Gen-X Work Ethic
Interesting. Apparently my generation - male and female - spends less time at work than the baby boomers do and value family time much, much more. This doesn't surprise me. Everyone I know my age that has a kid (or kids!) does the bare minimum required for work and spends as much time as possible with the family.
Why is this? It might just be that I hang out with slackers, but I don't think that's it. What was it Tyler Durden said?
"We're a generation raised by women."
Maybe that explains why gen-x dads are more involved. Seriously, every dad my age that I know can do anything with the kids that the momma can - feed, bathe, change diapers, take to school, convince to sleep...everything. The parents are pretty much interchangeable. Things were not like that when I was growing up, for sure.
And gen-x women are more likely to take a long maternity leave and then come back part-time than the boomers. Feminist backlash? Rebelling against the Enjoli-mom of seventies advertising? I don't know.
In conclusion: we are different, special and better.
2 Comments:
hey I am a college student and I am writing a paper on work ethic and I wondered if I could quote you when you say:
Apparently my generation - male and female - spends less time at work than the boomers do and value family time much, much more. This doesn't surprise me. Everyone I know my age that has a kid (or kids!) does the bare minimum required for work and spends as much time as possible with the family
I feel that this statement will help to effectively describe the difference between the boomers and the x-ers, in that you guys are more oriented when it comes to personal pursuits as opposed to the boomers who are more oriented around their professional lives. If you allow me to quote you, I will need your first and last name and if this was an idea of your own or not.
Thanks,
Alyssa Musser
Alyssa,
It is an original observation on my part about the men I know being very involved with their children - but I was also commenting on the article I linked to in that entry. If you still want to quote me, please get in touch - I'd be happy to be a source!
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