Dissecting some Generation X cliches
Posted On February 3, 2020
What does it mean to be Generation X? Are we forever doomed to be the quintessential middle child, overlooked between the Baby Boomers and millennials? Are we the slackers described in the Douglas Coupland book that spawned the name? Are we the Forgotten Generation? Last year, the New York Times took a stab at defining Generation X by shooting down some long-held preconceptions about it. We’re not slackers, author Alex Williams says, and we were never cynical and disaffected. The oldest among us were in our mid-20s when the country pulled out of the mid-‘90s recession, and we actually had… Read More
Categories: Blog, Generation X
OK, Boomer: iGen strikes back
Posted On December 2, 2019
If you are of a certain age and like to share your opinions on open social media platforms like Twitter, you may have come across a cryptic response: “OK, Boomer.” It should not be mistaken as acquiescence. You have just been given a two-word slap-down by the younger generation, a phrase that has taken on a life of its own. As noted in a recent New York Times article, what started as a cynical reaction to the same old, tired generalizations about millennials and iGen has become a rallying cry of sorts, complete with memes, merchandising opportunities and the inevitable… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y / Millennials, Generations, iGenA few good reasons not to forget about Generation X
Posted On October 17, 2019
Stuck between the once-mighty Baby Boomers and the front-running millennials, Generation X is often considered the Forgotten Generation. Earlier this year, however, they went from just being considered forgotten to actually being forgotten: Smells like Disrespect. But thankfully not everyone has forgotten about us. VisionCritical.com recently compiled a list of stats that show Generation X still has some pull in the marketplace, even if CBS News wants to pretend we don’t exist. Consider: Thirty-one percent of total U.S. income is earned by Gen-Xers. Fifty-five percent of today’s startups are founded by Gen-Xers. Gen-Xers outspend all other generations on housing, clothes,… Read More
Categories: Generation X
Gen X won’t be overlooked by financial industry for long
Posted On August 22, 2019
As the Baby Boomers enter retirement and millennials are now the largest segment of the workforce and the consumer base, we’ve noted before that Generation X has somewhat of a middle child syndrome. This might seem particularly true in the financial industry, where Boomers essentially built the industry as we currently know it, and millennials are the group that seems to have grabbed its attention as investors. That leaves a generation in the middle that, despite being in its peak earning years, has gotten less attention from the financial industry despite likely needing it the most, according to a story… Read More
Categories: Financial Services, Generation X, Retirement
Xers are in peak years for work-related anxiety
Posted On June 3, 2019
Generation X is in its peak earning years, but it’s also in its peak years for work-related stress. MarketWatch.com recently shared findings that probably aren’t that surprising: Gen-Xers are significantly more stressed in their jobs than other generations. Fifty-four percent of Gen-Xers surveyed in a recent LinkedIn Learning study said they were stressed with their work situations, compared to 46 percent of millennials and 48 percent of Baby Boomers. Only about two-thirds of Gen-Xers who responded to a MetLife study reported being happy at work, compared to 75 percent of millennials and 74 percent of Baby Boomers. And another survey… Read More
Categories: Blog, Generation X, Work, Workplace
Tips for the Gen X manager: Get out there and communicate
Posted On July 24, 2018
For years, meetings were the bane of a Generation X employee’s existence. What a time suck, they thought. What a colossal waste — time spent yapping and staring at each other that would be better spent working. When I’m running things, they told themselves, we aren’t doing this anymore. Well, now they are running things. And true to their word, many of them did away with meetings altogether. Our guest in this episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” is Stephanie Constantine, an HR consultant in my hometown of Mobile who tells us why that plan isn’t working – and… Read More
Categories: Generation X, Podcast, Uncategorized, Work, Workplace
Dealing with the mid-career doldrums: Is it time for a change?
Posted On April 12, 2018
Are you tired of your job? No, I mean really tired – to the point of throwing away a career of twenty-some-odd years and starting over? You may be suffering from a fairly common phenomenon I call the mid-career doldrums. You’ve been doing the same job for a couple decades, you’re bored, and the achievements that once thrilled you don’t move the needle for you anymore. You crave something new, but stepping away from the familiar into the unknown can be scary. Can you make the leap? Should you? My guest in this episode of “What’s Working With Cam Marston”… Read More
Categories: Financial Services, Generation X, Podcast, Work
Who argues over money the most? (Spoiler: It’s not the kids, and it’s not the grandparents)
Posted On March 24, 2018
They are in their prime earning years, old enough to have moved into management positions but young enough to not be staring directly at retirement just yet. And yet, perhaps moreso than any other generation, Gen-Xers are stressed about money. In a story initially published by LearnVest, Forbes contributor Julia Chang cited a CompareCards poll that found more Gen X couples argue about money than Baby Boomers or millennials. Twenty percent of the Gen-X couples surveyed in the poll said they’d sparred over finances within the last month, compared to 17 percent of millennials and only 9 percent of Baby… Read More
Categories: Financial Services, Generation X, Wealth
Food & Wine says Gen X may be restaurant industry’s “best hope.”
Posted On February 17, 2018
If you think millennials will be the death of chain restaurants, you may be surprised to hear they and other eateries may have a savior – Generation X. About a month after Business Insider proclaimed last year that millennials were “killing” chain restaurants, Food & Wine magazine cited research from the NPD group showing that Gen-Xers may be “the restaurant industry’s best hope.” According to the study, Gen-Xers make up 23 percent of all restaurant visits. That’s slightly behind Baby Boomers (26 percent) and millennials (25 percent), but Generation X is significantly smaller than both. According to newstrategist.com, Gen-Xers made… Read More
Categories: Generation X
The good, the bad, and the … stay tuned!
Posted On October 2, 2017
This week the Federal Reserve released the 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF). The SCF is one of the largest (over 6,000 households were interviewed for the 2016 survey), comprehensive and representative surveys to track patterns of household spending, income, wealth and investment. Conducted every three years since 1989, the SCF provides analysts – including demographics geeks like us – a treasure trove of information. You might have already seen news stories documenting things like educational and geographic differences in income. One of the big questions being asked this time around is whether or not household wealth has recovered to… Read More
Categories: Financial Services, Generation X, Wealth