Generations At Work: Who To Hire, Who To Fire?

One recruitment process and various options: 4 people, 4 generations and 4 completely different priorities and approaches to life. Does the time of birth affect the skills of a certain personality? And, if yes, what are the most common advantages and disadvantages that an employer is likely to face? Baby Boomers, Generation Y (Millennials), Generation X and Z. First of all, let’s take a closer look at the youngest group.

Baby Boomers

They were born between 1946 and 1964. Baby Boomers refer to the generation which was born after World War II, when a growth in birth took place. Now Baby Boomers are approaching the retirement age.

Famous Baby Boomer: Bill Gates – born in 1955, the man who is well recognized all over the World. He founded Microsoft, which became the World’s largest PC software company.

Generation X

Born between 1965 and 1979. Together with Millennials, they are the biggest workforce now.

Famous Gen X-ers: Elon Musk – a business magnate who stands behind brands such as PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX. He was born in 1971.

Millennials (Generation Y)

The vast majority of demographers claim the age of Millennials begin with the early 1980s and end in the middle of the 1990’s.

Millennials or Gen Y-ers are:

Famous Millennial: Mark Zuckerberg – this representative of the cohort is the co-founder of Facebook, the biggest brand in the World.

Generation Z

Generation Z can be defined as born from 1995 to 2012. They are the children of Gen X-ers and the successors of the Millennials. The oldest Gen Z-ers are currently graduating from colleges and they are looking for their first job.

Gen Z-ers are:

Famous Gen Z-er: Malala Yousafzai – a twenty-year-old Pakistani girl, feminist and activist. She was born in 1997 and it makes her the youngest Noble Prize laureate ever.

Summary

Every generation has its own unique characteristics and a separate list of advantages and disadvantages. Depending on a company’s profile, an employer should analyze which features will be the most valuable at a specific workplace. Whether if it’s a hard-working Baby Boomer, a narcissistic Millennial, an entrepreneurial Gen X-er or a recently graduated Gen Z-er, every person will surely represent its generation, but also their own traits of character and charisma. An employer should verify if a right person is fulfilling duties and an employee should do his best to unleash its personal potential in a certain workplace regardless of existing stereotypes.

This article was written with a useful contribution of Emilia Pluta and Przem. Thank you!