--- title: Forget Millennials. Gen Xers Are the Future of Work description: There's a big birthday coming up: in 2015, the first Generation Xers will turn 50 years old. Commonly cited as born between 1965 and 1980,... canonical: https://time.com/3456522/millennials-generation-x-work/ author: Susan LaMotte article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-02T15:15:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:00:34.059Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Forget Millennials. Gen Xers Are the Future of Work og:description: There's a big birthday coming up: in 2015, the first Generation Xers will turn 50 years old. Commonly cited as born between 1965 and 1980,... og:url: https://time.com/3456522/millennials-generation-x-work/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Forget Millennials. Gen Xers Are the Future of Work twitter:description: There's a big birthday coming up: in 2015, the first Generation Xers will turn 50 years old. Commonly cited as born between 1965 and 1980,... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Forget Millennials. Gen Xers Are the Future of Work > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: TimeFrames: How TIME Covers Youth Culture [Watch (HLS stream): TimeFrames: How TIME Covers Youth Culture](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nhBXOh7M.m3u8) (2:35)  _Published 2010-11-20. Assistant managing editor Radhika Jones says TIME has covered the manners and morals of every new generation for more than 80 years._ by [Susan LaMotte](https://time.com/author/susan-s-lamotte/) ## Susan LaMotte Oct 2, 2014 3:15 PM UTC by [Susan LaMotte](https://time.com/author/susan-s-lamotte/) ## Susan LaMotte Oct 2, 2014 3:15 PM UTC There’s a big birthday coming up: in 2015, the first Generation Xers will turn 50 years old. [Commonly cited](http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/03/07/millennials-in-adulthood/sdt-next-america-03-07-2014-0-06/) as born between 1965 and 1980, these independent-minded, latchkey kids are now old enough to get their [AARP carrying cards](http://assets.aarp.org/www.aarp.org%5F/promotions/sem/member01.html?cmp=IVS-KNC-ACQ-PMD-ACQJOIN&keycode=U6TPM1). But that’s not all — they’re poised for great leadership–the average age of an [S&P 1500 CEO](http://info.equilar.com/rs/equilar/images/equilar-2014-ceo-pay-strategies-report.pdf?mkt%5Ftok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRojuKTNZKXonjHpfsX67%2BgqXrHr08Yy0EZ5VunJEUWy3YoITtQ%2FcOedCQkZHblFnV0PSq28UaoNoqIK%20) is 50\. And they’re already leading the majority of growing companies: 68% of [Inc. 500 CEOs](http://www.inc.com/magazine/201209/inc-staff/survey-of-inc-500-ceos-who-they-are.html) are Gen Xers. And yet we’re still ignoring them at work. Generation X may be the smallest portion of the workforce, but they’re your company’s rising and current leaders. So why do we ignore them? With the rise of Millennials (predicted to be more than [40% of the workforce by 2020](http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2012/01/mlr201201.pdf)), we’re obsessed with pleasing the masses and concerned about the aging Boomer workforce. But we’ve forgotten about our middle children, the silent, independent ones. And they matter much more than you might think. Here’s why: **Heads downs, thumbs up** Gen Xers play the [7-up](http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Heads-Up-7-Up) game daily. They are known for keeping their heads down and assuming their work speaks for itself. They constantly plug along and feign satisfaction, too afraid to upset the apple cart. And that’s a productivity and engagement killer. We know [Generation Xers are less engaged](http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/163466/generation-gap-workplace.aspx) than their Millennial counterparts, and that makes for less motivated, energized and prepared leaders. **The burden of the work-life balance debate** As the [average child-bearing age](http://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/dont-call-me-grandma-births-older-moms-rise-n100731) increases and life expectancy expands, Generation X is bearing the burden of raising young children while also managing aging parents more so than ever before. According to [AARP](https://write.skyword.com/%20In%202012,%2042%%20of%20Generation%20X%20had%20a%20financially%20dependent%20child%20along%20with%20a%20parent%20over%2065.), “in 2012, 42% of Generation X had a financially dependent child along with a parent over 65.” Like it or not, we can’t ignore the stress, concern and lack of sleep that follows them into the workplace and into positions of leadership. This also means Generation X is more likely to use the Family Medical and Leave Act resulting in increased absenteeism from work for months at a time. **The downward** **financial** **spiral** The generation under the most financial stress, [Generation X lost 45% of its wealth](http://www.businessinsider.com/generation-x-least-prepared-for-retirement-charts-2013-5?op=1)–almost double that of the Baby Boomers before them. We know how financial stress affects work quality and engagement but it also means this generation may take fewer risks in the workplace for fear of losing their jobs and have a lower propensity for change and shifting jobs even when opportunity arises. **Thinning ranks** Because Generation Xers will make up only 20% of the workforce, as leadership roles are vacated by older workers, there are fewer Generation Xers available. And Millennials may not have the experience and maturity needed for such roles. Can we say war for talent? Three to five years from now experienced leaders may be impossible to recruit. Impossible recruiting? Absent and unfocused workers? What sounds like a recipe for leadership disaster can be avoided if organizations don’t assume their middle children are doing just fine. Focusing the same attention on the generation that isn’t demanding it could be even more productive than helicoptering over your Millennials. Start by looking inward first–that’s where data comes into play–not the large sweeping global trends on generations, but a deep look inside your organization: * Who are your Generation Xers? * How are they performing? * What are their specific challenges? * How is the organization helping to address those challenges? Then you can work on removing the roadblocks in their way–engagement, financial, personal–and develop tailored plans for those high-potentials you want and need to be ready for the top jobs. Sometimes all the middle children need are a little attention and care. _Susan S. LaMotte is the founder of_ [_exaqueo_](http://www.exaqueo.com/) _(ex-ACK-wee-o), which helps organizations build cultures, create employer brands and develop talent strategies using a data-driven approach. Susan has an MBA (Vanderbilt University), an MA in HR Development (The George Washington University) and a BA in Communications (Virginia Tech). She has also written two books:_ The Right Job, Right Now _(St. Martin’s Press) and_ Vault Guide to Human Resources Careers_._ ## Transcript We live in the age of the rising millennials, the generation of 18 to 29 year olds who love their cellphones so much they sleep with them. They're better educated than previous generations. They're friends with their parents in real life and on Facebook. And despite growing up with two wars and a nasty recession, they're hopeful about the future. I'm Radhika Jones, assistant managing editor of TIME. Today's youth may not be taking up arms against their parents, yet 79 percent of millennials perceive a generation gap- a major difference in the point of view of younger and older people today. And in that way, they're very much like the generations that precede them. The point about youth culture is that it belongs to the youth and it can be hard to explain to anyone on the outside. Just ask the American teens of 1956. What is the younger generation coming to, TIME asks, in a report on what young people think? Not surprisingly, the young people polled thought their parents were a little out of touch especially on the subject of music. They laughed at parents' fears that rock n' roll is a menace to morals-- or go back to the 40s. In a TIME survey of youth fashion trends that seem mysterious even to those who practice them. Denver high school girls were wearing one wing back earrings, so large that it covered the entire ear while in Kansas City, high school girls who wearing bracelets on their ankles. San Francisco girls rolled their bobby socks down inside their shoes so nobody could see them. They didn't know why. Every generation has its signature accessory whether it's bobby socks or cellphones. And every generation has its label. Generation Xs came from a 1991 Douglas Coupland novel, a tale of languid youth who epitomized the slackers, cynics and drifters born between 1965 and 1977. Except it turned out that the Gen Xers weren't nearly as passive or powerless as they seemed. The 1997 TIME cover story exposed them for what they really were- ambitious, determined and independent. They came of age after a recession. And if they spent a little while being dazed and confused, eventually they found their place. Maybe they even set an example for the millennials who followed them. For more than 80 years, TIME has covered the manners and morals of every new generation. TimeFrames lets you understand the ties that bind them and the experiences that set them apart. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3456522/millennials-generation-x-work/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3456522/millennials-generation-x-work/"},"headline":"Forget Millennials. 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