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When boomers and Xers meet, expect clashes

They are the generation of women who grew up with John Kennedy, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and Watergate. They are well-educated social crusaders, determined to gain equality in the workplace.

They are the baby boomer women who taught their daughters to believe they could be anything they wanted, that they didn’t need to get married or have children to be fulfilled and a valuable member of society.

And when that Generation X entered adulthood, it was not quite what anyone expected.

Gen X women, it turns out, weren’t enamored of the idea of working long hours, giving up time with friends and family. Boomer women were baffled at first by the attitude - and then they started to get a little ticked. Why?

”Boomer women think we’re a bunch of whiners,” says Laura Shelton, a Gen Xer.

Charlotte Shelton, Laura’s mom and a boomer, disagrees a bit: ”I think most people would say whiny - and entitled.”

The Sheltons are a snapshot of the debate raging between boomer and Gen X women both inside and outside the workplace. There are real disagreements over what is important. Boomers rank job status and prestige at the top of the list while Gen X women place interesting work and good relationships at the top.

What happened? How did two generations of women become so different? ”I do think some of it is our fault, because we didn’t tell them the rest of the story,” Charlotte Shelton says. She says that while boomer women were fighting to level the playing field, their children saw only parents who weren’t around much, and a high divorce rate. For Gen X, the quest for workplace equality meant that personal relationships suffered.

The result, Shelton says, is that boomer women look at Gen X females and feel guilt because they understand Gen X wanted more attention in their younger years from parents - and confusion at the determination of younger workers to make ”me” a priority.

Charlotte Shelton, a management professor, and Laura Shelton, a television reporter, say that their experiences propelled them into writing The Next Revolution: What Gen X Women Want at Work and How Their Boomer Bosses Can Help Them Get It (Davies-Black, $24.95).

The solution, they contend, is for organizations to make the kind of changes needed to support generational differences. Employers, they say, need to make a place at the table for different working arrangements, supporting a balance of professional and personal goals.

The authors argue that a looming labor shortage means employers must start to understand they have to meet the desires of the 44 million Gen Xers. Using results from a 1,200-person survey, and interviews with dozens of Gen Xers, the authors found that these workers are most interested in: l Jobs that are fun, interesting and challenging. l Bosses who provide frequent feedback and keep communication lines open.
l Being allowed to participate in decision-making.
l Plenty of opportunities for learning.
l Flexibility.
l Positive work relationships.