So Gen X are “apathetic slackers” (or were, “in their day”), and the younglings (Gen Y?) are the “Entitlement Generation”, according to this Yahoo! article linked by Miss Em.
Now, deserved or not, this latest generation is being pegged, too – as one with shockingly high expectations for salary, job flexibility and duties but little willingness to take on grunt work or remain loyal to a company.
“We’re seeing an epidemic of people who are having a hard time making the transition to work – kids who had too much success early in life and who’ve become accustomed to instant gratification,” says Dr. Mel Levine, a pediatrics professor at the University of North Carolina Medical School and author of a book on the topic called “Ready or Not, Here Life Comes.”
While Levine also notes that today’s twentysomethings are long on idealism and altruism, “many of the individuals we see are heavily committed to something we call ‘fun.'”
That does sound somewhat familiar…
Technically, I’m at the very tail end of Gen X, and I’ve always looked up to Gen Xers as my role models, but it does seem that I share qualities with this other arbitrary generation.