Identify the three generations. What is the point of the story? React.
Boomers Still Top in Business as Gen Y Suffers
11/11/2013 - 8:43 AM EST
NEW YORK ( MainStreet)
— The
economic downturn in 2008 and the economy's slow recovery may be doing more
than hindering young adults from finding a job ¬— it also may be hurting them from advancing
in their job.
According to a new study, Baby Boomers are
still in many top positions and may be delaying retirement due
to the sluggish economy — preventing Gen-Yers from moving into management roles.
The percentage of Gen Y workers managing people declined from 15% in 2012 to
12% in 2013.
Also, due to the economic collapse, Gen-Yers — also called Millennials and a reference to
those who were born between 1982 and 2002 — are starting their professional lives later,
said the study by compensation database
PayScale and consulting firm Millenial Branding.
"Similar to other studies, our research
reinforces that the sluggish and uncertain economy has made a significant
impact on the perspectives and experiences of not only Generation Y, but also
Generation X and Baby Boomers," said Katie Bardaro, economist for
PayScale.
The new research shows most Gen Y workers
(56%) are more likely to work at small firms — those with fewer than 100 employees — than either Gen-Xers, 48%, or Baby Boomers,
50%. Millennials also are most likely to move back home with their parents due
to financial
hardship after starting their careers. Almost 30% of Gen-Yers move back home,
while only 11% of Gen-Xers — those born between 1965 and 1981 — and 5% of Baby Boomers do likewise.
"The economy has delayed their careers
and their personal independence and forced them to work harder than previous
generations just to catch up," said Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial
Branding and author of Promote Yourself: The New Rules for Career Success (St.
Martin's Press, 2013).
"They are taking on multiple jobs to pay
back student loans and are being forced to create their own careers instead of
relying on companies to
do it for them," Schawbel said.
Schawbel said it's going to take Gen-Yers
longer to reach management positions, because Baby Boomers also have faced the
same economy and it's delayed their retirement plans.
However, in the next five years 16% of the workforce will retire, so eventually
there will be a lot of Gen Y managers and many won't be fully ready to take on
the management roles because they will be forced into them, he added.
The study's numbers also reveal a small
amount of dissatisfaction among all generations with their jobs. According to
the research, 9% of Baby Boomers wish they could change their boss, while 7% of
Gen-Xers and 6% of Millennials wish similar.
Gen-Yers, however, also report the lowest
levels of both job satisfaction and meaning, while still reporting the lowest
levels of job stress
Gen Y has the lowest job stress, because they have the least amount of expenses and few have families they have to support," Schawbel said. "Over 20 million of them are still living with their parents." Older generations have families to support, and Boomers want to retire but can't. Gen-Xers are stressed because they want to fill Boomers' shoes but can't because of the economy.
"Gen Y-ers have the lowest sanctification and meaning with their jobs because their expectations of the workplace were much higher and not met by corporations," Schawbel added.
--Written by Chris Metinko for MainStreet
