Over the years many different generations have emerged with their various characteristics that may be influenced by the ideologies, political set up and technology at the time. These generations each play a major role in the workforce and they impact the workforce differently. The generations have different names according to how they impact the world and their level of productivity characterized by industrial revolutions, and technological advancements in these periods of time. Generation y, also referred to as millennial or echo boomers includes those born between the years 1977 and 1994 (Taylor & Gao, 2004).This generation reach adulthood in the new millennium. They are children of those in the generation x born between 1965 and 1976.This generation suffers being sandwiched between two strong generations that are even larger than it is making it seem inferior. This paper looks into these two generations and determines the impact of generational differences and how each generation impacts the workforce.
Millennial have common characteristics and researchers have found that they may be civic minded a trait that was common with the G.I generation. This is seen in how they exhibit a strong sense of both local and global community. Another characteristic of this generation is that they are confident and tolerant but they also show strong signs of entitlement and narcissism .This generation y considers wealth as the most important attribute and of all generation’s statistics has shown this generation to have the highest percentage. They have little concern for politics and believe that they influence their own lives (Kershaw, 2005). They are the most tech savvy generations with most technology being produced and invented in this generation. They use computers and are computerizing most of the simple activities such as networking with friends, creation of online jobs and education. This generation is constantly developing applications to make life easier such as on phone banking systems. This is the generation I belong to. There is economic development for this generation, political stability and a more liberal form of thinking and they influences generations.
Generation X is referred to as the neglected middle child. This is because having come after baby boomers and before millennial generation that are much larger and more active. This generation has already settled on life and they are not making major leaps in the business world. They have problems defining their generation persona because they are not usually dotted by the media. They are savvy and skeptical and rely on themselves. They tend to be very enterprising and team players but they however lack executive presence. This generation grew up during the cold war having been born to parents who had been through world war 2 and the start of the cold war this would explain their high political interest and small numbers. The fertility rate for their parents was low and therefore this generation is very small.
The millennial generations are go getters in the workforce and they continuously strive for a promotion at work (Smith, 2012). They are the most tech savvy in the work force; they utilize social media so as to leverage opportunities. They also show great enthusiasm for their jobs because they go into professions they desire instead of following stereotypes. However, they are not the most hardworking and they strive to make everything easier by use of machines. They also work better on their own and their team player skills are wanting. Generation X on the other hand are the most effective managers and their revenue guarantee is very high, They are team players and adapt better to changes in the workforce. They are however not cost effective. Their working styles differ with the millennial more prone to delegating duties instead of working with their hands like the generation x. The millennial are children of the generation x and they regard them to have poor technology skills. The generation x feels like millennial are jokers and do not work hard enough in the workforce. Some of the stereotypes associated with my generation do fit who we in the generation are. There is a sense of entitlement and narcissism but also passion about technology and making life easier by use of computers and the internet.
References
Kershaw, P. (2005). "Managing Generation X and Y". . The Sydney Morning Herald .
Smith, E. B. (2012). American Dream Fades for Generation Y Professionals." Bloomberg LP.
Taylor, P., & Gao, G. (2004). Generations x and Generation Y. Pew Research .
