What generation are my kids?

Via GenXpert, I found another Gen X blogger, The Gen X Files, which led me to an interesting thought. Dave who writes this blog is a Gen Xer, and has a couple of kids, the younger of whom is 8, about the same age as my older son. And Dave says his kids are Millenials, or Gen Y. But are they?

I know we like to put labels on everything, to put people into convenient boxes so we can classify them, clarify them, and of course market to them. And that works to some degree, but sometimes we draw the box too broadly.

Take the boomers. They've been defined as the children of the post-war generation who came of age in the 60s and 70s. Who are now entering the last decade or so of work, starting to be grandparents, etc. I loved the label Generation X when Douglas Copeland first defined it. We were the gap generation, not the boomers, not the children of boomers. Our parents were born during World War Two. We came of age in the 80s, and entered the work world right when all the boomers swelled the ranks and left no openings, when bad times hit the economy and our hopes of life-long employers like our parents had had was a wasted dream.

The generation right after us, the echo boom, Gen Y, Millenials, or whatever name they go by, had it better. Their parents hovered, sheltered, and made life easier for them (which is in no way to be interpreted as a swipe at our parents, who did a fine job!). Because they were numerous where Gen X was few, they were a desired audience, so media paid attention to them in spades, as did marketers. They grew up in a more digital world, with video games, home computers, and ubiquitous cell phones and internet. They wouldn't know how to dial a rotary phone, load the paper in a typewriter, or maybe even crank the film forward in a camera.

Right. That's us, that's them. But what about my kids? They are the children of Gen Xers through and through, born at the beginning of the 2000s (does that decade have a name yet?). They are growing up in the shadow of Gen Y, although that shadow is nowhere near as suffocating as the boomers' shadow under which I grew up. Are they a generation of their own, or will they be lumped in with the group 15-20 years older than them? What do we know about my children's generation?

Wikipedia defines Gen Y as born right up to 2000. My son was born in 2001. Some have called this group Generation Z (we're going to run out of letters soon!). Another Wikipedia article says Generation Z starts with those born after 1997 (although the same article as says those born after 1991).

While my googling is hardly extensive research, I think it helps prove my point that whatever generation and whatever their defining characteristics come to define my children, they are not Gen Y. I hope their generation gets what ours lacked -- enough numbers to have advantages but small enough to not lose out in the workplace.

No job? Join the army

Via Penelope Trunk, I found a link to an article from a couple months back that says that the recession is driving up enrollment in the US military. I suppose it makes sense. When the jobs disappear in this economy, rich 20-somethings will go back to university, and poor Gen Ys will enlist. Seems like a reasonable idea, unless there were a war on. Oh wait, there is a war on. Two in the US, last I looked.

In some cases, the peace of mind that comes with good benefits and a regular paycheck is overcoming concerns about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which any new enlistee is likely to join.

Doesn't seem fair that poorer Americans are forced into this kind of choice.

Recession will be tough for Gen Y

This isn't my first recession. I believe my career was defined in large part by the lack of work that came out of the last recession in the 90s, just when I finished school. So this doesn't scare me as much as it might some of the newer workers whose entire careers have been focused around their wants and needs. And part of me can't help but gloat a bit about that.

This Dilbert cartoon really sums it up:

I'm an asset now that my childbearing years are over

When I was in discussions for my part time job, one of the guys said they liked the fact that I'm done having kids, since I won't be taking any more maternity leaves on their employ. At the time I didn't think much of it, but now that I'm here, I see his point.

I look around this office of about 20 people and there are about 10 women here who are expected to have a baby sometime in the next five years. Seriously. Imagine the turmoil when that starts happening!

The work here, outside of management jobs like mine and a few others, is mainly administrative, so there are a lot of women here between 25-35. A bunch of them are married, young, and three just bought their first homes last month. Three! They've all talked about "when I have kids" so you know it's on their minds.

So here we have it, another reason why a Gen Xer is an asset to a workplace -- my childbearing years are behind me! (and before you flame me telling me that women in their 40s have kids a lot, I know that, but I personally am done with having babies, and find that most women of 40 are also putting those years behind them.)

I wonder if Gen Y will be very different parents than us, especially when it comes to work-life balance? Hmmmmm

All my coworkers are Gen Y

When you work in an office, birthdays are celebrated. In my new office, it seems they usually pass a card for signatures, unless it's a "big" birthday, in which case there is more. This week, the office manager turned 30, so we celebrated with cake and champagne, and a bit of socializing.

There are only about 15 or 20 people (haven't met everyone yet!) who work here, and most of them were in the room for champagne. Talk came around to whose "big" birthday would be next, and eventually it came out how old just about everyone is. Turns out more than half the women are under 30. A few of the women and a few men are in their early to mid 30s. And one woman will turn 40 later this year.

Then there's me.

Granted, there are two senior people who work here who were out of town that day -- my boss, the President, who is in his 50s, and the VP of operations, who is 46. But man, it was a huge shock to find myself in the minority, and to find that I was the oldest person in the room.

That said, it didn't make me feel old, too much. More it was a surprise to be on this side of the dividing line. My previous office jobs in the past decade were government, where there are a LOT of baby boomers, so I was always on the young side of the line before.

I guess the good thing about being on the older people side is that it kind of reinforces the seniority I bring to my job. I want to be seen as a higher up, a senior staffer, so I guess being older helps with that impression.

But man, I need to learn more about Gen Y now.

Men in traditional female occupations

My kids went back to school yesterday, and once the parent party was over, I noticed how very few male teachers there are in my school. I think this is pretty common around North America, especially at elementary schools.

Is this a function of our paranoid society, where every man is seen as a possible abuser and women are seen as more nurturing? Is that why men teach at high school but not so much at elementary?

The sad part is I believe boys need male role models at the younger grades. I haven't done any scientific research, but is it possible boys feel a little alienated in the classroom because girls can identify with the teacher better?

Luckily for my kids, we have had some male teachers. Not in the classroom, but at daycare and after-school care. Even at the toddler stage, my boys had at least one male teacher -- very rare for ECE (early childhood education). They had two male teachers in the 3-5 year old group at daycare. And there was a male teacher at my older son's aftercare his first year (an aboriginal, disabled male to boot!), who was an amazing guy and super role model.

And today, I learned that my younger son's kindercare teacher (in my province, kindergarten is only 2 1/2 hours a day. The rest of the school day I pay for kindercare, then aftercare. It's all run at our school by the YMCA, and it's a great program, but it costs me.), with whom he'll spend more time than his female kindergarten teacher, is a man. And a Gen Y, manly looking guy to boot. I'm pretty pleased.

So why aren't men teaching young kids?

Gen Y job hunting mistakes

I have a website for my public relations 'company' -- I put company in quotes because it's just me -- and I'm listed with professional organizations in my field, so from time to time I get people contacting me who are job hunting. Needless to say, I'm not hiring, but I find this amusing anyhow.

This week I got an email, obviously sent out to a group, from a young girl in Toronto (the other side of the country!), who is looking for a job. I wouldn't for a minute consider her, and here are the main reasons why:

1. She's in Toronto, but nowhere in her email does she say she'd like to relocate to Vancouver.

2. She gave me too much information about why her internship in journalism didn't work out and why she's better suited for PR. For example:

"The idea of organizing product launches excites me and this is not
something I can do in a newsroom. I can, however, talk about the toothpaste I used in the morning before coming to work, but there's no excitement there."

3. She sent me an attached resume. Bad enough her email landed in my junk folder, but if I were on a PC (which I'm not -- MAC rules!), I'd never open her attachment it for fear of viruses.

And worst of all,

4. She invites me to check out her Facebook profile, but it's not public. In fact, she says:

" I also welcome you to check out my Facebook profile..., as it is a good indication of how unique and creative my writing style is. Most importantly, it expresses the essence of ME."

I went so far as to look her up, but all I got was a name, city and photo. I guess maybe that's the essence of HER.

My conclusion is that new media options may have opened up new techniques for Gen Y job hunters, but classic mistakes never get old.

Is Gen Y pressuring Gen X to get a move on?

I've written before about Linda Duxbury, a very smart lady at Carleton University who is an expert on workplace demographics and its affect on careers and jobs. I was re-reading her notes about the conflicts between generations today and this struck me:

...contentious situations will arise. The Boomers see the youngest generation as lazy. Generation X thinks the youngest generation are spoiled brats...Generation Y feels that no one respects or listens to them. They want an opportunity to learn and a mentor, not just a blunt, in-your-face boss who tells them what to do.

Now that I'm considering giving up the freelance life and taking a job, should I be worried about competing with Generation Yers? And if they're competing with me for jobs, do I need to change my perceptions and expectations of the workplace to be up there with them? One thing about freelancing all these years is that I haven't shared too many work situations with the younger set.

Is there a lot of resentment from Gen Y about Gen X? I know we Gen Xers resented the heck out of the baby boomers when we were in our 20s, because they had all the job and all the potential advancement, and we were under employed and lacking in opportunities. Does Gen Y want us out of the way now, or are they less bitter and actually appreciate our experience?

Finding your passion Part 1

I did some work last year for a 25-year-old guy who decided to try a job a week for a whole year. Sean Aiken's goal is to find out what kind of work he wants to do now that he has finished business school. I think in the end he's found a career as a speaker talking about his one-year experience. He's blogged the whole thing of course at One Week Job. It's a fun experiment that is perfect for someone of his age and generation. And Sean has a lot to say about his generation and their lack of commitment to the workplace.

Sean talks a lot about "finding your passion" -- seeking out something you feel passionate about and making that your life's work. I think it's great advice, but am not sure it gives me any answers. What if my passion lies outside work life? What if my passion is what I already do? As I've said before, I don't believe I can keep earning a living at this for another 25 years, even if I'm passionate about it.

More on this topic tomorrow.