A Message to Generation X

Most of the questions I get from Human Resources and Recruiting professionals about Generation Y are the same. They are all about why this generation expects to get so much so fast, why we feel entitled to flexibility, why we think we deserve high pay immediately, and so forth. The thing that surprises me every time is that it's not the Baby Boomers who are so upset with Gen Y, it's the Gen Xers. The more I pay attention, the more obvious it is that it's the Gen Xers who think we're just lazy, entitled Millennials.

It's one of my jobs to know the generation gap, so I checked out the cover story from a 1997 issue of TIME called, "Great Xpectations." Here's a key quote:

. . . more and more (Gen Xers) are prowling tirelessly for the better deal, hunting down opportunities that will free them from the career imprisonment that confined their parents. They are flocking to technology start-ups, founding small businesses and even taking up causes–all in their own way.

It sounds like both Gen X and Gen Y want the same thing! The problem is that Generation X did not get what they asked for, and Generation Y is seemingly being catered to like we are owed something. After reading the TIME piece, I can understand better Gen X's frustration. But I think it's time for us all, X and Y, to move forward, together.

So, here are 3 reasons Generation Y can and will pick up where Generation X left off and make the workplace better for us all.

Y Has Better Demographics

Generation X was simply too small to force any kind of change. There are about 50 million Gen Xers in the United States compared to nearly 76 million baby boomers and 77 million Millennials. When Gen Xers graduated college, the jobs were not there. With only 50 million people to fill the positions, and plenty of boomers around to fill the middle management jobs, companies had their pick of candidates. Employers took advantage by hiring only the top candidates and paying them as little as possible.

Generation Y is 50% bigger than Generation X, and with Xers dropping out of the workforce to take care of their children, employees, not management, have the power and even a recession won't slow down the job market. Generation Y has the same confidence, the same ambition and the same savviness as Generation X had in their twenties, but the demographics are in Gen Y's favor. Y can ask for change and actually get it.

Y Has Better Technology

Generation X came of age when the internet was just coming into common, public use. There were great new technologies and plenty of opportunities to strike it rich in Silicon Valley, much like there are today. But the 90's were still a time of traditional media and marketing to the masses. So if you wanted to make your voice heard, you had to pay thousands for a TV commercial or somehow become a celebrity. Today, anyone with a bad job can start a blog and tell the world why work should be better. Plus, where there was no easy way to create a collective Gen X voice, the Web is now all about community. And Generation Y embraces the idea of community like no other generation.

Y Has Better Teamwork

Generation Y is the ultimate "team" generation. Despite what the media says, it's not about us versus the rest of you. It's about how can we all work together? How can we all be happy?

We're not competing now and we never were competing with the Baby Boomers. We're the entry level grunts and they're the big shots in the corner office. We don't threaten their jobs and they don't make us work long hours because we don't report to them. But Gen X hated, and still hates, the Boomers. It makes sense. The baby boomers were directly managing the Gen Xers, and because of the demographics I pointed out above, the Gen Xers had to work the long hours or risk being fired and (easily) replaced.

Generation Y escapes the bitterness toward Gen X, or toward any other generation. We know we're lucky to be joining the workforce as Boomers leave and Gen Xers can't fill all of their shoes, but it's not about me versus you, and it's not about Gen Y being all that different from any other Generation.

So my message to Generation X is: let's forget the past and all hop on the bandwagon. We can make work a great place to be, and we can do it together.

10 Tools to Rev Up Your Business and Personal Communication

If you are a manager in your organization, there's most likely a reason for that – people trust you, think you do quality work, and respect you as a leader. But if you're not an effective communicator, you'll lose that reverence and you won't retain employees.

A study in 2001 involving some 20,000 exit interviews found that the number one reason people leave jobs is "poor supervisory behavior." In other words, bad bosses.

And one of the biggest factors cited in the findings was poor communication skills. Discussing communication mechanics can be a monstrous proposition, so let's boil things down. Utilize the following basic communication tips, applicable to both business and personal life, and watch your network of friends, colleagues, and valued employees expand.

1. If there's a problem with someone, have a meeting NOW. Talk things out one-on-one. If silence ensues, do something to promote dialogue. But be careful; if emotions are running high, put point-of-sale aside and wait for things to calm down.

2. Be accessible. Give people an opportunity to leave a message if you are not available. Can those people who are important to you reach you readily, or are there mechanical and bureaucratic barriers?

3. Make communication tools available to your staff — cell phones, digital recorders, voice mail, e-mail, and various meeting places for one-on-one, in-person dialog. Scheduled group meetings are prime tools that provide everyone a forum for communicating. Keep meetings brief (training classes excepted).

4. Can your staff, clients, and potential clients find out more about you through a Web site, hard copy, or other medium, or do you remain a mystery? Do you talk about your world to the people around you or do you keep to yourself? Mysterious people typically don't do well in business or friendship.

5. Yes, it's important to keep lines of communication open, but are you going back and forth with a person who consistently works against you? This could be in a personal relationship or with an employee or client. If the other side's intentions are consistently malevolent, it's irrational to continue to communicate. End the relationship. You are not in the business of being coerced. Do you have a close family member who is on the attack? If so, I sympathize. That's a tough one.

6. Be concise. Get to the point. Unless you are at a barbecue on a Saturday afternoon, do yourself and those around you a favor by getting on with things.

7. Be cordial and friendly, but don't overdo it.

8. Never bash others behind their backs. It's low-class and any employee, client, or relative who has any degree of personal sophistication will devalue you.

9. Talk up to people if that is the context. Your client — who is paying you — wants the bottom line and your personal friendship is not part of his or her expectation. Likewise, with your boss. These people expect you to listen to them and not to give orders, although they want you to provide them advice. Again, while you take direction and provide information, be cordial, but not too cordial.

10. Speak authoritatively to the people you direct. They want respect, concise direction, and they expect their paychecks to be on time.