Ducks In A Row: Gen X and Executive Stupidity
by Miki Saxon
Few things are constant, but management stupidity when it comes to retention is one of them.
Before Wall Street pulled the rug out of under the economy global demographics made the need to cherish workers at all levels obvious.
Estimates of the national shortage run as high as 14 million skilled workers by 2020, according to widely cited projections by the labor economists Anthony P. Carnevale and Donna M. Desrochers.
Then came the downturn and executive retention stupidity is once again running rampant.
Two-thirds of executives at large companies were most concerned about losing Gen Y employees, while less than half of them had similar concerns about losing Gen Xers. nearly two-thirds of executives at large companies were most concerned about losing Gen Y employees, while less than half of them had similar concerns about losing Gen Xers.
The assumption is often that Gen Yers are the least loyal and most mobile, says Robin Erickson, a manager with Deloitte’s human capital division.
However, a companion survey of employees found that only about 37 percent of Gen Xers said they planned to stay in their current jobs after the recession ends, compared with 44 percent of Gen Yers, 50 percent of baby boomers and 52 percent of senior citizen workers who said the same.
Everyone surveyed worried about job security. Gen X and Gen Y were most likely to complain about pay. But a ”lack of career progress,” was by far the biggest gripe from Gen Xers, with 40 percent giving that as a reason for their restlessness, compared with 30 percent of Gen Yers, 20 percent of baby boomers and 14 percent of senior workers.
Gen Yers, meanwhile, were more likely than the other generations to cite ”lack of challenges in the job” as a reason they would leave, while baby boomers more often chose ”poor employee treatment during the downturn” and a ”lack of trust in leadership.”
Let me spell this out.
The economy will turn around.
The Boomers may stay in the workforce for now, but they will retire.
Gen Y is being held back because of the economy and may never catch up, certainly not fast enough to run American enterprise when the Boomers retire.
That leaves Gen X, which is being ignored.
Stupid attitudes towards employees is nothing new for the folks running companies, but this one is really going to come back and bite not just them, but our country’s competitiveness.
One can only hope that the stupidity is global, so we’re not the only ones dealing with it.
Your comments—priceless
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Image credit: ZedBee|Zoë Power on flickr
November 17th, 2009 at 6:08 am
Kudos to you for having the courage to say that stupid attitudes toward employees is nothing new for folks running companies. I strongly concur. I also think you have a great point about the overlooked value of these other very large segments of the workforce. This Gen Y stuff is being way oversold. Way to go! Bret
November 17th, 2009 at 6:54 am
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Angie Chaplin, drbret. drbret said: Gen X and executive stupidity http://ow.ly/D1Z9 […]
November 17th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Thanks, Brett. it really didn’t take courage; anyone who works with culture knows how stupid management and “leadership” can be and most surveys and studies measuring executive attitudes towards hiring and retention support the conclusion. You’ve said the same, just in nicer language:)
November 17th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
I happened across this post through my regular morning routine of checking my RSS feed aggregator on my Blackberry. More often than not, your posts are well worth a tweet. This one, however, I could not wait to have a chance to comment on.
This is nail on the head for me (late Gen X) and everything I am going through right now. I find myself unhappy with the decisions being made by executives in my organization, under-appreciated, and under-compensated. My outlet has been networking with Gen Y, finding motivation and encouragement from this go-getter generation, held back by the downturn in the market of professional career opportunity, who aren’t afraid of self-made success in light of the current economy.
Gen X is NOT being properly prepared to take the reigns of their organizations. The generation currently at the helm is on the defensive. They would rather throw a Gen X’er under the bus than give up their job security by training someone else to be able to take over. Look, you aren’t going to be around forever. Admit that now, suck up your insecurities, and teach that young, motivated guy/gal in the office how to be a better leader than you are.
The company you seem to be so proud of will long outlive you. If you care in the least about the long term well-being of the whole, train your potential successors before they find someone else who will appreciate them, and leave you wondering what happened.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Hi Drew, welcome, I appreciate the tweets and am delighted that you took time to add some very cogent thoughts. With Gen X not being prepared and Gen Y being held back the future is a bit fuzzy, to say the least. And, sadly, long term usually means a couple of quarters in the business world where most things have a three month focus.
I hope you can find time to add your thoughts in the future—and please keep tweeting:)
November 22nd, 2009 at 7:26 pm
I’m glad @dsohigian tweet’d about your post earlier today. My thoughts on this topic are some-what all over the place. Hopefully, I can organize them. :)
Many issues have combined over the past couple decades to create this situation. The break-down of loyalty between employers & employees, the obsession with “leadership” over “management,” and the worship of short-term returns are three near the top of the list. As you’ve noted, this has implications for every citizen & employee in the United States.
Some believe Gen-X is the first generation in American history that will be worse off financially than its predecessor. Will anyone dispute this in a few years once the full effects of the “Great Recession” are fully accounted?
Thank you for this post! I’m glad someone is speaking out. Unfortunately, these “leaders” will probably make their quarterly numbers and thus get their bonuses even though they’re stunting new growth & development in their companies. If they’re lucky or at a very large firm, they might outlive their firm before it fades into irrelevance or is bought by a competitor who plans beyond the quarter close.
What are Gen-X’ers to do? If they cannot work within an organization to change it, they should find a smarter firm or start anew. Then they can build smarter/faster/more nimble companies and those can buy or supplant the dinosaurs that seem unable or unwilling to change.
Take care.
November 22nd, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Hi Mack, is this subject really so unspoken? That surprises me, it’s so obvious.
My own opinion is that Gen X will be the founding fathers and driving force for a new wave of businesses not just in tech, but companies that address the planet’s social ills with commons sense and pragmatism—healthcare, pollution, food, water—the list goes on and one. With ot without investment they’ll find a way, just as they always have—in spite of being the “middle child.”
BTW, Gen Y isn’t in such great shape, either, they may have the advantage of numbers and make an amazing amount of noise, but they are going to be years behind where they should be by the time this is all over. That leaves yet another window open for Gen Y.
Thanks for following the tweet, I hope you will continue to visit and add your thoughts to the conversation.
December 17th, 2009 at 1:32 am
[…] Increasing Stupidity by Miki Saxon Last month I wrote a post at Leadership Turn on the incredible stupidity executives have exhibited by focusing on the Boomers and Gen Y, while ignoring the depth of talent available to them in Gen […]