The older generation has the expendible money. They're no longer in debt, they have all the high paying jobs, and they don't have families to support. Once the Baby Boomers are all "senior citicians" and fully retired, do you think the cities and society at large will then cater to the Generation X-ers? Not blooming likely! They'll go straight on to the Y-ers! Again we're pooped on here.

And who's fault is this crappy economy? The Baby Boomers! And is this economy really hitting the Y-er's retirement fund? Hell no, it's draining ours and not theirs. Again, pooped on.

Oh and wait! Who will be paying for the millions of Baby Boomers' Social Security that will run out for them? That's right - Generation X will, not the Y-ers. Pooped on!

Pooped on! Pooped on! And pooped on! Unlucky 13th generation indeed.