As some of you may know, I write blog articles for Westpac, specifically for the Westpac Womens’ Market site ,www.therubyconnection.com.au. From time to time I will pull in something I wrote for therubyconnection for my readers here.
First published on therubyconnection 15th Sep 2009
My son called me a typical baby-boomer today! Me…. who prides myself on being able to handle technology with the aplomb of a Gen X….me…… who is the expert simpatico mentor of Gen Y. And then what he said floored me… “If I worked the way you did it would kill me” he stated. “I need more balance, time to think and time to play”. My son is a believer that work should stay at work and when you walk out the door, another life begins.
I think I have a very balanced life. I work with most of my family, mostly I get into the office at around 9am on days I don’t work at home, take 6 weeks holiday a year, babysit my grandchildren twice weekly and often take time out during the week to go shopping with my daughter. Even have time out with my hubby and friends. Sounds idyllic doesn’t it?
What I haven’t told you is the rest – I start my emails at 5am in the morning, clearing around 100 or so before 7am at which time I get ready for my first meeting of the day. I work very effectively at home so try to do that once or twice a week. Some times of the year I work 12 – 15 hour days especially around mid-year when I spend a large amount of time flying around Australia delivering programs. I work hard and long but reap rewards in other ways. Blast it… I am a typical baby-boomer!
Balanced – you bet. But not in the typical Gen Y finish work and go to play type of way. Balanced in MY way!
Interesting blog, Tracey. Maybe you’re not a typical Boomer, or GenXer. If you were born between 1954 and 1965, you are part of Generation Jones (between the Boomers and Generation X). Google Generation Jones, and you’ll see it’s gotten lots of media attention, and many top commentators from many top publications and networks (Washington Post, Time magazine, NBC, Newsweek, ABC, etc.) now specifically use this term. In fact, the Associated Press’ annual Trend Report chose the Rise of Generation Jones as the #1 trend of 2009.
It is important to distinguish between the post-WWII demographic boom in births vs. the cultural generations born during that era. Generations are a function of the common formative experiences of its members, not the fertility rates of its parents. And most analysts now see generations as getting shorter (usually 10-15 years now), partly because of the acceleration of culture. Many experts now believe it breaks down more or less this way:
DEMOGRAPHIC boom in babies: 1946-1964
Baby Boom GENERATION: 1942-1953
Generation Jones: 1954-1965
Generation X: 1966-1978
Generation Y/Millennials: 1979-1993
Here are some good links about GenJones I found:
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20090127/column27_st.art.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ta_Du5K0jk
http://generationjones.com/2009latest.html
Brilliant. Thanks for that information. It really fits me and so many others I know. I do wonder however about our own inherent need to fit a generational stereotype. Is this what we all crave or is it what the public demands?