Generation X is bold, quick, computer-savvy

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Mar 15, 1999 by Maggie Jackson Associated Press

NEW YORK -- It was the first day of school for Macy's new assistant buyers. The twentysomething recruits had barely signed in when one bustled up to training chief Bernadette Commisa, asking: "How am I doing?"

"That took me back! We had only just come in and taken attendance," Commisa recalls. "They see the world a little differently than we did."

Bold, savvy, confident and often demanding, the 45 million youngsters dubbed Generation X are hard to miss in today's workplace, and the staider side of Corporate America is only just learning -- sometimes with eyebrows raised -- to cope with them. Companies from Macy's to Deloitte Consulting are revamping their training and recruiting programs, educating managers and streamlining communications to better understand and utilize this sometimes maligned generation. "All we were exposed to was the (images of the) earring in the nose, snowboards and baggy clothing," says Deborah Gatti, senior training specialist for Mervyn's department stores. "We've had to train our culture about the great things about these folks, and their shortcomings, and how we can support them." Sandra Bench, a 24-year-old Mervyn's manager in Okemos, Mich., is well aware of her generation's mixed reputation. "To me, Generation X defines an age group; to others, it defines a work ethic and many other things as well," she says. But wait. Good young workers have always questioned authority, asked lots of questions and rattled their elders' nerves. Is today's youth so different? It seems so. Just as baby boomers were shaped by Watergate and the Vietnam War, the generation that ranges from their 20s up to mid-30s has been influenced by this era of technology, television, daycare, divorce and downsizing. As a result of growing up in a fast-paced world, these young adults are said to be even more skeptical and impatient with the status quo than previous generations. Often reared as latchkey children, they're fiercely independent, yet needy -- working well alone but requiring liberal doses of feedback. Disgusted by their parents' workaholism, they defend their right to a full life outside of work. "The GenX age group does come to the workplace with different expectations and experiences," says Don Blanton, human resources director at Sandia National Laboratories, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary that has revised key management training programs in the last year to include lessons on what makes Generation X tick. Just take a look at the many companies this generation has started, in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. Their offices are freewheeling, egalitarian, fast-paced, surf's-up kind of places, where play is taken as seriously as work. It's no wonder that many conservative companies, run by aging baby boomers, have begun trying to adapt to this younger crowd. And adapt they must. A big reason that companies are bothering to bend to the new generation is they are literally "hot stuff." They get three, four or five offers in this tight job market, and many are confident to the point of arrogance. Further, they move on quickly. Americans hold an average of nearly nine different jobs by their 30s, according to the Labor Department. Today's grads are bold enough to ask a prospective employer uncomfortable questions such as, "`If I don't like what my boss says, can I go to the next level?'" says Debbie Herd, manager of college relations for J.C. Penney. "With the strong economy... they can ask those questions that can push a company close to the edge of not liking them," says Herd, adding that young candidates have been so tough that J.C. Penney tossed its "fluff" brochures and now gives out hard-core information, even details on salaries, at job fairs and first meetings. Generation Xers also are making splashes in the workplace. Macy's East, a division of Federated Department Stores, had to change its training of managers and of new recruits to keep up. Buyers had problems keeping the new generation of executives "motivated, stimulated, challenged and growing in their new careers," recalls Lawrence Naishtut, until recently vice president of merchant development and recruitment. About 18 months ago, Macy's began sending top managers to a class on supervising employees that included lessons on Generation X. "Some of the older management needed to recognize that life has changed," said Naishtut. "Who cares whether (GenXers) are good or bad? The bottom line is that they are the future."