Generations, Inc.: From Boomers to Linksters—Managing the Friction Between Generations at Work

CHAPTER  5

Managing Generation X

“Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes, they forgive them.”

—Oscar Wilde

In the mid-1990s, corporate America feared Generation X and scratched their graying beards over how to corral them and make them perform. Now, as Gen Xers reach their late 30s and early 40s, they have turned their attention from being the self-centered, gold-collar, corporate prima donnas they were portrayed to be and focus on managing the responsibilities of home and family. They’ve become adults—but they haven’t been completely tamed. Take Tarre, for example.

Tarre is a Gen X dental hygienist and mother of two whom we interviewed for this book. She works in a group practice with two dentists ...