Harvard Business Publishing

As a Gen-Xer (B:1970) I would love to work for a company like that instead of the stiff (financial) one I work for now.

Eventually your company will want to secure a bank loan, or negotiate business with a large old-school company -- and you might find you need someone with the old-school skills and attire. Flexibility is great -- for everybody!

Also, on the subject of games -- if you want to put down the Wii, et al., and try something really fun, consider this:

http://www.tenthousandfencers.com/

As a Gen X (B. 1970), I resent being lumped into the ultracasual, laid back group. I tend to favor the way boomers do business with a few casual edges. Gen Y could benefit from watching their more senior co-workers (Boomers and Xers) and learning from them. They forget sometimes that they are still green behind the ears.

The Gen X and Gen Y folks who think they have ditched the "what is it with you people and 8:30 am" rule are becoming the exception. Nothing like having children and having to bend to the day care rules, which means picking their children up by 6:00 pm (or earlier) or pay those "by the minute" late fees. It's amazing how many of them now work 7-4 when that happens.

Thanks for writing this, I'm a borderline boomer based on my '59 birth year -- I have seen multiple definitions of the boomer years vs. Gen X. I thought this article was going to be about how to interact with and succesfully engage with Gen X professionals, something I welcome insights about. It is refreshing to hear some thoughts pointing out that if Gen Xers want to benefit from what Boomers have to offer, and vice versa, we need to meet in the middle. In my mind, the first step is awareness -- each has to take enough interest in understanding each other's differences to get to the next step, which is finding our common ground.

Tammy Erickson's Across the Ages posts are by far my favourite on HBR - please keep them coming!

I'm a fully paid-up Gen Xer who applauds the Ys' "what is it with you people and 8:30 am" rule. Long may it reign.

That's funny. Good tone to this article!

Hey!

The tone of the article is really funny!!

I am a young executive and a part time entrepreneur from India. Most of the people, I am working with are from Gen Y only. I’ve hardly had a chance to interact with Gen X colleagues at my work place. But all my interactions with Gen X ppl– in spheres other than work – have led me to believe that the Gen X ppl are too cautious and curious to change their ways as per Gen Y.

For example: Recently, I noticed a middle aged neighbor’s– around 38 years old –desperate attempt to work around a bit on his lingual skills. I was shocked to hear – Yo! Man! Wass up?  In response to a normal acknowledging “Hello”!

I work in an office with a mostly Gen-Y crowd. We don't start work until 10:30 and everyone is much happier because of it! And of course, the dress is casual.

And the work still gets finished... in fact, we probably do better with all that extra sleep and comfort we're given.