The Generation X Office

Born between 1965 and 1980, Baby Boomers have a number of particular wants and needs for the Baby Boomer office.

Generation X

From thebalancecareers.com:

Generation X, called the “middle child” of generations, includes Americans born between 1965 and 1980. This generation was expected to contribute to the workforce in numbers totaling 65.8 million by 2018. This generation marks the period of birth decline after the baby boom and is significantly smaller than previous and succeeding generations, but it’s expected to outnumber Baby Boomers — those born between 1946 and 1964 — by 2028.

Generation X Characteristics

• Independent: Generation X is the generation of “latchkey kids” and huge numbers of Gen X members grew up with greater autonomy than the generations before or after. That means they’re likely to be less risk averse (correcting for age, of course) and more independent than some other generations.
• Educated: Generation Xers are more educated than Baby Boomers, and more than 60% of them attended college.
• Good with technology: some of the most influential pieces of technology in the world today, including Amazon, Google, and YouTube, was created by Generation X members. This is a generation that grew up playing video games, and it’s the generation that grew up during the time when the foundation technology of the internet was invented. While this varies across people, of course, Generation X is comfortable in front of a computer and will be able to navigate software without difficulty.
• Flexible: Generation Xers grew up through stagflation and the massive oil prices of the 1980s and are likely to have seen economy hardship during their formative years. That means they’re less committed to an individual employer than the generations who came before, and they’re likely to be tolerant of people living and working differently than they do. It also means they’re willing to jump ship and switch jobs more easily than previous generations.
• Work/life balance: Generation X has a great deal more debt than those who grew up during harder times, likely as a result of being less risk-averse than previous generations along with wanting to work to live, and not the other way around. They value work/life balance in significant ways.