Opinion | How do you get the best from Generation X?

A large component of our workforce belong to Generation X, those born between 1965 and 1980. I’ve set out to investigate how to get the best of what has been described as a band of pragmatic, self-directed problem solvers. This was part of a study that examined generational differences across five countries collecting data over different years to see how changes emerged.

Initially I thought generation differences were explained by life cycle. As you acquired a mortgage and had children you would adopt the characteristics of the next generation, as you reduced work and retired you would shift again. I was proved right in some ways, but also proved wrong in other ways, and this highlights differences that are important for managers both in Hong Kong, and around the world.

One of the key findings is that there are distinct characteristics that belong to age groups which don’t change over time as their life cycle alters. However, before you can identify characteristics and the motivators of a generational cohort, you should consider the influences on the generation. That includes everything from pop culture to political changes, financial unrest, family upbringing and more.

The descriptor Generation X was popularised by Canadian writer Douglas Coupland in his 1991 novel about disaffected youth, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. Highlighted in the novel was the way economic circumstances have shaped the attributes of Generation X. For example, they have embraced the peripheral workforce, with contract-type arrangements, part-time roles, the gig economy – whereas for their baby-boomer parents, working was more about job security and loyalty to one employer.

Gen X were also the first to experience both parents working – and were often called the latch-key kids, getting themselves home from school and waiting until their parents came home.