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What are the five generations?

If you can’t name all the different generations currently at work, you’re not alone. Here’s your cheat sheet:

1. Traditionalists��(aka the Silent Generation): born between 1925 and 1945
2. Baby boomers��(everyone’s favorite scapegoat): born between 1946 and 1964
3. Generation X��(this is the one you probably forgot): born between 1965 and 1980
4. Millennials��(everyone’s second-favorite scapegoat): born between 1981 and 2000
5. Generation Z��(bucket hats for everyone!): born between 2001 and 2020

The best (of each) generation

There’s a reason comedy sketches on generational differences are so popular.��Generalizations, while not a science nor 100% accurate, can resonate with people. The humor lies in that liminal space between distinction (what makes each generation different) and self-awareness (what makes each generation mildly ridiculous).

���Ի���each generation’s strengths? Well, that’s where you’ll find the gold.

Before diving into that, however, an obligatory disclaimer. The following is an overview. Not every quality applies to everyone. But this roundup of data and insight does serve to illustrate how we all might begin to��understand and learn from��one another.

Traditionalists

According to the��, traditionalists made up 2% of the workforce in 2017, the latest year for which numbers are available. That they were still part of the workforce in any number speaks to perhaps their greatest strength:��dependability.

This is the generation that survived the Great Depression, lived through World War II, witnessed the rise of the Soviet Union, and went on to build careers and institutions that form the foundation of modern-day society.

What’s more? Some are still working.

Baby boomers

It’s easy to hate on boomers when they’ve��reaped the advantages��of the Silent Generation (peace and prosperity) and from economic tribulations like the dot-com bubble and the 2008 recession.

But boomers have paid their dues too. Like their predecessors, boomers have demonstrated considerable loyalty to their employers, even if that loyalty was born from a��sense of duty.

“Baby boomers know they’re very fortunate to have the opportunities they’ve been given,” Woods says. “So, because of what prior generations went through to afford those opportunities, there’s this sense of, ‘I gotta stick it out. I have to have longevity with a particular company.’”

Seniority��(and its perks) are tied to that longevity, which means that baby boomers may view success as a natural consequence of hard work. They have experience younger generations can learn from, and the communication skills to offer real��value in mentorship.

One aspect of boomers that often draws a lot of disparaging attention is their cooler attitude toward technology. Woods has seen a version of this in her mother whom, she says, uses technology but doesn’t love it. And that has some positive repercussions.

“I think it is the boomer generation that really keeps us��grounded in some human connection��and interaction by using less technology. Even Gen X, we’ve adapted. We tend to adopt new technology … but definitely the baby boomers are like, ‘I want to still talk to the grocery store clerk,’” Woods says.

Workplace strengths: Commitment, experience, mentorship

Gen X

Notable perhaps for being the most forgotten (not forgettable!) generation, Gen Xers have never really dominated the workplace. According to that previously cited��,��Gen X was outnumbered��by boomers in 1994 (50% versus 29% of the U.S. workforce) and by millennials in 2017 (35% versus 33%).

Though relatively small in size, Gen X has been mighty in terms of accomplishments. They are the most��highly educated generation,��with 35% of them having college degrees (as opposed to 19% of millennials) and the��most entrepreneurial:��.

Chalk it up to latchkey youths, MTV or the absence of the internet while growing up, but Gen X seems to bring the best of both��independence��and��motivation��to the workplace.

With that can-do spirit comes a certain willingness to��challenge authority, Woods says. “We will try to knock down doors and barriers more where I think baby boomers tend to go along to get along,” she explains.

This explains Gen X’s penchant for��recognizing and pursuing opportunities��other generations might not. And while Gen X cannot be considered “digital natives” the way younger generations are, they were at the forefront of that movement and have benefited accordingly.

“We have access to more information and knowledge than prior generations [did] … and we’ve been able to utilize that information to empower us in the workplace. We understand that we don’t have to settle for certain things. We can also pursue certain goals without feeling limited or stifled,” says Woods, herself a Gen Xer. “When you know better, you do better.”

Workplace strengths: Motivated, independent, critically minded

Millennials

Remember those��digital natives? Well, the first generation to earn that title was the millennials, and the impact has been profound.

“If you think about the job-search process, the baby boomer generation was limited to newspaper ads,” Woods says. “So, I think from an empowerment standpoint, we’re in a position to take better control of our careers.”

And many millennials have done just that. Where baby boomers value longevity and seniority, and where Gen X values flexibility and autonomy, millennials have shifted the conversation toward��finding meaning and fulfillment in a career.

“We weren’t talking about fulfillment,” says Woods. “You worked until you retired, and then your time there was done. But now there are more people talking about what it means not just to work, not just to plan for retirement, but to really make meaningful contributions.”

Woods hypothesizes that much of this millennial outlook stems from a certain degree of privilege. “They didn’t have to struggle in the same way that prior generations did,” she says. “So, how it shows up in the workforce is entitlement. … But it’s really about��empowerment, not entitlement.”

This can be present a number of ways, from a drive to��achieve��to a commitment to creating a healthy��work-life balance.