Gen x left behind

[rooster]

looking around at what’s going on in the country both in politics and in my own professional career I can’t help but notice that a lot of gen x’ers have just been left behind. Waiting for years for their chance to take management positions and get their chance at political office

they are still a minority in congress despite representing those who society would typically think of as older and wiser now.

just a couple months ago a guy at a place I do work at finally got his chance at management after bidding on a job. He’s in his 60’s and only a couple years from retirement.


I’m a millennial in my 30’s and I see many of myself and many of my peers get promoted to manage gen x aged workers.

I can’t help but wonder if this phenomenon of the baby boomers refusing (for one reason or another) to retire is the cause of the feeling of lack of representation in modern America.

I’m a millennial in my 30’s and I see many of my peers get promoted to manage gen x tradesmen.

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[fullmetaljesus]

I'm probably going to sound like an ******* here.

But I'd you are over looked for a promotion then you prob don't bring enough to the table to warrant one or your job sucks.

If you don't deserve one work harder, If your shop sucks move to a better one.

I doubt age or generation is that big of a factor.

 

[Sigblaster]

I'm in that zone where some people call me a Baby Boomer, and some people call me Generation X. I was born in 1964.

Frankly, I'm not a fan of labels like these, as they only serve to divide people, and one thing this country needs is less labeling, less division.

To save you the math, that puts me at 57 years of age. I am not keeping anyone from a management position, because I no longer seek one. I've had my fill of leading people as a career NCO in the Army. I know it's even worse in the civilian world, and I want no part of it.

I'm retirement eligible again, and if the wrong people P me off, I could drop my papers and not even give them the customary two weeks notice. They can't even fire me- they have to let me retire. It gives me a certain kind of... freedom? Power? Control of my destiny? It's hard to describe. But that's me. I'm not going to hang around for more than 5 more years or so anyways. I'm not going to be the one holding anyone's career up by holding my position into my 70s or 80s.

But back to your point. The article you posted is heavy on labels of groups, but short on delving into why INDIVIDUALS are eschewing management or leadership positions. Throw away the group labels, and what do we have? Some people just don't want to do it. The people who don't want to lead or manage probably see the headaches their bosses have, and those headaches just aren't worth the pay. Their reasons are personal, not generational. There are actually probably more societal and social reasons for it.

If I went up the ladder, what would I get? Maybe an extra 10 or 12K a year? Maybe 15K? No sir. Younger people can have it. But do they want it?

I have the benefit of a military retirement and VA disability and investments that puts me in a different category than some workers. I don't need to work as hard or as long as some people, but again, that's me. While I do work hard at my job, I can say I'm extremely F'ing good at it, so I have value and I'm paid well for it. I have no need to move up.

Maybe people aren't moving up or reaching out to politics because it's not worth it to them for the headaches and heartaches that come along with it. The juice isn't worth the squeeze.

I think I would be proven to be correct if researchers actually did research anymore, rather that poll people and make unsupported extrapolations.

 

[KellyinAvon]

Gen X is a rather small number of years. Not sure if this is applicable here, but I am one of the first Gen X-types (born January 1965.) On my worst day I still bring it.

 

[Sigblaster]

I doubt age or generation is that big of a factor.

Absolutely. Different people seek different stations in life.

Some are happy with minimum effort, minimum reward. Some people seek to achieve success above all else. Most people, in my opinion, fall into my category. I want my family and me to have everything we need, some things we want, and time to spend together and have fun creating memories. It's an individual perspective, not rooted in an artificial generational boundary.

 

[Sigblaster]

When I was stationed at Fort Stewart in Georgia, my wife's parents came through on their way to Disneyworld, and picked up my wife and the couple of kids that were born at the time, and took them with them. I couldn't go, because I was about to go the field, and they really needed me to be there. (I didn't realize how much they needed to be there until later, but that's another story).

I don't hear about that trip from my kids. What I do hear about is the trips to places like my Mom's house, my in-laws house, Potowatami, the double-wide we rented for a few days near Indiana Beach, the little town we visited in Indiana that I don't even remember the name of, where we spent the night in a nice hotel on a hill that overlooked the town, and we sat there for hours on that hill, me smoking cigars and drinking beer, amused how the town below us looked like an animated Hot Wheels city.

While I have made financial provisions for my children, I hope that the richness of their life is enhanced more by our shared experiences than the things I leave for them. I have told them this.

 

[BigRed]

looking around at what’s going on in the country both in politics and in my own professional career I can’t help but notice that a lot of gen x’ers have just been left behind. Waiting for years for their chance to take management positions and get their chance at political office

they are still a minority in congress despite representing those who society would typically think of as older and wiser now.

just a couple months ago a guy at a place I do work at finally got his chance at management after bidding on a job. He’s in his 60’s and only a couple years from retirement.


I’m a millennial in my 30’s and I see many of myself and many of my peers get promoted to manage gen x aged workers.

I can’t help but wonder if this phenomenon of the baby boomers refusing (for one reason or another) to retire is the cause of the feeling of lack of representation in modern America.

I’m a millennial in my 30’s and I see many of my peers get promoted to manage gen x tradesmen.

Redirect Notice

www.google.com

If I gave a flying rat's *** about the ******** in congress, perhaps I could appreciate your point.

 

[CitizenX]

That's kind of funny.. I was just thinking the other day about how millenials want to be in charge, and have absolutely no clue as in how to do it, but the job title sounds great. I had a pretty clear sense in who I chose to lead and who I chose to follow. I was smart enough to get out of the leading end when I began to experience the current caliber of individuals, in which in many, common sense eludes.

 

[wtburnette]

I'm 51 years old and have about a decade or so as a manager/supervisor/team lead and I have no desire to get back into that madness. The last two companies I've worked for overwork their leadership like crazy. Worse, they give them no time to manage their people with all the BS they expect. It's so sad it's almost funny. So I could, for instance, move up into my manager's position if she ever left. I would go from having to work somewhere between 20 and 45 hours a week as an Sr Analyst, who has a flexible schedule and works from home, to working 50 - 60 hours or more per week and being expected to be in the office more than working from home. Not to mention having a LOT more stress than I do now as a Sr Analyst. For what would probably be $20k/yr more, that isn't worth it to me. I'm hoping I can keep doing the work I'm doing now, or similar, for the next 20 years or so. Probably won't happen, but I'm going to do my best to stay out of a leadership role if I can do so. BTW, my manager is in her 30's.

 

[bobzilla]

I'm a gen X'er. I pushed for years to achieve a higher and higher position, to become the best in my field etc etc. What did it get me? Long hours. More responsibiity than they were usually willing to pay for. Depression. Anxiety and a general dislike for all human kind. Wife and I just recently became completely debt free. Our only bills are electricity, the phone bill and insurance on the house and cars. You know what type of job can support that? Minimum wage.

so now, I have dropped that desire to reach for more. I come in, do my work and go home to enjoy life. **** me off enough and I'm out. I need A job, not THIS job. They know that and they know what I'm worth so for now things keep going like they are. in 8 years the wife retires. After that the world is ours.... well it already is but we like expensive vacations.

 

[bmbutch]

54, left the KY Toyota plant to be a boss over engineering and maintenance, HATED it, started looking for another "non boss" job, been working for IN Toyota since 2004, have the best job I've ever had now that I work for corporate, but based out of IN plant. I'm good not being in management, not my thing, I don't people very well. 27+ years between working @ both plants, only takes 25 to retire with full medical....

 

[eldirector]

I have also found many younger (regardless of "generation") professionals want the power and prestige of "management", even though they are NOT ready for it and want it for all the wrong reasons. Many flame out pretty quickly.

Also know plenty who are perfect for the role.

Interestingly, all senior leadership where I work are essentially "gen x".

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Anecdotally, that has not been my observation. I don't know much about industries outside of law enforcement, manufacturing, and construction as pretty much all my friends and family work in one of those fields. In law enforcement, Gen X is pretty solidly running things. I understand that we are "artificial" in that we have a mandatory retirement age. I'm at the young end of Gen X and it was recently pointed out to me that in a 1700-ish person department, 26 outrank me. Most of them are older Gen X. Manufacturing, only one of my friends is still 'on the floor', the others are all in some form of management. Construction, mostly entrepreneurs, project managers, or broken and on disability/early retirement. That's construction, though, if you keep doing the actual work there's a strong chance you'll be old early.

 

[Steel and wood]

As a old boomer I think that the drive in us was work till you drop and go as far as you can, sacrifice family time and no such thing as personal time.
As I work with younger guys what I see is give me my 8 and skate to go home and do my family thing which is nothing wrong with that.
Some have a hard time trying to do both being in construction it’s either feast or starve.

 

[LEaSH]

I know these generational divisions/declarations are supposed to make it easier to describe our society, but we're all too complicated to be simplified.

Generally it's easier to be amazed at what our grandparents did over the course of their working lives. And it's almost as easy to blame the greed and self centeredness of the group below my age group and directly above my age group.

But the groups and work ethics seem to meld and intertwine through them all.

The technology, distractions, leisure activities, and socially engineered current definitely are different and will continue to change and influence future society.

There are plentiful hard working young people. And there are some bums as old as me that just can't bring themselves to be productive. And I bet the older people that didn't produce results before me didn't have a whole lot to look forward too, either.

Everything is a generalization now. But that kind of describes the importance of individuals finding their own way and motivation.

I see lots of excuses, blame, etc., from every age group. Lots of big hat, no cattle also.
It's the quiet ones we never hear about. I read a book awhile back that was pretty popular, "The Millionaire Nextdoor", I think it is called. Probably lots of people here read that, too.

 

[Route 45]

The only reason I ever went for a promotion at work was due to looking at the people who were currently in supervisory positions and thinking, "Holy ****, I can't let this moron be in charge of me!"

All depends on the field, of course. But in my experience, the few extra thousand a year is not worth the headache of being responsible for everyone else's problems. There is certainly something to be said for being responsible for only your own work.

These people who fawn over promotions and titles don't realize that the most important thing that you can be in charge of is your own life. You go ahead and give 60 hours a week to an employer who would not blink at replacing you the day after your funeral. I'm happy with 8 and skate. Have fun at work, I'm going out for ice cream.

 

[fullmetaljesus]

The only reason I ever went for a promotion at work was due to looking at the people who were currently in supervisory positions and thinking, "Holy ****, I can't let this moron be in charge of me!"

All depends on the field, of course. But in my experience, the few extra thousand a year is not worth the headache of being responsible for everyone else's problems. There is certainly something to be said for being responsible for only your own work.

These people who fawn over promotions and titles don't realize that the most important thing that you can be in charge of is your own life. You go ahead and give 60 hours a week to an employer who would not blink at replacing you the day after your funeral. I'm happy with 8 and skate. Have fun at work, I'm going out for ice cream.

I've been a title/salary chasing whore for several years now.

However I'll kick ass all day but at 5 I'm out. I'll put in some extra hours if I really want to put something to bed or I'm having fun with it.

 

[wtburnette]

The only reason I ever went for a promotion at work was due to looking at the people who were currently in supervisory positions and thinking, "Holy ****, I can't let this moron be in charge of me!"

All depends on the field, of course. But in my experience, the few extra thousand a year is not worth the headache of being responsible for everyone else's problems. There is certainly something to be said for being responsible for only your own work.

These people who fawn over promotions and titles don't realize that the most important thing that you can be in charge of is your own life. You go ahead and give 60 hours a week to an employer who would not blink at replacing you the day after your funeral. I'm happy with 8 and skate. Have fun at work, I'm going out for ice cream.

I've been an 8 and skate employee as much as possible. My Dad taught me to work to live, not live to work. That doesn't mean I won't put in more if it's needed and it doesn't mean that I don't maintain a great level of productivity. What I detest is employers who expect 50 - 60 hours a week because the company is too cheap to have the proper level of personnel. Oh you're salary, so you can put in what we need you to do. Nope, go F yourself. If there is a need, for a short time, to put in more hours, I'm fine with that. Expecting that all the time means you need to hire more employees. For the first time in my career, I'm working for a manager who feels that productivity is all that matters. She doesn't care if I put in 20 hours, or 50 hours, as long as I'm getting the work done. I'm in heaven and have turned down jobs making a lot more money to stay working for her.

 

[Route 45]