I'm a Gen Xer: The Cranky Middle Child Your Company Really Needs

Gen Xers are the forgotten generation. Stuck between the overwhelming forces that are the Boomers and Millennials, we got left behind by politicians, marketers, business leaders, and educators.



Don't think we didn't notice. Chuck Palahniuk perfectly summed up Gen X feelings in Fight Club:

"We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war… our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off."

Us Gen Xers tend to be a skeptical, cynical bunch. There was a study done years ago asking Gen Xers which they thought was more likely to happen in their lifetime: receiving Social Security or being abducted by aliens.

Guess which one got the most votes? (Hint: it wasn't Social Security.)

So you probably think Gen Xers are needy, whiny slackers who make horrible employees. The interesting thing is, that isn't true at all... if you understand us. And while we aren't 20-somethings fresh out of college anymore, we're still worth hiring and valuable to your organization. Let me tell you why.

The Case FOR Gen X Workers

In terms of generational characteristics, Gen Xers tend to be independent workers, capable of taking on challenging projects without a lot of handholding or micromanaging. We're adaptable and intrepreneurial in spirit, using creativity, innovation, and risk-taking to develop new products or services for the organization.

One unique and valuable aspect of Gen Xers is that we represent a technological bridge between Boomers and younger generations. We're the generation that remembers life before the internet but adapted to it as teenagers or young adults. Comfortable with technology but not digital natives like Millennials or Gen Z, we can communicate and negotiate across the generations on tech topics in ways that everyone understands.

Gen Xers make great cross-mentors with younger workers for that reason as well. Coupled with our intrepreneurial mindset, we can encourage innovation and adaptability in younger cohorts while also keeping more traditional (pre-tech) options in mind.

Gen Xers are direct communicators—we aren't afraid to tell you what we think. A confident leader finds that both refreshing and constructive. We don't mind face-to-face meetings, but we prefer electronic communication for most things to save time (unlike our Boomer counterparts who turned going to meetings into an art form).

Ours is the generation that first promoted the idea of work-life balance. Having watched our parents kill themselves for their organizations only to end up downsized in the '80s, we were determined not to fall down the same rabbit hole. Today's savvy organization knows that work-life balance creates more productive, satisfied workers who stay loyal to the company longer.

The Bottom Line

Yes, Gen Xers can appear on first glance to be the problem child generation. But if you take the time to get to know us and really see us, you'll find that we're well worth the effort and extremely valuable to your organization. Even when we seem cranky.

In my next article, I’ll talk about why Gen Xers make great virtual team leaders.