Stuck between boomers and millennials, Gen X keeps rolling with the punches

In late 2022, a poll made its way along social media asking people to vote on the most ignored generation: Gen Z, millennials, baby boomers, or the Silent Generation. For many Gen Xers (those born between 1965 and 1980), the request summarizes exactly what it’s like to be part of Gen X: You’re so much of an afterthought, you don’t even make the poll. “That sounds about right,” says Eve Simon, host and executive producer of the Gen X Stories podcast. “We’re ignored. Half of us will say we’re happy we’re ignored; the other half hate it. We’re America’s middle child—the forgotten generation.”

In part, Gen X is forgotten because it’s smaller. Squished between the boomers, who currently number about 77 million, and millennials who are about 83 million large, Gen X tallies a mere 65 million. There are fewer Gen Xers at work, and as a result, fewer Gen Xers shaping the content we read, designing the technology we use, and building the world we live in.

That said, Gen X has, in fact, had an outsize impact on the world. Currently, more than half of Fortune 500 CEOs are part of Gen X, as are many of the movers and shakers in the tech world. They include Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Satya Nadella, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin, which stands to reason since they all came of age during the personal computer revolution. “We’re the bridge/translator generation,” says Lindsey Pollak, who writes about multigenerational workplaces. “We entered a workplace dominated by baby boomers. We thought it’d be our turn once they retired; but then their kids, the millennials, started entering the workforce and we had to adapt to them.”

Rachael Lubarsky, a copywriter, got her first full-time job at 19 as a “floater,” which included ordering office supplies, covering for the receptionist, and sorting mail. “I was the youngest person at work—and I felt it,” she says. “No one wanted to hear from me.” From there, she moved to the tech world, where she still felt as if there was a culture of having to work your way up from the bottom. “Gen X is the last generation of people who believed you have to spend time at the bottom of the corporate ladder and work your way up,” she says.

However, many Gen Xers have found that when the time came for promotions, the promotions have been slow to come. Boomers have been clinging to their jobs: the average retirement age crept up from 57 in 1991 to 61 now, while the target retirement age has increased from 60 to 66. Meanwhile, 80% of employees between the ages of 40 and 65 have reported experiencing or seeing ageism at work. Annie (pseudonym) spent more than three decades at Gartner before getting laid off this year. “When I was in my early twenties, I remember working for someone who was being exited from IBM after 30 years, when in his fifties, and thinking I never want that to happen to me,” she says. “Funny how life is.”

Meanwhile, work culture has shifted to become less hierarchical and more focused on completing projects than face time. Michael Randall, a software developer, is grateful for the changes in work culture. He struggled with a culture of face time and appreciates being able to work remotely as well as focusing on completing projects instead of logging hours. “I struggled until about 2016 to find jobs where people understood you don’t have to be at your desk 40 to 60 hours a week to do your best work,” he said. However, Randall was also recently laid off, and he’s now struggling to find a job. “I usually have a recruiter on the phone and walk into a job a few days later,” he says. “It’s been two months and I don’t know what to do with myself.”

Generational expert Lindsey Pollak points out that Gen Xers have several strengths that can help them weather the current environment. Since they are squished between boomers and millennials, they are able to understand and adapt to each generation. They’re also more entrepreneurial. “We grew up as latchkey children,” she says. “We are independent and that means we are also very entrepreneurial.”

Brett Trainor left his job in 2019, when he turned 50 after spending over 25 years climbing the corporate ladder. He started a coaching business called “The Corporate Escapee” to help Gen Xers start their own businesses and thrive in their careers. “Gen X is caught in the middle,” he says. “Corporations are promoting millennials so they don’t leave because they are less loyal and at lower cost, while they don’t value Gen X’s experience.” He finds that his clients are uniquely positioned to start new businesses. “We have the experience, but we’re also young enough that we want something new and can go after it,” he says.

Yet, even Gen X entrepreneurs who are their own bosses must contend with a different work culture. Emily Heinz owns an alternative beverage business for the no/low alcohol movement. She partners with retailers to sell products in the store. She’s looking for staff to sell her drinks and build relationships with customers, but all she can find are employees who want to work remotely or do digital work such as social media. “The younger generations aren’t interested in personal interaction,” she says. “You can’t do everything from behind a computer.”

Pollak remains optimistic about Gen X’s prospects. “I am sympathetic to people who are having trouble,” she says. “We thought the boomers would retire, they didn’t. No one listened to us when we started out, now millennials and Gen Z are getting the credit. But we need to use our uniqueness as an asset. We have a different perspective, and that’s a strength.”