A recent article in Fortune Magazine focused on how managers are trying to figure out what makes Gen Xers (late 20's - late 30's) tick. Gen Xers? Who came up with that one? Me, I'm a Baby Boomer (age 40-58) and I MUST add that I JUST make it to be a Baby Boomer!!

One very interesting fact that was found is that Gen Xers are far more loyal employees than their older counterparts. It states that only 23 % of baby boomers say they want to work for the same company until retirement but almost half of the Gen Xers say the same thing!

Reach Advisors, A Boston-based marketing strategy firm, polled 3,000 Gen Xers who are raising families. They found huge differences between Gen Xer parents and Baby Boomer parents. For Gen Xers, family takes extreme priority. Instead of fitting family into their work life, they are fitting work life into their family life. Boomers define "having it all" as not only having a career and family, but also having alot of materialistic stuff. Gen Xers are spending their time and money differently. As a result, Gen Xers are pretty frugal. According to James Chung, author of the study, "Bragging rights have changed." The Boomers talk about how much they spend on things; Xers care about how much they have saved....even among the wealthy families. Savings is a very big buzz word for them.

So what does this all mean for the workplace? Well, because family is a priority, the 70-hour work week is rapidly disappearing as more requests for time off are being put in. However, the "loyalty to their employers" kick in as the Xers still need to make ends meet. Smart companies that want to keep these people will definitely not want to miss delivering on the raises!!

So, as I sit here trying to digest this information, I wonder where I fall in. I'm a Boomer; I'm back to work for my old boss; I have 2 kids; in a very, very, very fine house with 2 cats in the yard....oops, sorry.....I started to quote CSNY...that's how you know I'm a Boomer! Seriously, it's a fine line. I just make the Boomers (haveI mentioned that enough times?) so I think I see some qualities of the Gen Xers as well. It's a nice balance!

Michele