I asked him to expand on this.
‘Gen Y generally has an apprehension of moving beyond adolescence and growing
up – of facing the realisation that now it’s time to save for a mortgage, to commit
to a relationship, and to find one’s way in the world. It’s also about coming to the
realisation that the world doesn’t always think you’re wonderful.
They are very civic minded – they look at and measure themselves in terms of
giving back – and in terms of being seen to give back. So within the workplace,
the whole idea of stepping up and leading effectively and in the right way is
something that presents a challenge, and is a fear to a certain extent.’
I was particularly interested in what he had to say about Gen X, because I am
smack bang in the upper-middle X demographic, and I know what I fear most in
terms of my own success/fail rates in the workplace.
‘Gen X has been holding the management helm since the GFC – in other words,
managing business during perhaps some of the most turbulent times in corporate
life. They have faced the advent of digital disruption, including the thought that
your competitor isn’t the obvious one; a prime example being that of Uber for
taxis. They have faced the “unknown unknowns”.
They are standing looking wistfully both at Baby Boomers – who only had to deal
with managing conventional business, whilst they deal with asymmetric corporate
warfare - and at Gen Y, who seem to have a certainty about the way to handle the
new business age that they lack’.
I personally have always felt a certain need to succeed out of guilt; guilt that if I
don’t be a powerhouse of personal and business brilliance, I am undervaluing the
sacrifices of my grandparents in the Second World War, and those of my parents
who didn’t have the opportunities I had when it came to choice of career and
education. I wanted to know if Bernard thought this was a Gen X-ian trait.
‘ I certainly think that migrant kids - those who are the next generation on from
the “ten pound Poms” and Greek and Italian immigrants of the 50s and 60s have a strong generational obligation. I also think that Ge n Y have a different
feeling of obligation in that their parents had tertiary education access – can they
do the same, and succeed? It was easier for the Baby Boomers; their parents were
not generally well-educated, and most had achieved more professionally by the
age of 21 than their parents would achieve in a lifetime.
8
GLOSS JUNE 2015