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10 Reasons Gen Xers Are Unhappy at Work

businessweek.com — Corporations really need folks in their 30s to early 40s, but there is a tentative relationship at best between that cohort and Corporate America

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  • domfosnz, on 05/19/2008, -8/+50I'm a Gen Xer and all that rings true. That's why I'm self employed.
    • thailand1972, on 05/19/2008, -0/+12I'm exactly the same. I'm 36, and have been self-employed for the last 4 years. Corporate life sucks a big one and I'll never go back to it unless I'm literally starving / on the brink of homelessness. I don't know if it's specifically a "Gen X" thing, because I'm sure it sucks for many Gen Y and even "Boomers" in the office.
    • RKnight, on 05/19/2008, -0/+13Right on, same here. It's nice being self employed, you get to choose your 70-hour work week. ;-)
      • Antwan718, on 05/19/2008, -0/+2It's rewarding to be your own boss, that 70 hour work week if it is YOUR own and not someone else's is a proud feeling that you can't imagine unless you are part of it.
      • PaulOwen, on 05/19/2008, -0/+5I suppose the article isn't pretending that there's any mystery why Gen Xers don't get on with corporates. It's because we've been shafted enough times to be wise to them.

        I've personally spent far too long working for baby-boomer bosses who quite frankly, couldn't manage their own underwear draw let alone anyone working for them. And their technical skills are always historical, vague and irrelevant to anything that needs to be done.

        Example:
        "Oh yes, I used to work on mainframe IBM systems a long time ago"
        (you used to change tapes on big black boxes that had IBM in little colorful letters on them)
    • normalkid0615, on 05/19/2008, -0/+15I HATE YOU ALL

      -written from my corporate jailcell
      • LeeSoong, on 05/25/2008, -0/+2It's so nice to go to school for 4 ~ 6 years,
        owe tons of money on student loans,
        all to earn the privilege of
        living out the best years of your life
        sitting in a fabric covered box.


        How's that working for ya?
    • prleet, on 05/19/2008, -3/+1dejavu! i just went out to lunch with a coworker and saw some road construction workers and asked how they have better jobs than we do sitting in a cubicle at a staring at computers all day and then going home when it turns dark...corporate life sux!
    • MindTrigger, on 05/19/2008, -4/+27I don't know about the rest of you, but this 'Gen X' man is completely pissed off at his parents and the rest of the boomers. They made a mess of the world. They lived like gluttonous pigs. They bought all the useless appliances and gadgets that corporate American spewed forth. They didn't save enough money for retirement (if any) because they were too busy pissing it all down the drain on garbage products no one actually needed. Because of all of this, I have learned to reject their entire way of thinking.

      I have found myself being less of a consumer and more of a giver in recent years. I am returning back to many basics that my parents walked away from such as gardening and being more self-sufficient at home. I have made changes in my home to slow the waste of resources, and use of destructive crap like plastic. Believe it or not, it's possible to lead a modern, techno-savvy life, while keeping your feet firmly in older, cleaner, more pure ways of living.

      As for work, I have mostly decided that money is an illusion, and a waste of time. Sure I want the security money brings, but I do not want to waste my life trying to make excess cash to buy more crap I don't need. Ask any of the money chasers you know in your life what they will do when they become rich, and they will begin listing all the stuff they want to buy. They hold on to the illusion, much like our boomer parents, that money and material goods will fill the dark abyss in their souls that formed as a result of ignoring their families and walking away from nature.

      I love my parents, and they are really good people. Like many other boomers though, they lost touch of what really matters in life, and bought into the false 'American Dream'. For me the things that really matter are family, friends, and the simple joys like camping, fishing, gardening, and studying personal interests. Nothing I own makes me feel as good as those things do, and I'm glad I have learned this at a fairly young age so I don't spend my life living for the next dollar (or Amero as the case may be) :)
      • roodammy44, on 05/19/2008, -0/+4Damn right. The best place to watch youtube is outside in a garden full of fruit and veg.
        Also, I believe in money only as a means to achieve my life objectives, not as a goal in itself.
        The dream of most of my gen Y friends is to earn as much as they can to relax and maybe be self sufficient, and no more.
        Who needs more money when you have a laptop and the outdoors?
      • JointVenture, on 05/19/2008, -9/+1You're a ***** loser, have fun with that.

        Take your essay to match.com where it belongs.
        • MindTrigger, on 05/19/2008, -0/+4Looks like I pissed off some boomer and/or money chaser. Good luck with that empty life.
      • ericrous, on 05/19/2008, -1/+3You're not alone. This GenXer HATES ***** boomers. They refused to retire and held on selfishly long after they should have, delaying our careers as they jealously guarded all the decent jobs. Now they're going to destroy our social security system, too boot. I look forward to the day when we legalize euthanasia and end their selfish reign for good.
      • Abomonog, on 05/19/2008, -0/+3That's funny. I'm an Xer too and even though it is the boomers that got the jobs they aren't the ones who messed things up. That distinction belongs to the generation before them. Born between 1935 and 45 who came into life too late to remember the horrors and sacrifice that was WW2 and too early for the 60's to instill any sense of fun into them. Aside from the Cuban missile crisis (an event that must have been pretty surreal to them) and the 70's gas crunch these people have lived their prime in the most prosperous time this country has seen. They sneered at the younger boomers as the boomers became hippies and then used the survivors in their quest to become the majority of our current top %5. Their numbers include our President (barf), VP, Carl Rove, and most of the current GOP. A good chunk of the child happy priesthood happens to be from this lot too.

        So what's wrong with them? They have lived in a golden age most of their lives and now they feel that they are entitled. They were basically borne into wealth either by family or the sheer luck of a great economy and therefor they feel they are deserved of something we are not. The poor carry the war and tax burden while the rich and politically powerful get richer and stay far away from the blood because they are entitled. They don't think they can get away with banging the choirboy, they think no one should be asking them questions about it. They wallow in prescription drugs while calling for the arrests of marijuana smokers and they keep private hookers while persecuting the street girl. Don't blame the boomers for this mess. They're only the sheep, The real wolves are about 10 years older.

    • Rioracer916, on 05/19/2008, -1/+5I'm considered a Gen-Y, but I agree with you.

      I've gone back to basics in a lot of ways, such as trying to better myself by learning and practicing cooking, gardening, and foreign language. Being more of a fix-it man and less reliant on quick fixes and conveniences. It really takes the edge off corporate life to know you have a few practical skills that you and others need and respect you for.

      Can't say the same about my corporate job, staring at a computer screen for 8+ hours a day and making inane small talk.
      • JointVenture, on 05/19/2008, -1/+1Are you guys ***** kidding me, go into ANY HOME DEPOT, and tell me if you see BOOMERS or Y'ers in there.

        Its ***** packed with BOOMERS.

        What planet do you live on?
        • Birdoftruth, on 05/19/2008, -0/+2those are only a small percent of the boomers though. They just happen to frequent there a lot.
        • JointVenture, on 05/19/2008, -1/+2You've got to be kidding me, boomers and Gen Xers are the reason there ARE Home Depots.

          They certainly didnt build them the past 10 years because they predicted the Y generation was going to start shopping there in 2010.

  • jaobedoza, on 05/19/2008, -7/+56all generations like to fire the boss and be self employed
    • Fullvinyl, on 05/19/2008, -2/+3That's a good summary of class war in general.
    • Shivetya, on 05/19/2008, -0/+3but this generation seems less inclined to take that jump. I don't know what gives.
    • known, on 05/19/2008, -3/+4Employment is to survive in life.
      Entrepreneurship is to succeed in life.
      • Birdoftruth, on 05/19/2008, -1/+1so money is the definition to succeeding in life? thats horrible. There are many entrepreneurs who are ***** up and some don't succeed. I got an uncle who owns two BBQ restaurants in NC and he's constantly having to borrow money from his siblings. You need to abandon this illusion of yours.
      • bosssmiley, on 05/20/2008, -0/+2I trust you mean entrepreneur in it's broadest sense of innovator. That given I'm inclined to agree; those people who make life better for themselves and others are indeed successes at life.
  • edebolt, on 05/19/2008, -5/+100I was unhappy at work until I started whizzing in my bosses coffee. Now I can't stop smiling :-)
    • abran1984, on 05/19/2008, -1/+5Dugg for "whizzing"
    • Pulch, on 05/19/2008, -1/+7Don't whiz on the electric fense! (from Blammo)
      • marx2k, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1Blammo doesn't misspell fence
      • Pulch, on 05/19/2008, -0/+2Blammo isn't in a hurry to close Digg because the boss is coming.
    • mrn111, on 05/19/2008, -1/+2Whizzinator
    • Fallout911, on 05/19/2008, -1/+2I haven't peed in his coffee yet....I have spit in it.
    • Oea420, on 05/19/2008, -0/+2does that work like ass-pennies?
  • fuzed, on 05/19/2008, -14/+13Interesting and accurate article.
    • alpha19, on 05/19/2008, -15/+3It just sounds like a big whine-fest to me. Maybe the Xers should do something about it instead of being emo.
      • gobbleplex, on 05/19/2008, -2/+4Do something like being self-employed? That's what the article says they're doing already.
      • Hangly, on 05/20/2008, -1/+2How is whining about emos not emo?
  • Maxjan, on 05/19/2008, -18/+6Why is it any list of reasons why a specific group of older people are reportedly having trouble do they always list younger generations as a problem? Since the dawn of time the reason has been the same for older people "Damn those pesky kids with their motorcars/color television/internet!"

    It's all the same.
    • wiggles, on 05/19/2008, -3/+7because younger people are a threat to older people. Younger people are faster, have more energy, have sharper minds. Older people see the strenghts in youth that they have lost, and it's natural to think that younger people are a threat to their position. People in general have a tendency to see not their own strengths, but the strengths of others.
      • jankind, on 05/19/2008, -2/+15I'm a Gen Xer and I don't feel threatened by the younger generation.
        In fact, they make me fear for the future of this country, not my job. The ones where I work are kind of a joke. Faster and sharper? More like lazy and apathetic.
        • Branyers, on 05/19/2008, -1/+6Hold on, you forgot completely self-absorbed and generally clueless.
      • BoonTobias, on 05/19/2008, -3/+3what the ***** do you think you are doing by spreading logic around here young man?
      • Pixelante, on 05/19/2008, -1/+4"have sharper minds"
        O RLY?
  • floppyparty, on 05/19/2008, -30/+14Reason #1: They are Gen Xers.
    • Butros, on 05/19/2008, -5/+1Agreed. They love blaming everybody but themselves, and enjoy all the benefits of a free world basically handed to them by those evil baby boomers whose optimism created one of the best economies in history, and who avoided fighting a war with the soviets that would have been 100 times worse than WW2. So this is a Gen Y'er to all you Gen X'ers out there: Get out of the way or get to work.
      • ericrous, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1Baby Boomers are a bunch of selish whiners who do nothing but suck up resources from the day they were born and started screaming "ME ME ME!" It's because of their SUV's, entitlements, and stubborn refusal to retire that we are in the ***** right now in this country. They waste every resource that is given to them, will bankrupt the social security system, and have driven healthcare into this country right into the toilet. They spend and spend, then scream like bloody murder if their taxes or gas prices go up.

        They have achieved NOTHING except to drain our resources. The sooner we can get them into substandard nursing homes, the better.
  • oceanrain, on 05/19/2008, -1/+111The article forgot the biggest reason we are unhappy...The PAY SUCKS!
    • enntee, on 05/19/2008, -2/+13I've actually found that my happiness is much more dependent on factors other than payment. The big ones for me are co-workers, management, and -- above all else -- how much I enjoy the work I'm doing.

      Don't get me wrong, money is cool, but some of the lower-paying jobs I've had have made me happier.
      • Corvidae, on 05/19/2008, -0/+3I'm making half what I used to in corporate jobs, and loving every minute of it. What's worse is I'm doing the same work for a small company. Makes all the difference in the world.
      • humptyz, on 05/19/2008, -0/+2I make less than what I made in my corporate job working at a university, but the increased freedom to do what I want is so worth it.

        I should add I'm an XY cusp, I'm exactly 30 so I don't know which generation I fit in. :-(
        • netant, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1You're still X. Generations are more like 15-20 year progressions, rather than 10. GenY are people just entering the workforce.

          Then again, if you still keep your parents informed of everything you do, and they go to your job interviews, need personal validation to feel better about yourself, and you think you should be promoted and running everything, then perhaps you are a GenY. ;)
    • danmarek, on 05/19/2008, -3/+4The biggest reason for you...you think getting paid well will make you happy.
    • marx2k, on 05/19/2008, -1/+2Eh... pay is secondary or tertiary to me. I increased my salary 300% in the last year by starting a new and different career. However, even with more pay, I still don't have much of a desire to buy anything more expensive than what I was buying previously. The only thing I found myself spending more on is replacing non-organic food items with organic ones.
      • markgl, on 05/19/2008, -0/+2its not about that. its being paid properly for the skills and the work that you do.
    • rsg2003, on 05/19/2008, -1/+4The REAL reasons Gen-Xers aren't happy at work

      1) Management doesn't allow them to play their Pearl Jam CD's at full blast

      2) They don't get home in time to watch Melrose Place reruns

      3) They regular overhear the interns referring to their favorite music as "old school"

      4) Myst won't play on the company's XP-based machines

      5) their haircuts are no longer considered "cool"
  • LeeSoong, on 05/19/2008, -50/+17It's a job, not a party.
    If you don't like it - change it and stop whining.

    Now, get back to work or go on vacation,
    try a 'test drive' of a new job:

    http://vocationvacations.com/

    it's your life, you might as well enjoy it.
  • dangerz, on 05/19/2008, -51/+52How about .. stop crying and just do your job like anyone else? Gen Y or Gen X or Gen Z or whatever. There's a job to do. You're supposed to do it just like I'm supposed to do my job. If I can do my job better than you do yours, I get the promotion. If you do yours better than I do mine, you get the promotion. If you're not happy, leave. If I'm not happy, I'll leave.

    Things are pretty simple. Not sure why they need to be complicated with a list.
    • uptwolait, on 05/19/2008, -9/+32You sound just like my last corporate boss, and I sure don't miss him now that I've left, started working for a smaller company with owners who admit people are different, take the time to understand their employees' strengths and weaknesses, and build teams around the people, not the task list. Oh, and I've doubled my previous salary at this job.
      • bobcrotch, on 05/19/2008, -1/+10Solution: Stop working for large corporations. It turns out some people like to be rewarded for being good at their job.

        Not everything is puppies and lolipops.
      • ShugNinx21, on 05/19/2008, -1/+6I wish the workplace worked like that, but from what I've experienced it's more what the boss thinks of you and how well he thinks you do your job rather than how well you actually do it. So, the slacker who does a mediocre job gets the promotion because he kisses the boss' ass., meanwhile you show up everyday, work hard, and do your job but get nothing or very little return because you think you should be rewarded on the quality of work you do and not how much you kiss the boss' ass.
        • bobcrotch, on 05/19/2008, -2/+2Sounds like you probably don't even work.
    • leerayIG88, on 05/19/2008, -16/+4It's complicated because people are too stupid to understand something simple.

      Digg me up? :-D
    • SydBarrett420, on 05/19/2008, -11/+9Exactly, I don't understand why people don't understand the word "business". When I go to work I don't expect to party and have a super duper fun time, I expect to work hard and earn my pay because it is what I need to survive. Fun times and ice cream cones are what days off are for. As long as your boss and coworkers aren't total *****, you are doing alright. Just stay focused, stay enthusiastic about making money (it's what its all about), and work hard.
      • JohnnyRad, on 05/19/2008, -2/+12Your job shouldn't just be about making money. You're spending the majority of your day (in most cases) there; might as well enjoy it.
        • SydBarrett420, on 05/19/2008, -6/+4No, it is all about money while you are working. Trying pay your mortgage with "enjoyment". You are spending the majority of your time there because you are (hopefully) trying to earn as much money as possible for your family and future. If you are sacrificing pay for enjoyment at the workplace then you are missing the entire point of going to work (not aimed at you specifically JohnyRad).

          While you are on the clock your only focus should be getting paid as much as possible.
        • czg3000, on 05/19/2008, -1/+3Successful teamwork, innovation, and friendly work environment can all be "enjoyable" can't they? What if my workplace (including boss and coworkers) is lacking that? For me that would limit my productivity. It would make work having to be an uphill battle all the time, and if I knew there was a company out there whose core principles were to emphasize those areas instead of hinder them, then that's where I want to work--and for me I'd even take a paycut.
        • WarpFox, on 05/19/2008, -2/+1in after troll
      • gwyrth, on 05/19/2008, -1/+2Most people don't work to kill time, they work for money to pay bills.
      • cubicledrone, on 05/19/2008, -0/+5Work hard.

        And get fired.

        • netant, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1Its the reality of the workplace. But you need to accept that, rather than build resentment towards it. You're attaching animosity to a set of co-workers and bosses, rather than "the system".

          Working hard should be perceived as rewarding in itself. Its only bad when you're not building new skills. You do need to invest time towards looking to move up, or gain a skill or plan to move out. Networking is more important now than ever.
        • cubicledrone, on 05/19/2008, -2/+0I attach it to co-workers and bosses because they are lying rat ***** cheat unwiped gangrene-infected asscracks.

          Networking matters *****-all. I have 18 pages of skills. Nobody gives a *****. Working hard should be rewarded with a ***** paycheck, like it was for 200 years before now.
        • jcm267, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1200 years before now people worked hard and often times got ***** for it.
      • roodammy44, on 05/19/2008, -0/+2Working hard for you sounds like it will be horrible.

        Your philosophy on life sounds like "life's a bitch and then you die"

        Lighten up.
      • pkonink, on 05/19/2008, -0/+2This comment coming from "Sydbarret420." You win the irony prize for today.
      • burdalane, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1Work is mainly about making money, but you also have to balance the desire to make as much money as possible with the desire to do as little work as possible.
    • BradMW, on 05/19/2008, -1/+3If you have to ask what Gen Z is, you can't afford it.
    • shaka999, on 05/19/2008, -1/+21Ahhh, if only it were that simple.

      Corporate politics are a big part of the problem. The best person very often DOESN'T get the promotion. Top people have empires to build and often ass kissers make it to the top faster than others. I guess you could always say thats part of the job but it shouldn't be.
      • JointVenture, on 05/19/2008, -1/+4That's going to be no different in a small company.

        In fact in a small company you might work your ass off for 10 years only to have some inexperienced son or daughter come in and take the promotion you were eying.

        You will get out of it what you put in, and if you're intelligent you will know quickly that it is a dead end job so it is on you to make a move and get another job.
    • Genady, on 05/19/2008, -1/+6Spoken just like the Gen Y Kids I used to manage, then whined about only getting 4 stars on their performance reviews. Got news for you sweetheart, how well you do your job has dick to do with promotions. Know why? You don't do what you do now in a promoted job. Oh, and politics too.

      Good programers != good managers.
      • roodammy44, on 05/19/2008, -1/+3Who the hell would want to be a manager?
        I know very few people in gen Y who would actively try to be one.
        Tell people what to do all day and stress about project deadlines - fun.
        I prefer building things and solving puzzles with computer code.
        • Genady, on 05/19/2008, -0/+3Yeah, that's why I'm back to being a Systems Program er.
        • roodammy44, on 05/19/2008, -0/+2@Genady:

          Well done :-)
    • cubicledrone, on 05/19/2008, -1/+32a) You don't get the promotions because there are no promotions.
      b) Wages have been stagnant for 35 years
      c) Nobody gives a ***** how well you do your job. It's about costs.
      d) Nobody gives a ***** if you're happy. It's about costs.

      Did I mention nobody gives a *****?
      • Pixelante, on 05/19/2008, -0/+9Even if you did mention it, we didn't listen. It's about costs.
      • tehHardcorez, on 05/19/2008, -0/+3What you say rings even more true because of your awesome name.
    • JangFei, on 05/19/2008, -2/+10It doesn't work like that, and if you've been working for any length of time you know that. It's who you know - whose ***** you suck (figuratively) - not what you know or how hard you work. We basically have a system that rewards lazy idiot ***** like yourself, and puts hard working, intelligent, honorable people at the bottom.

      It's always been like that, so quit kidding yourself and shut up.
    • mizike, on 05/19/2008, -0/+19"If I can do my job better than you do yours, I get the promotion. If you do yours better than I do mine, you get the promotion."

      I hate to be cynical, but I've got to disagree with you as I've seen so many nepotistic idiots get jobs they are way under-qualified for it makes my head spin...

      "meet your new supervisor...he's got an advanced degree from clown college, and, coincidentally, he's the CEO's nephew..."
    • TheDreadDiggerD, on 05/19/2008, -1/+13You go ahead and work your hardest. I'll get the promotion because I'm dead-weight and you're indispensable.
  • gaqua, on 05/19/2008, -20/+44Nothing is so annoying as reading "Xers" and "Yers" without any sense of irony behind it. There is no Generation X, there is no Generation Y.
    • doshindude, on 05/19/2008, -3/+26It's almost as annoying as "Web 2.0"
      • netant, on 05/19/2008, -1/+1Yes Virginia, there is a Web 2.0.

        I wish I had seen it. And yet, even with experience, I think Web 3.0 is marketing *****.
    • Pixelante, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1"there is no Generation Y"
      We're working on that.
    • xenuxenuts, on 05/19/2008, -0/+5There is no spoon.
  • chuckDontSurf, on 05/19/2008, -15/+25"Just your luck—the economy was slow when you entered the workforce"
    *****. Gen X spans quite a long period of time. I'm Gen X, and I graduated in 98, probably the best time for job opportunities in the last 20 years or so.
    • nrose101, on 05/19/2008, -5/+5if you where born in 1980 you are not gen x. Gen x stopped in 79....so actually must of use worked and graduated high school in a recession. Then went on to a great time with the internet bubble, then everyone kinda just died....
      • chuckDontSurf, on 05/19/2008, -1/+2I was born in 74. Also, the article is specifically referring to people in their 30s and 40s. Well, people in their early 30s would have been graduating right in the middle of the internet boom.
        • nrose101, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1That is not true. I am 33 and I graduated in 93 then in 96 from college..internet boom started in 97 through 2001
        • MagMarCat, on 05/19/2008, -1/+2Therefore it IS true... you were in the workforce during the Internet boom. You graduated in 96 from college, the boom was officially recognized in 97. Obviously you missed it, because you seem a little slow...
      • ericrous, on 05/19/2008, -0/+4Gen X runs from 1964 to 1982. Generations run about 19 years. Boomers began in 1945, after the war, Gen X began in 1964, Gen Y began in 1983, Gen Z (or whatever) began in 2002.
    • Genady, on 05/19/2008, -1/+8Yeah, except for that whole .com bust in 2000.... just a couple years after entering the workforce....
      • chuckDontSurf, on 05/19/2008, -2/+3The article isn't talking about what happened afterwards. It talks about a slow economy when Gen X entered the workforce, which clearly isn't the case for all of Gen X.
  • cnot3, on 05/19/2008, -9/+41They are unhappy because their bosses take their staplers.
  • trer, on 05/19/2008, -1/+56That's ok. We'll farm some work out to Singapore and hire some entry-level college graduates. Standard operating procedure, really.
  • sonaboy, on 05/19/2008, -7/+18ahh..the lullaby for uptight, unfulfilled conservative's in the workplace. chin up everyone! "the corporations" need you!
  • ninetimes, on 05/19/2008, -4/+21Because work sucks? I know, it sounds trite, but for many of us, work isn't "fun". It isn't cool, it isn't great, it's not a barrel of monkeys. Work is hard work, and especially trying to be a decent manager within a huge inefficient bureaucracy.
    • chuckDontSurf, on 05/19/2008, -8/+4File this one under "no *****." Who says work's supposed to be fun?
      • TheKingInYellow, on 05/19/2008, -3/+4work is not supposed to be fun. however, doing what you enjoy doing is not considered work.
    • jcm267, on 05/19/2008, -3/+17But why not do something that you find fun?
      • brad3378, on 05/19/2008, -0/+3Unfortunately, fun / rewarding jobs tend to be the ones that don't pay very well.
        In many cases the opposite is also true.

        I'm looking forward to the day that I have enough money saved up to start my own business or start a job I thoroughly enjoy.
    • ripter, on 05/19/2008, -3/+6Why should work be that way? Why can't you do something you enjoy?
    • thailand1972, on 05/19/2008, -0/+6"I know, it sounds trite, but for many of us, work isn't "fun". It isn't cool, it isn't great, it's not a barrel of monkeys. "

      My job isn't fun or cool. It's not great. BUT, my job is to manage a barrel full of monkeys, so your statement isn't entirely accurate.
    • ssn697, on 05/19/2008, -3/+12I have said this so many times over the years, to so many people. The people that took it to heart were happy they did. It is pretty ***** simple:

      If you don't like what you are doing, GO DO SOMETHING ELSE.

      Life is way too short to spend one third (or more) of it doing something you don't like.

      I just never understood people sticking in a job they hate, bitching about it year after year. It is your life, CHANGE IT.
      • johnny23, on 05/19/2008, -1/+5Go get a wife, some kids, a dog, a mortgage and a car payment first. Then come back and let everyone know how easy it is to just "go do something else". Some things have to pass by a committee before happening.
        • thepotatoman, on 05/20/2008, -1/+1Maybe for that case the answer is simply to not get a wife, kids, mortgages, cars, ext.
        • ssn697, on 05/20/2008, -1/+2I had all that, and still managed to do work I enjoyed. It is all about priorities. Enjoying your work makes you a better husband and father, gets you promoted faster, makes you more money. Then, you can retire at 45, because you did really well, doing work you liked.
  • Torx, on 05/19/2008, -7/+16"So you're going to be you're own boss?!?!!?!"
    "yea"
    "You know where to get startup money??!?!?!"
    "uh, my brother"
    • OMGWTFROFLMAOx2, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1as legendary as the question-mark suit guy
  • halobender, on 05/19/2008, -3/+17Is a top 10 list the new scholarly essay?
  • aladrin, on 05/19/2008, -15/+10Buried because reason #1 wasn't: They're at work.

    This list is idiotic, though. He calls GenX a 'small group' ... It's an entire generation!

    And anyone who doesn't fire someone for ***** around on company time (what he claims the GenY's are doing with their 'communications') is a ***** moron. (Yeah yeah, warnings first, etc, etc... If they're really as bad as this article claims, they'd be fired quickly even with warnings first.)
    • FyreGoddess, on 05/19/2008, -0/+13An entire generation it may be, but we're a much smaller generation than the ones both before and after us.
    • bubba9999, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1We don't fire them because we're hoping that they will invite us to their wild parties so we can hang out with their loose friends.
  • orangefly, on 05/19/2008, -3/+98you hate your job....???....there's a group for that.....it's called EVERYBODY....we meet at the bar....
    • Murdats, on 05/19/2008, -2/+3I love my job, you should try it, ill meet you at the bar and tell you about it.
    • TrevorBelmont, on 05/19/2008, -0/+7*Footnote: Drew Carey.
      • orangefly, on 05/19/2008, -2/+2wondered if anyone would get that....
        • TrevorBelmont, on 05/19/2008, -1/+2You mean you wondered if anyone would unfurl your nefarious plot to steal laughs and fans from Drew Carey!
          /foiled
    • cubicledrone, on 05/19/2008, -1/+6The middle managers don't hate their jobs. Where else can you get paid to frustrate smarter people and talk about golf on the phone all day?
      • Szandor, on 05/19/2008, -0/+2I have a family full of golfers and I refuse to talk about their 'swing' or 'handicap'.

        Invariably, I end up on a course about twice a year and at these times I've never felt so...WASP.
    • akamurph, on 05/20/2008, -0/+1Love my job as well... I'm an 'X'er' and work in IT. Used to hate it working for a big corporation, moved to a smaller company and it's 10x better. Don't have to put up with the corporate bureaucracy and other *****. Also helps my boss is a gamer, invites me to concerts with him and is an overall cool guy.
  • buckrogers1965, on 05/19/2008, -3/+1475 times the productivity as their parents for 1/2 the pay and absolutely no job security. But the top brass gets paid 100 times as much as they did back in their parents day.

    Gee, I wonder why people are so dissatisfied?
    • FREETHINKER2008, on 05/19/2008, -0/+13Exactly, greedy CEO'S.
    • RonBurgundy76, on 05/19/2008, -0/+22You pretty much nailed it.
    • gripenfelter, on 05/19/2008, -0/+15Spot on!
    • Genady, on 05/19/2008, -0/+37(You missed the part where we pay for the Boomer's Social Security...)
    • marx2k, on 05/19/2008, -6/+1I would agree but is everyone judging their own happiness by what someone ELSE gets paid? I personally do not. I mean, yeah, if I get paid crap, I'd be unhappy... but knowing the guy in the cube next to me gets paid 100x my salary doesn't affect me at all.
      • df12, on 05/19/2008, -0/+2I don't think that's the case. Speaking for myself, I make excellent money for the job I do. The issue at hand is, as the OP put it, The Top Brass is often completely oblivious to the actual weaknesses or short comings in the business. Whether that ignorance is intentional or just plan incompetence, there strong evidence for both sides in most of large companies today. Even then the Top Brass get obscene compensation. It doesn't matter if the company continues to falter, gets bought out by a rival, or simply continues trudging down the same old path. In any possible outcome the Execs make out like bandits (literally and figuratively) while *we* have to worry about when the next round of layoffs is going to go down...
      • akamurph, on 05/20/2008, -0/+1I'd have to disagree... I make good money but learned what another guy (with a different position) in my company made, which was more than myself, and it kinda irked me.
    • shamanlife, on 05/19/2008, -0/+6You should have written the article.
    • Dragan0, on 05/19/2008, -0/+3Exactly! I was inclined to bury the article for so completely missing the point.
  • BinaryDelt, on 05/19/2008, -4/+9Only 10?
  • Mr.Gone, on 05/19/2008, -6/+7I got a better answer. Because dumb-asses will not stop calling with the internet problems that they caused!
  • yellowsnowcone, on 05/19/2008, -12/+17Generalized generational BS.
  • FyreGoddess, on 05/19/2008, -3/+84One thing that rarely gets mentioned is that we were raised to believe in the idea that you can start at a good company and be employed with them until you retire. The mention of the layoffs that we witnessed fails to consider that this shattered the idea of a lifelong position even in companies that are still held in that intern-to-retirement light.

    I think that most of us are well aware that any position that we take with any company is less likely to see us through to the end and that leads, in many situations, to less personal investment in the companies where we work.

    The bottom line here is that we're the transitional generation. The ones who started out optimistic and thinking that we would start our path the way our parents and grandparents did, and be able to follow that to its logical end. That is not as true as we were taught to believe and we're trying to come up with ways to reconcile ourselves to the uncertainty in the job market of the 21st century.
    • jcm267, on 05/19/2008, -4/+15Heh. My generation only saw that dream on reruns of old TV shows. Mainly it was people like Archie Bunker or his friends seeing their dreams shattered. Al Bundy is the guy I sometimes think of when the thought of staying at the same job for 30 years comes to mind.
      • FyreGoddess, on 05/19/2008, -1/+25That's part of my point, really. Gen Y never had to deal with that dream being shattered. We saw that different world first hand and we witnessed the change. You guys were lucky in some ways and when you entered the job market the face had already fundamentally changed.

        You knew what you were getting into. We were promised something different and now, bitter and jaded, we have to figure out how to fit into what turned out to be the reality.
        • jcm267, on 05/19/2008, -2/+10Yeah. I was concurring.
        • ssn697, on 05/19/2008, -1/+7I concur. Do you concur?

          /tried not to, but couldn't stop myself!
    • ssn697, on 05/19/2008, -2/+37Corporate America did a great job from the mid 70's to the late 90's of having little or no loyalty to their employees, while convincing the employee loyalty to the company is very important.

      I have said this before, but the last company I felt any loyalty towards was Adobe, and that was many years ago. I have always felt a responsibility to make sure people that worked for me understood their loyalty was with their family, and what was best for them. Work hard, do your best, but understand you are an "at will" employee.

      Companies LOVE the whole "make sure you give at least two weeks notice", while laying people off with as little notice as possible (in order to get as much productivity as possible before tossing them aside).
      • Hangly, on 05/20/2008, -0/+2That's why you should start stealing things BEFORE you get laid off.
    • cubicledrone, on 05/19/2008, -2/+27Generation X will have the distinction of overturning two centuries of progress in this country. They will be the first generation in the history of this nation to do worse than their parents. They were lied to and sold out before they got anywhere near the workforce.

      The effects of the layoffs, the uncertainty, the destruction of wealth, the bitterness and the complete betrayal of an entire generation of people will be felt in this country for the next one hundred years. Simply put, Generation X's future was stolen and sold off and the profits pocketed by their former employers.

      We have deliberately wasted the educations and potential of tens of millions of people, and untold trillions of dollars of wealth.

      Those are the facts.
      • bronxelf, on 05/19/2008, -2/+7I wish I could disagree with this. I really do. It's depressing that I can't.
      • Pixelante, on 05/19/2008, -7/+3Betrayal? Lies? Hate to break it to you, buddy, but you've got to play the hand you've been dealt with.
        • cubicledrone, on 05/19/2008, -1/+9Yep. Betrayal and lies. We were told that if we worked hard and got an education that we would at least have the same opportunity to succeed as others.

          Well, that was a lie. We worked hard. And got educations. Then we got fired.

        • Pixelante, on 05/19/2008, -5/+1And you fell for it? That's like feeling betrayed because you've been told that eating well, avoiding smoke and drugs and exercising would keep you healthy and then a truck smashes your spine and sends you into a wheelchair for life.
          The point is that WITHOUT an education and had work you wouldn't have had any chance.
          Come and bitch again after you've got an education and a world war comes around, and you are drafted and sent on some battlefield in a country you've never seen, and you've got as many dead in 3 hours as you've had in Iraq in 3 years.
        • ssn697, on 05/19/2008, -1/+4Play the hand you were dealt? That is your in depth response?

          Okay, how about recent examples. Dell in WAco said they were going to grow the center. It was a great spot. Quality people. Absolutely no plans of shutting down. The next Friday, they shut down the plant, laying off all the workers.

          Dell did this in several locations. So, the "hand dealt" to many people was to be suddenly out of a job, in cities with little opportunity.

          Your "play the hand you were dealt" is a shamefully simplistic view of a complex economic problem.

          Wow, just saw you other comment. I just realized you are a very anger, bitter person. Never mind.
        • Pixelante, on 05/19/2008, -1/+2If you're counting on other people - especially your bosses - to make your life work, then you're naive at best. Life is a battlefield. Watch your back at all time, give nothing for granted, make the most out of what you have.
          If that makes me "bitter and angry", suit yourself. I call it being "realistic".
      • jcm267, on 05/19/2008, -5/+4Do you really think that they are worse off than their parents? The standard of living has risen considerably since the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.
        • cubicledrone, on 05/19/2008, -0/+13I know for a fact they are worse off than their parents. Wages have been stagnant since 1972. Household debt is at all time highs. Job security doesn't exist.

          By the time he was my age, my father had owned four homes. We have equivalent educations and skills. The difference between him and me is he didn't get fired or laid off. Ever.
        • jcm267, on 05/19/2008, -1/+5How big was the average house in 1970 vs. now? How many cars did the average family own then vs. now? How often did people go on vacations to Europe or the Caribbean? How often did people eat out? How many luxuries did people have in 1970 vs. now? The difference between then and now is like night and day.

          People are in debt more, but that's because they have too much *****. People seem to care more about satisfying themselves NOW instead of saving up to delay gratification until later. It's a consequence of not having grown up during the depression.

          Honestly, job security is a nice thing, but what's better for the greater good is a world where lazy slobs don't get to trudge along until their absurdly huge pension kicks in. My area saw thousands upon thousands of layoffs in the early 1990s. When I was working at Wal*Mart overnight one of the guys who was laid off from Electric Boat used to talk about it, bitterly. He was making $25/hr at the time (1990) he was laid off and the job he was working at started at $11/hr (2003-2004 dollars) with benefits that weren't nearly as good. Other days he got into talking about how much he ***** off at work. There were guys who would clock in, go to the same closet and sleep, then clock out and go home. This guy bragged that he would show up and sometimes just sneak off to the bar that was located directly across the street and then hang out there for 8 hours. Honestly these stories are funny, but at the same time you can't feel sorry for people who got burned after doing this.

          If you want job security work for the government. With the boomers retiring, they are looking.
        • CTRaider, on 05/19/2008, -0/+3I can verify the Electric Boat stories jcm refers to as TRUE. I know of a few people that say they just hide most of the day @ EB. I know of one guy that quit because he WANTED to work. The first thing the "old timers" told him when he started was where to hide to sleep and that he "better not get too much done and make them look bad". These are the same guys that complain when they get laid off.
        • cubicledrone, on 05/19/2008, -0/+2How big the average house is doesn't matter when you're talking about "house vs. no house." Average family probably owned about as many cars. My parents took vacations pretty much every year. I haven't ever paid my own way on a vacation. Ever.

          Families were way more stable in the 1970s and early 1980s. There was less debt, higher pay, more disposable income, more job security and most importantly there were no arbitrary layoffs.

          Job security is essential to solid neighborhoods and strong families. You cannot expect a family to succeed if the parents have to drag everyone 500 miles for a new job every six months. That might be great for the "just in time" economy, but it destroys homes.

          If employees are leaving work for a bar or sleeping in a closet that sounds like a management problem. Did the managers get laid off too? OOPS. Oh, I'm sorry, did I just yank your anecdote over the left field fence?

          I've got a question for you: how does a decent employee win in an economy where they can be fired at will, laid off whenever, don't get raises, don't get promotions, are worked 70-80 hours a week and are being paid in ***** smears?

          Why don't you get on the side of your neighbors instead of this half-assed neo-Darwinian hyper-capitalist ***** you're shoveling? Is the ***** smear economy really how you want to live?
        • jcm267, on 05/19/2008, -1/+1The key is to have marketble skills you jackass. I honestly don't know if management got cut back, and it doesn't matter much if they did.

          You should be using the same amount of energy that you are using here WHINING to learn some ***** skills you loser. If you live in a big enough area you don't have to pick up and move 500 miles every time you get laid off. Honestly, you should be able to see the writing on the wall most of the time and get out before you get canned. And I'll tell you... layoffs aren't arbitrary. They can be ***** *****, but I'm certain that they just don't lay people off on a whim every day.

          If you want a steady job with great benefits (including pension) get a job with the Federal (or State or local) government. Again, they are looking for people in Washington. Do you have ANY marketable skills or is whining the only thing that you specialize in?
        • cubicledrone, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1It does matter if management got cut back because if the employees are in a bar across the street the manager should have his ASS FIRED.

          I have 18 pages of marketable skills. The only marketable skill I don't have is "buy a house on $10 a day" I did get out and stayed out because the workplace is a maggot-infested clogged toilet and people like you who dump ***** on good workers are most of the problem.

          Marketable skills mean ***** all, and I see you've replaced your hyper-capitalist ***** with the word "whining."

          I did my part. I got an education. I have a list of marketable skills that would turn any HR manager's hair white. Doesn't mean *****. If I get an interview I won't get hired. If I get hired, the job won't last three months. If the job lasts three months the pay is *****. If the pay isn't *****, the benefits are.

          We flushed the toilet decades ago in this country and we've been circling the bowl ever since. Cry more.
        • jcm267, on 05/19/2008, -1/+1Do you talk negatively in your interviews and at your job???

          I'm leaving a job because of lots of ***** right now. But seriously, you have to play the game to a certain extent right now. If you have marketable skills you should be able to get a decent job. But you apparently don't have a good job and have always had trouble getting one. That (along with your postings here) tells me that your attitude SUCKS.

          Yeah... tell me to "cry more". That's all you've been doing in this thread, whiner.
        • cubicledrone, on 05/20/2008, -1/+1I don't do interviews any more and I don't have a job. I do not have to play the game. I can out produce any ten corporate ***** with a text editor and a 12 key calculator. I played the game and ate ***** for years and my reward was to lose every job because of rat ***** lying cheat phone flipping asscracks.

          What pisses me off more than anything else is the endless parade of people who APOLOGIZE for the ***** that goes on in the workplace now. What the *****?!?!

          I did everything right and there ain't no opportunity for me. My parents did the same and lived in a four-bedroom house. 'nuff said.
      • Hangly, on 05/20/2008, -0/+2I would say "stolen by our parents," but yeah.
    • lpse2000, on 05/19/2008, -1/+3"intern-to-retirement" yikes that sounds so bland. I couldn't stay at one place for more than a few years. It'll catch up to me one day I'm sure, probably why I should start my own business.
    • bronxelf, on 05/19/2008, -2/+4Another thing that's related to this point is the value of a college degree is not the same as it used to be, yet it costs significantly more. Boomers were raised to believe by _their_ parents that a college education was the ticket to a good job; one where you could have a good strong future by virtue of your education, and they instilled this same philosophy in their children. But this paradigm was largely over by the time most GenXers were in college and certainly through the 90's and after. The expectation that was taught by parents "This is how the world works" had little bearing by the time entering the world became real and there were no lessons (and at that time little or no internet, either, so there was no real-time catch-up of information) to replace them with new lessons in time for them to be valuable. The younger or older you are (closer to the old or new ways of doing things) the better off you were. The ones in the middle tended to be lost in the shuffle.
    • akamurph, on 05/20/2008, -0/+1Great points! Both my parents worked for IBM and retired from IBM after 30+ years, that was their only job after college.

      Myself, already switched a few companies and have noticed a trend where raises are pretty weak and the best way to make more money is to switch jobs, gain additional experience, and then get hired at a different company for much more $$.
    • qaz0101, on 05/20/2008, -0/+1Maybe I'm still too young and naive, but I can't comprehend why you would work for some company for 20 or even 10 years and expect benefits. You just take a job and use it to get the next one two or three years out; climb the corporate ladder by bouncing between companies. You X'ers (or whatever you call yourselves) have to look out for yourself because nobody else will. You have to do something, not sit around waiting... Perhaps that's why the article talks about a discrepancy between X and Y. Why should you pledge loyalty to a company that is just going to screw you over when it adopts new management practices - you might as well screw over the company by taking the training/experience and getting on with your life.
  • j0hnk377y, on 05/19/2008, -12/+4But how does this article tie into the Clinton/Obama race??
    • staeiou, on 05/19/2008, -0/+5God damn it, there are other kinds of articles on Digg than Obama/Clinton stories. This one is obviously about Ron Paul.
  • Sechy, on 05/19/2008, -2/+41Maybe corporations are the problem, look at what they are doing to this country. I wish I can work for people who actually cared about the people that work for them.
    • FyreGoddess, on 05/19/2008, -0/+6You know, I finally found my niche in working as a contractor for a company that actually treats me like a person. Whenever I explain that I don't want to work for [multi-national conglomerate who I am contracted to] directly, people think I'm nuts, but when I tell them that I really like the company I work for because they treat me like an actual person, they start to get it.
    • ssn697, on 05/19/2008, -1/+7I found a way to work for someone who cares about me. I am self-employed ;-)

      But i DID suck the corporate world for everything they had before saying sayanora suckers! They were doing hte same to me, why not repay the favor?!?!

      Oh, and when i DO take the occasional consulting job, I smile a lot and play along...
    • marx2k, on 05/19/2008, -0/+2Work for a small shop. Pays less but is often more fulfilling
    • Birdoftruth, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1Do you work at Publix or Google or Apple? well those are who you are looking for.
    • Gndoab, on 05/19/2008, -1/+1sorry to have to quote this, but if this isn't the perfect place, there isn't one:

      "The Corporations sit around in their corporation buildings all day, being all corporationy...and then they make money."

      Corporations never hurt anyone. People in corporations do.
    • akamurph, on 05/20/2008, -0/+1Find a smaller company!! Corporations treat their employees like numbers (most do), especially public corporations where the top only cares about the bottom line.
  • HueyP, on 05/19/2008, -2/+14this article is spot on ... coming for a gen X'er, i forwarded this to my Development person in HR!!!
  • captaindigger, on 05/19/2008, -3/+30Where pissed off because the boomers have all the great good paying jobs and the Xe-rs are working at ***** call centers because the boomers are to ***** stupid to figure out how to use their computer/internet/cable service/telephones/blackberrys etc. etc.
    • bigkeeperrabbit, on 05/19/2008, -3/+4Call center work may be a good fit for you given your piss-poor grammer...
      • randall814, on 05/19/2008, -0/+4...or you, given YOUR piss-poor GRAMMAR.
  • devophl, on 05/19/2008, -1/+33When I look at my baby boomer friends its quite clear that they see the world through green glasses. Happiness is a big paycheck and it doesn't matter how you get that. The post-WWII America is one of work on the assembly line until your 35, middle management until your 50 and then greatness after that. They are happy to take high paying management position and use all that spare time they now have taking all that extra money and playing the stock market to make even more money in some strange quest to find true happiness.

    I'm at the cutoff between baby boomer and Gen X and I can say growing up with the moon landings and the computer generation that I have a huge desire to create... not manage. I can't see myself just blindly moving into middle management and becoming a paper pusher the rest of my life. Baby boomers think I'm screwed up to not want the $200K paycheck even if its a mostly meaningless job.

    I guess for me and my other Gen X friends, its a matter of wanting to do something with your life other than making a lot of money. I guess for me, money isn't everything.
    • iJae, on 05/19/2008, -3/+4a lot of people think i'm out of my mind for not wanting to have enormous pay checks in a meaningless job. i'd LOVE to do something great with alright pay, rather than a crap job with awesome pay.

      (i say this as i post it from my menial entry level job. haha)
    • kenjura, on 05/19/2008, -0/+2That's a very insightful post.

      I feel the same way. Computers magnify personal creativity by bringing easy-to-use professional tools to the desktop. I feel, as you do, a much greater desire to create than to simply drudge through office politics and menial corporate decision-making.

      Some of the happiest and best-paid people in the world are creators. Sure, not everyone can be J. K. Rowling or Stephen King, or even George Lucas, but pursuing that goal is a hell of a lot more fun than middle management, and you've got about the same chance of making it to the top.
  • brown2hm, on 05/19/2008, -14/+15Oh come on... That was the most BS article I've read in a while. All she did was make up reasons why a person might have had bad luck in they're career and then replaced their name with Gen X.

    "In your personal lives, X'ers are not particularly keen on rules, but you had to follow them in the workplace..."

    What is this a horoscope?
    • Stephisthebest, on 06/06/2008, -0/+0I know! Suck it up people. Making excuses for why you are a miserable failure is just a waste of time. Working sucks and at some point in every ones career- things won't go as planned. ...you'll get fired, laid-off, etc etc...but nevertheless you still gots to work just like everyone else.
  • DangerCollie, on 05/19/2008, -2/+25Xers are on the receiving end of several trends that raise the suck factor in the workplace. The push to lower costs and raise profits mean that companies are constantly dinging you for more, more, more. More productivity, more work, more time at the office. More administrative tasks are getting pushed down to workers, mandatory meetings, inflexible hours and a host of other petty annoyances.. More employers making what I consider petty demands about things like dress, requiring invasive drug and background tests, restrictive non-competes, binding arbitration agreements and taking away any ability to customize your workspace or computer operating environment. The bottom line is that corporate stupidity tends to become your problem. And loyalty is a thing of the past. Layoffs sweep people out the door with little or no notice. So big surprise the younger generation knows they can't really count on a corporate employer. If you want to like the boss, be the boss.

    So many Xers, and some of us from the older generation, have pretty much told corporate America to stick it right up their a**. I work with other developers and designers in their 20's and 30's and we get along fine. Because we're not slaved together under the near constant petty annoyances that go along with corporate employment.
    • Xnth, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1hiring?
    • pkonink, on 05/19/2008, -0/+2I will never again work in any kind of corporate setting - unless its a corporation I start myself. The problem is that labor has become a vastly under-appreciated commodity in the USA.

      Just look at how generally weak unions are over the past few decades (of course there are a few exceptions). In the jobs I've worked that stem from large corporations I can't begin to count the abuses from drug testing to being secretly labeled "no rehire" because the manager didn't like me (though I was a decent employee and gave a full month's notice when I quit). In this day and age labor counts for nothing.
  • Genetico, on 05/19/2008, -3/+48Thats why I sell weed.
    • mandrakeRaptor, on 05/19/2008, -1/+14And thats why i probably buy it from you.
  • poleag, on 05/19/2008, -9/+5Generation Y's "communication" is a problem? OK..
    • Butros, on 05/19/2008, -3/+2lol wtfbbq? In all seriousness though, Gen Y'ers are reinventing communication daily. Our usage of services like SMS messaging, sites like twitter, facebook events, etc. A lot of it is just noise, but isn't that true of every form of communication?
  • BohicaTwentyTwo, on 05/19/2008, -11/+4Gen-X is emo?
  • BradMW, on 05/19/2008, -1/+63Gen Y is going to be much more unhappy. All the kids who grew up hearing how special they were are about to find out that was all *****.
    • marx2k, on 05/19/2008, -2/+2Damn dude, I was going to say the same exact thing! Gen-Y'ers are going to quickly find out that in real life, not everyone is a winner and yes... there ARE losers.

      Same goes for chicks who grew up super-spoiled by daddy.
    • Pixelante, on 05/19/2008, -3/+1There's a way out of the grief. Out of the top floor's window.
    • nakani, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1A lot of us Gen Y'ers are waking up and realizing that our sense of entitlement was ill-founded, and that we truly are "special" but the rewards won't simply come to us without hard work, discipline, and innovation.
    • billso, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1More of the snowflakes need to wake up and smell the coffee. It's not Starbucks coffee either. It's Maxwell House. Sanka if you can't handle the caffeine.
  • Shaman760, on 05/19/2008, -5/+9Find a job you truly love and you'll never see a day of work in your life.
    • OPR8R, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1Until your bosses find that they can hire H1B's that'll happily work all night for the same pay or less....

      Then it's back to work!
    • burdalane, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1You mean there are jobs that will pay me exorbitant amounts of money to just sit around by myself and do whatever I want?
      • Shaman760, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1That's what I do. I work for the corporation of ME.
  • TrevorBelmont, on 05/19/2008, -0/+31One thing I think we can all agree on is that "Generation X" has the coolest generation name sense we started naming generations.
    • nrose101, on 05/19/2008, -1/+2yes we do!
    • vondur, on 05/19/2008, -0/+7That's because the "X" makes it sound extreme!
    • BIGMEX, on 05/20/2008, -0/+2Well what about the "Pepsi Generation"?!?!? No one talks about *them* anymore hun?
  • devzer0, on 05/19/2008, -4/+14Rings true. GenX extends to the mid-40s -- author Douglas Coupland, who coined the term by writing a book with that title, is himself about 46. Arbitrary lines like this are kind of *****, but if you have to draw them, maybe do it this way: Scooby-Doo or Howdy Doody? If you said Scooby-Doo, you're likely an X-er.
  • karmathestrange, on 05/19/2008, -2/+11This is strange and oddly true list. All of the Boomer bosses have ZERO clue how to work their technology.

    Also, I have talked to mother at work (but to be fair, I've seen some Gen Xers do the same with no problem)

    And just recently a 30 year old advertising head asked me what an RSS feed was, in the privacy of his own cubicle. Maybe this list is on to something.
  • invisiblehat, on 05/19/2008, -1/+23I am so happy that I didn't sell my Soul to Corporate America. I am a Librarian and I ***** love my job.
    • marx2k, on 05/19/2008, -4/+2In Soviet Russia, Dewey decimals you.
  • cpg2018, on 05/19/2008, -1/+19There's also the fact that the Gex Xer's know that we will spend our whole lives dumping our paychecks into social security and never see a dime of it. Just another case of slaving away pointlessly for someone else's benefit under a system that was screwed up by our predecessors. Oh, and let's not forget that the people who could change it are too set in their ways and in their wallets to want to change it. Makes it very hard to love your job when someone else reaps the rewards.
    • JointVenture, on 05/19/2008, -1/+1Thats why you shouldnt vote for Obama because he is against the privatization of SS.
  • cubicledrone, on 05/19/2008, -2/+60Well, let's see,

    1. Wages are stagnant
    2. Job security is non-existent
    3. Benefits are scarce
    4. Pay is low
    5. Hours are unreasonable
    6. Co-workers are sour and incompetent
    7. Promotions don't exist
    8. All-day meetings
    9. Creativity and innovation are rewarded with layoffs
    10. Middle managers are douchebags

    That about cover it? Thanks.
    • pkonink, on 05/19/2008, -0/+8You forgot:

      11. No privacy (drug tests, CCTV) and any call for it is met with "oh, it's their business they can do what they want" style of derisive remarks.
      12. Your only motivation is to make lots of money for the shareholders and executives - and they will tell you to your face or via memo that is supposed to be motivation enough to keep you smiling all day.

      I could think of some more but I have a meeting with my boss right now - my two year-old son. Best boss I ever had even though he's the most demanding.
      • publiclurker, on 05/19/2008, -0/+3Not to mention that in a year or two he will be able to handle his cr*p by himself. Unlike your other bosses.
  • nastronomical, on 05/19/2008, -11/+3and those sorry ass cry babies are Americas future?? Talk about the road to no where fast!!
  • fefu, on 05/19/2008, -2/+12I don't like this article - too generalized. But, at least it's acknowledging the fact that this generation exists. In the political sphere, all you hear about are boomers and Gen Y. How are we going to take care of all the old people and how are young people going to pay for college? That's all you hear. What about the Gen Xers who also faced high tuition and now have tons of student loan debt while going to college in the Clinton years? Can we get some relief? Oh, and my Mom, a boomer, didn't go to college and retired at 52 with an excellent pension and benefits after working in a cushy government job. I'll never retire and at the age of 35 am still working on a PhD because the bar is set higher and higher. It's not the "culture" of cooperations that's the problem, it's that no one gives a ***** about us. We're not big enough as a group, i.e., voting block, to matter.
    • yoshitx, on 05/19/2008, -3/+1Still working on a PHD at 35 because the bar is higher?

      Is here a 10 year decline in the number of PHDs as they all case the goal that is further away?

      The fact of the matter is that we blame everything else. "Nobody cares about me!"
  • ACwriter, on 05/19/2008, -2/+3I thought I was too old too be Gen X and the latter defined Generation Jones was a fit but I agree with most of it. We were the first to embrace the Internet but are not always so keen on how technology is used, and we fear letting on that we don't know everything about it. Good to know the conservative bent (small "c") is not simply a matter of aging. Things like expecting people to say "Please" and "Thank you" and detesting the slacker with ever fiber of your being, except when become one yourself. :-)
  • bigdaddyguido, on 05/19/2008, -10/+4Yeah, this seemed more like a poorly covered up self pity party than anything else. This article made so many crazy assumptions about entire generations of people, and did very little analytical work to really compare and contrast them.

    Where the article truly fell apart and lost all sense of coherence IMO was when she claims that Gen Ys are getting all this great advice from the boomers?!?! Gen Y is so screwed its not even funny; its a generation raised on group mentality horror shows like Jerry Springer and Maurie Povich (sp?) and taught to always "be an individual only so far as buying more stuff" and to never think on their own. Hell half of us can't think of the square root of a 100 or be asked to find the factors for the number 12. Plus, the economy has truly slowed down once again, and all well educated college graduate Gen Ys are finding it absurdly hard to find a job in their field of study that pays anything acceptable.

    The economy is in a period of inflation, don't deny it, just look at your gas and grocery bills, and yet their has been no paycheck inflation. The people at the very bottom are gonna feel this the hardest, because each dollar is so valuable to us. So stop crying Gen X and realize that the system is screwing over a lot more than just those in their late 30s and 40s.
  • ktk1336, on 05/19/2008, -1/+29Umm Yeeah, I'm gonna need you to come in on saturday, ummkay?
  • SwordofKahless, on 05/19/2008, -2/+19Gen X's been around long enough to realize working the 70 hour work weeks for the man only provides short term financial rewards for themselves at the expense of having a life outside of work. This while the top officer level execs benefit from the back breaking work of Gen X workerbees by selling them out to make a quick buck and leave Gen X/Y having to change jobs every few years due to mergers and restructuring as a result.

    It is no wonder why you see Gen X bailing out of the corporate world. Meanwhile GEN Y still buys into it the corporate fanboyism as witnessed on digg every day and shows like the Apprentice.
    • t0nic, on 05/19/2008, -1/+7The difference ins Gen Y'ers are mercenaries and jump ship quicker then they change their underwear. As a Gen Y'er I owe the company zero loyality.
      • Butros, on 05/19/2008, -0/+4Bingo. I graduated in 2004 and have had 5 jobs since. A friend I met at a previous company worked for a testing firm in LA for 15 years and got a 3% raise every year if anything. He got a huge increase in pay when he finally jumped ship.
      • qaz0101, on 05/20/2008, -0/+1You are absolutely right!
    • lbeaty1981, on 05/19/2008, -0/+5This summarizes exactly why I have not made any attempt to transition into the management field at work. In my current position, I work Monday-Friday, 8-5, then go home and live my own life. I'm nowhere near rich, but I make enough so I can live on my own, afford all the basic necessities, and have some money left over to put into savings, retirement, etc....

      I've seen the life of a manager, and it does not appeal to me at all. Being on-call 24/7, constantly bringing work home with you, long hours in the office. Sure, you make a lot of money, but what good is it if you don't have the time to enjoy it?
    • dopplerdog, on 05/20/2008, -0/+2Xers are now 40, and just old enough now to realise that spending their youth working 70+ hours a week was a waste. Instead of spending their entire youth at the office they could have spent it on sex, drugs and r+r. Now comes the onset of regret, but the opportunity's now gone.

      It's nothing new under the sun. Yers will get there too, if they're lucky.
  • ultraJesus, on 05/19/2008, -1/+10Another day, another box of stolen pens.
  • inane69, on 05/19/2008, -1/+7But whats the solution? Please don't say the government.
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