Site Meter Media Criticism » Blog Archive » The Greatest Generation and the Y Generation in the Workplace

The Greatest Generation and the Y Generation in the Workplace

by Nicholas Katers

file_cabinet.jpg

I know it is impolitic to speak ill of the “greatest generation? and the baby boomers because they helped pull America’s hide from the fires of war. People like Tom Brokaw have trumpeted the achievements of people growing up in the 1940s and 1950s ad nauseum and it is time to move on. We can recognize history without constantly reliving it and the Y generation is now taking hold of the workplace. I will remember the sacrifices of the “greatest generation? while I fulfill my own potential.

An article in the recent edition of the Utne Reader indicates that there is an inherent tension between the promises of the baby boomer generation and the realities of the Y Generation. The yuppie lifestyle and life of fulfilling work promised to college graduates is dashed from day one of an administrative assistant job that can pay for a studio apartment. As a member of this generation, I have to ask: were we sold a bill of goods or are we just a generation of whiners?

I think it is a little bit of both though I think the exaggeration of the importance of the baby boomers over the last two decades has cast a shadow over the Y generation. How can a 23 year old graduate living on a shoe string budget contend with a 55 year old professional deeply ensconced in the upper middle class lifestyle? The flower children and hippies of the past have turned into road blocks to progress for the Y generation as they clutch to their positions in a last effort to pay off their mortgage and their loan on a BMW. The referenced article states that the next few years will be heady for young workers but frustrating for companies due to a high number of vacant positions. This bodes well for Generation Y if its members can keep their eyes on the prize.

The Utne Reader article is accurate that the Y generation is impatient and easily frustrated with the grind of entry level work. As someone who has had many jobs before settling in as a writer, I have to say that my degrees meant little when I had to deal with ignorant co-workers significantly older than myself. The problem is that the Y generation needs to use this impatience as a virtue. Impatience and a desire to advance can be useful when converted into aggressiveness in the workplace. If that doesn’t work, do what many in the Y generation have started doing: start your own business. I would suggest retirement homes, adult diapers and other goods to reap the benefits of the baby boomer generation.


One Response to “The Greatest Generation and the Y Generation in the Workplace”

  1. Doug Robertson Says:

    I’m stuck somewhere in the middle … certainly not Gen Y but not old enough to be a baby boomer. I think I was born in that brief window of time when my peers had no name. No wonder I have an identity crisis. I don’t have the advantages of being set for life like the boomers, nor am I young enough to get fed up with competing against them and having the youthful balls to at least start my own business. I’ve kind of lost my entrepreneurial confidence here in my 40s. I wish I was younger. Or older. Either way.

Leave a Reply


About Media Criticism

Media Criticism takes a critical look at the media's coverage of news, politics, celebrities, and current events. It is not intended as a replacement for traditional media; rather, it is an analytical lens through which mainstream journalism can be viewed.

Media Criticism Author(s)
    » Nicholas-Katers

Politics & News Channel Posts

  • "Uncle Tom"?
    Ralph Nader Calls Obama "Uncle Tom"? Video And Transcript http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21169.htm Fox News distorts Nader's comments to paint him as a racist Posted [...]
  • Market Mayhem
    Read on Progressive Talk: Markets on Fire By Mumia Abu-Jamal As stocks fall around the U.S., in Europe and in Asia, the dreaded "R" word and the "D" word can now be said aloud. Recession. [...]
  • Center-Right Socialism
    THE PROGRESSIVE POPULIST: A JOURNAL FROM THE HEARTLAND December 1, 2008 -- Volume 14, Number 21 http://www.populist.com EDITORIAL Center-Right Socialism Who was not moved by the sight of [...]
  • On Intelligent Design and the Left
    Cats, Dogs and Creationism By JEAN BRICMONT “The criticism of religion is the prerequisite of all criticism.” --Karl Marx (Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s [...]
  • Rural-Urban Divide and Election '08
    The following article was published earlier this year on the website of the History News Network. A Historian Reflects on the Rural-Urban Divide and Election '08 By Daniel Herman March, [...]
  • Wind Turbine Artists Needed
    Drive east along Highway 50 toward South Lake Tahoe, California and you'll spot some unusual looking pine trees among the tall timbers of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In fact these aren't trees at [...]
  • Worse than 9/11?
    Posted in Progressive Talk: London-based Arabic language newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi is reporting indications from a Yemeni with "very close" al-Qaeda ties that Osama bin Laden is plotting an [...]
  • Sold: Neverland Ranch
    Michael Jackson, recording artist and entertainer, has reportedly sold his child-like fantasy home The Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara, California (120 Miles Northwest of Los Angeles) for $35 [...]
  • Obama's Impending Tax Increases
    From the right: It's happened. If you're like me, the worst case scenario is being played out in your mind. It's over. With Barack Obama as President, your finances are in bigger trouble [...]
  • Colorado Marijuana Reform Seminar and Activist Boot Camp
    On November 15, SAFER is co-hosting the Colorado Marijuana Reform Seminar and Activist Boot Camp at Regis University in Denver. The first-of-its-kind event is designed to immediately bolster [...]

Hot Off The Press

  • Next Up: NCAA Championships
    No. 24 Arkansas Razorback men's cross country will run at the NCAA Championships, Mon., Nov. 24. [...]
  • So, let's talk about the runner-up
    Listen, I don't know what those folks over there at People were thinking but it certainly wasn't anywhere along the same lines as me.  I mean, Daniel Craig is a Bond man and he has those [...]
  • Silver Giveaway
    Christmas has always been perceived as the season for giving and receiving. ‘Guess it’s no wonder why this is the time of the year when people all around the world is in unison when it [...]
  • Vogue scans, and the New York Times
    The December issue of Vogue has hit stands and with that, I have the scans! Jen looks gorgeous in the photos and comes off beautifully in the interview. Thumbnails are [...]
  • Albuquerque NM Film office
    [caption id="attachment_796" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Hey, just about anyone can work films in NM...."][/caption] Well not anybody, however the State of NM really keeps offering [...]

  • [caption id="attachment_1225" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Santa Fe Dreaming..."][/caption] Ok this is a funky site that you must go visit,please, if you want to catch the wave (in a [...]
  • people never change
    There is an Introductory Address in the third edition of Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, And Hints to Young Housekeepers. by Elizabeth E. Lea. She also claims that "The Source of Liberal [...]
  • Albuquerque dances all night long? T or F?
    [caption id="attachment_47" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="OK OK, I'll go and listen to some music!"][/caption] Almost all night long. Here's some other event news from ABQarts.org [...]
  • Know Your Noxious Weeds and Invasive Species: Giant Hogweed
    It is true that I am a nerd that enjoys the study of nature and all of its creatures, and part and parcel of living in Portland, Oregon is enjoying nature. So today, I will bring you the fruit of my [...]
  • More Good Ratings
    [caption id="attachment_619" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Photo from DaemonsTV.com"][/caption] Criminal Minds was the #2 show in Canada this week, according to the Canadian Press. [...]