I stumbled onto an article today where they were providing the Reasons Gen Xers Are Unhappy at Work. I find it rather funny because I’m pretty sure that I’m a Gen X’er and I’m not really unhappy at work. Have I ever been unhappy at work? Yes, I have but hasn’t everyone?
The article does cover some valid items though and is worth a read. I do have some tips for people who may be suffering from unhappiness at work related to generational differences:
1. You aren’t your parents or your grandparents. Your parents, if they are retired, would most likely be appalled at how easy-going it is where you work. Personal calls? Surfing the internet? Fantasy Football? Casual dress? This wasn’t acceptable in your parent’s and grandparent’s time. You should see yourself lucky that it’s accepted now.
2. The economy is cyclical. It goes up and it goes down. The latest downturn was no surprise. They’ve been talking about it for some time. Wait out the difficult times and you’ll find yourself in a much better position to make a move at your workplace. If you are a slacker, get your resume together because you’ll probably be looking for another job soon.
3. Gen Y’ers are not the issue. You have to make your environment one that’s good for you. If your job makes you that unhappy, find another one. If the Boomers are cliqued up and you don’t fit in, don’t worry about it. They’ll retire soon enough. If the Gen Y’ers are texting/my spacing/cell phoning you into a state of insanity, get a good set of headphones and just ignore them.
4. Don’t let a conservative outlook be a liability. It’s good to have a conservative outlook to anchor you against changes that are going to break the entire infrastrucutre. Use your dislike of the rules to help you think outside the box and bring in change responsibly and you’ll end up being the hero.
5. You aren’t the first group to go through parenting and you won’t be the last. Stop looking silly and self-centered.
6. You won’t learn about technology if you don’t ask and you don’t read. How do you think everyone else learned about technology? They read about it. Google is there, waiting for you. That guy who seems to have most the answers? Yea, he got that way because he read about it. With so much free information at your disposal, there’s no excuse to not learn something new.
7. If things are so bad where you work, it’s time to find a new place to work or even a new field of work. There’s a lot of opportunity out there. You just need to find it. Don’t let your job make you an unhappy wreck. Affect change on yourself and take some responsiblity for your future.
60 Minutes, an outlet I don’t usually listen to, did a pretty good piece recently covering the fact that The “Millennials” Are Coming that dealt with the Gen Y worker in the modern workplace which was quite an eye opener. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, you should (if not for pure entertainment value). After viewing this and seeing “parental involvement” listed in the BusinessWeek article, I have to wonder… what kind of parent is fighting their child’s battles when their child is out of college? Cowboy up America!
