Gen X Stuck In The Middle
Posted On March 22, 2012
Generation X has a reputation for expecting the worst and many of their career paths are, well, meeting expectations. Gen Xers are stuck between the two largest generations, Boomers and Millennials, and they are feeling the squeeze at work. Boomers are delaying retirement and Millennials are rising fast and the advancement of Generation X has suffered, according to a study of the Canadian financial industry by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Despite forming the largest single cohort in the industry, Gen Xers are increasingly passed over when it comes to promotions. While the rates of promotion for Millennials have held fairly steady, the rates for Gen Xers have fallen at exactly the point in their careers when they should have risen sharply.
“With older workers staying on longer—many in senior positions—and younger employees with a hunger for advancement coming up from below, the potential for disaffection in the Generation X ranks is significant,” according to the report. It’s a feeling they’re familiar with.