We were on the phone the other day chatting about this and that and we got to complaining about the "strange " manners and mores of younger workers: The kid who turned down the chance to go to a new business pitch to attend a distant cousin's wedding; or the young man who inquired about paternity leave in his interview; or the college senior who listed "beer" as a hobby on his resume; or the brand new employee who took three sick days in the first two weeks and then sent out a company wide e-mail announcing his vacation schedule. We wondered if we were getting fussy--or maybe something more interesting was happening.
Jeff: When we were kids we were very motivated. As garden-variety ad execs we wanted to be VPs; then we wanted to be Senior VP's--after that Exec VPs and then we simply had to be President. A new business pitch was a shot at promotion and glory--not to be passed up for anything! None of this was casual. Boomers were very motivated.
Paula: The women--my generation of do-it-all-have-it-all women--were very focused. We had to be. We cheered each other on and cried about the dominance of the Boy's Club.
Jeff:But everyone wanted the corner office and the personal assistant and the bigger paycheck. And if I remember correctly, when you were made President, I quit so I could be President somewhere else.
Paula:You're kidding ... that's why you quit? We women hardly broke stride even as we had our kids often rising at five in the morning to do our home chores, dress the kids and still hit the office at a decent time. We raced the clock all day long packing more than was humanly reasonable into every workweek while trying to keep our priorities--and our faculties--intact. And it was great, great fun.
Jeff:We still love the war stories: six ... new biz pitches in a single month--all in different cities. "It's Wednesday so this must be Evansville."
Paula:But even during those heady days I do remember how shocked I was that the young women who worked for me ... didn't want to be me! Like the Meryl Streep character in The Devil Wears Prada I was certain they were mistaken and would change their mind..."Don't be silly" Miranda said, "Who wouldn't want to be us?" It turns out they really did mean it. They didn't want to be us. Gen X and Gen Y have voted with their feet. Many corporate women seek jobs and careers that allow them the flexibility to work from home if their family needs require it and men, too, seek careers that allow for greater balance in their lives than their dads ever considered.
Flatter structures in most companies permit greater access to senior management resulting in increased visibility and sensitivity to the needs of junior employees. And the ubiquity of the virtual office has changed the dynamics of the workday forever. Smart employers seduce their Gen X/ Gen Y workers with flexible hours and support that ranges from offices that are open 24/7 to free food and childcare. The sense of entitlement that Boomers expressed in social movements like civil rights, gay rights and women's rights is, for their children, a more universal search for emancipation. The imperative for equality has evolved to an insistence on personal freedom.
Maybe the sons and daughters of Boomers learned more from them than was apparent earlier on. The search for control over one's life is a human theme, not a generational one. Where Boomers expressed the impulse for life control by gaining access to power in politics and in corporate life, succeeding generations did so by creating new options--especially in the workplace--that made a broad array of choices more accessible. It could be that Boomers who are now struggling with the dislocations of lost savings and lost jobs might have something to learn from their kids. Those who have been laid off during this recession and have been looking fruitlessly to find new jobs of the same description might look at the path their children chose as they tried to balance career goals with life goals.
Our kids were inventive: they created options that allowed them to pursue multiple goals simultaneously--maybe we can too. As we look at our reduced 401K's, it might be helpful to talk to younger folks, many of whom have pulled way back from the consumerism of their parents. They seem to intuitively understand what we Boomers sometimes have trouble with: It's not how much money you think you need; it's what can you do with the money you have. Perhaps the themes of making choices and taking control of one's life are a Boomer legacy. But the form that subsequent generations have given to their own search is quite different and may provide some helpful and hopeful models to Boomers who are looking to reset their priorities and their own options for the decades ahead.