Defining Generation x

1964–1978
Generation X for the UK started around 1964. Generation X felt they had inherited many problems and were described in popular media as people who “sleep together before they are married, don’t believe in God, dislike the Queen and don’t respect their parents.” Early years would have experienced strikes and the Winter of Discontent. Later formative years in the workplace,college and university would have been driven by the Thatcher years of commercialism. In the workplace the recession and housing crash around 1990 also had a major effect on Baby Boomers in middle management positions and Gen X who was entering the workforce.

Current age: Members of the workforce who were born between 1964 and 1978 and are approximately between 48 and 34 years old.

Size: They account for around 32% of the workforce.

Formative years: These ‘Thatcher’s children’ were exposed to news about corporate scandals, both their parents were working full time, and found a growing demand for educational achievement and performance.

Joined the workforce when: There was economic turmoil. Many graduated into the worst job market since the Great Depression. Exposed to large scale redundancies and cut of long term benefits therefore they are used to uncertainty.

Retention: Half have spent at least five years with their current employer.

View of career: Most are experienced as service and knowledge workers. Focus more on their ‘professional ladder’ of employability rather than the ‘corporate ladder’.

(Updated) - WARC report
Generation X is sometimes characterized as the forgotten generation. Xers learned early that self-reliance, skepticism and pragmatism are necessary ingredients for achieving success.
More than 25 years of Yankelovich MONITOR research on Generation X shows that Xers are characterized by three core values:

• Savvy: Xer savvy is a combination of critical judgment, knowledge and wariness.
• Diversity: During their formative years, Xers were the first to represent meaningful ethnic diversity, household diversity (they were the first “children of divorce”) and lifestyle diversity.
• Entrepreneurial mindset: Xers are driven by a need to forge a future on their own terms. They feel that they can't rely on anyone or anything. They develop their own talents, use their own judgment and succeed in their own way.

"Generation X grew up in the 'me generation' of the 1980s, and now they are able to see that it is not all it is cracked up to be," said Jackie Shelton, 31, vice president of Minor Advertising in Reno.



Generation X
Born: 1966-1976
Coming of Age: 1988-1994
Age in 2004: 28 to 38
Current Population: 41 million

Sometimes referred to as the “lost” generation, this was the first generation of “latchkey” kids, exposed to lots of daycare and divorce. Known as the generation with the lowest voting participation rate of any generation, Gen Xers were quoted by Newsweek as “the generation that dropped out without ever turning on the news or tuning in to the social issues around them.”

Gen X is often characterized by high levels of skepticism, “what’s in it for me” attitudes and a reputation for some of the worst music to ever gain popularity. Now, moving into adulthood William Morrow (Generations) cited the childhood divorce of many Gen Xers as “one of the most decisive experiences influencing how Gen Xers will shape their own families”.

Gen Xers are arguably the best educated generation with 29% obtaining a bachelor’s degree or higher (6% higher than the previous cohort). And, with that education and a growing maturity they are starting to form families with a higher level of caution and pragmatism than their parents demonstrated. Concerns run high over avoiding broken homes, kids growing up without a parent around and financial planning.