The X styles

Communication World, Dec, 1997 by Cheryl O'Donovan

Xers are now 21, with unlined faces and most with college diplomas, or 32 and fed up with corporate antics. Their impatience leads the more swashbuckling Xers to forge their own "virtual" online businesses to conquer the Internet. Many Xers did not attend college - or were serial students, attending school after school. Xers don't climb ladders, as one Fortune article suggested, but dangle across a jungle gym, making shrewd moves that broaden their skills. They are sponges, soaking up technical knowledge that eclipses their Boomer predecessors. Xers crave constant stimulus. They love fun. They hate routine.

The label "Generation X" originated with Canadian Douglas Coupland, whose wry 1991 novel talked about "McJobs" and lowered expectations. Media hyperbole portrays Generation X as petulant "slackers" who refuse to leave the nest, with toddler-like attention spans. Twenty-somethings deserve a closer look, starting with their family origins. Most Xers weren't raised by stay-at-home moms. Their parents were probably divorced. The first "latch-key" kids, Xers went to day care and returned to an empty home after school. They turned to friends or a video game to ease their loneliness. Television imprinted this generation - starting with the children's TV show "Sesame Street" and then on to darker cable fare, including violence. Many have used a computer since they were six years old. Xers were also saturated with ad slogans and brands. Ergo, they want variety. Options. Brevity.

Several outcomes sprung from these early experiences. One, Xers grew up quickly. They mastered self-reliance. Some experts contend the reason why Xers postpone leaving home: They didn't have their parents' attention as children, and want to compensate. Other Xers concede it is too late, and freely admit their parents weren't influences. One young man credited his peers and the media in fortifying his work ethic, not his mother or father. Says Michael, a technical programmer, "They weren't around much to reinforce any habits."

Parental leniency and indifference also led to Xers' issue with authority - taking orders, for example. Interestingly, Xers demand respect, yet expect elders to earn theirs. Also, Xers tend to be vocal. "They always ask 'why' they have to do something," grouses a 39-year old finance manager, who's never seen art Xer employee stay after five. "I never asked 'why.' I just bit the bullet and did it."

Part of the communication rupture is because of Xer perceptions. Xers want it real. They loathe hypocrisy. And Boomers, feel many Xers, drip with hypocrisy. Boomers bemoan the Xer work ethic, yet waste time politicking. Remember the hazy footage of Boomers swarming Woodstock and protesting the Vietnam War? They didn't miss a beat in trading in those love beads and idealism for BMWs and the boardroom, and have largely preserved corporate hierarchies. Xers are struck by the double-talk. They heard about "quality time" when they seldom saw their vagabond parents. Mission statements that preach "teamwork" and "time management" defy those glib Boomers who try to outdo each other, or who apply layer after layer of procedures and standards.

The U.S. Congress and White House display those same fissures. "Leadership lacks decision-making," says Michael, 29, who's helping fine-tune a voice response system. "No one is firm on their positions. 'Pleasing everyone' is weakness. But there are those few who will make a stand for their beliefs, like Tiananmen Square in China." Despite President Clinton's saxophone playing and Madonna's MTV campaign urging younger people to vote, few did. One 25-year-old volunteered to help during the last Democratic convention, but her objective was to meet people, not fulfill a civic duty.

Organizations, even the White House, will continue to seek talent, and talent will come with a price. By the year 2000, there is an anticipated labor shortage - seven workers for every 10 jobs. Hints of the future are evident today. While HR organizations peddle "recruitment and retention" seminars, headhunters forage through resumes, only to bleakly report to their clients that "all the good ones are taken." This dearth of workers should prove to be the Xer's advantage - especially the star performers. Generation X, predict business soothsayers, will influence the work place more than the three generations preceding it.

How? Generation X includes more African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians. They are potent advocates for diversity. Xers don't poke a toe into technology and shudder - they plunge ahead, and technology, like the Internet, is exploding. If Boomers had strength in numbers, Xers have strength in scarcity. Those born in the mid-'70s represent the smallest pool of entry workers in six decades. With older Boomers retiring earlier, even more positions will be vacated. Since there are fewer of them, Generation X may successfully bend the work force to their will. Look to these possibilities: shorter work weeks, flexible hours, expanded job boundaries and greater personal development.