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Generation X, or Y, or Z? First of all, Happy Lunar New Year to all my Chinese friends. I'm definitely not having the best time of my life during this season but still, I appreciate the holiday. Either yesterday or today, I chance upon this status on Facebook written by a local musician, talking about his family's reaction to him chasing after his dreams and going to pursue music as a career full-time. His reaction was "It's not about money, I don't care about the money". I can imagine the unappealing faces of shock mixed with confusion and even probably disgust that follows. I, too, have probably been in that shoe, but not in such a serious way. The gap between the different generation is more than just age, according to that musician, and I cannot agree more. These different values, characteristics and beliefs surfaces especially in occasion such as these and it is pretty much very evident in conversations. I'm born in 1995 and that makes me a Gen Y kid, which also means most of my relatives and my parents belongs to the Gen X. After doing some googling, I see many difference between the generations but then again, these are generalization. Growing up, my mind is pretty much shaped like a Gen X, or more specifically, an ASIAN Gen X.. (read the following in asian accent) "you must get a job that pay you well" "money! money is important!" "go study as much as you can and get a well-paying job" "What will your relative think of you? Don't make me lose face!" One example that I think is prevailing to me is this.. Gen X: Family is family, friends are friends. Gen Y (me): Friends = family. My parent's generation (Gen X) is pretty much domineered by the thought that a career should be one that is stable and they are generally motivated by compensation (aka the salary). Probably this is because of the way that they were being brought up and the things that they go through during their childhood/teenage years. I'm not in their shoes so I cannot speak for them. But I believe they are the generation who had to work their ass off just to earn more and make a living for themselves. However, for Gen Y, my generation, I realize people tend to look more into the social needs, the way they are able to do more than just a job. People want to mash up their work and personal life by combining what they enjoy doing and use it as a job, regardless of the compensation. These people realize that 'yes I want a job with good pay, but I want a job that I enjoy too'. Once again, this is probably affected by the parents because the parents (Gen X) went for the job that pays but not one that they enjoys and are probably regretting. So what happens when you put a Gen X and a Gen Y together? Conflict. Gen Y wants to go for his hobby and take it full time. Gen X, being 'realistic' thinks that it is a bad decision. Gen Y does not mind a job that he enjoys but doesn't pay. Gen X says to study as much as possible to get a well-paying job. (They like the sense of security) Gen Y work to live. Gen X, live to work. The list could go on and on. But at the end of the day, what matters is how do we dissolve the difference and try to work together. I don't exactly have a solution to it either. I'm still trying to figure out the way the other generation works while I figure out how exactly do I work. As far as I know, when working on my own, I enjoy impromptu decisions, but not when working as a team. When there are rules, I don't forget about them, I bend them. I believe that a job should be fulfilling and meaningful (explains why I'm doing what I'm doing) and that extra money is a luxury. I believe in taking opportunities even though it seems very ridiculous. I enjoy trying new things and going on new adventures, stretching out of my comfort zone little by little. I don't mind making mistakes at my own risk, if I landed up in my own mess, I don't mind either. These above statements are already worlds apart from what my own parents believe. Till then, we'll see what will happen next between Gen Y and Gen Z. This would be interesting. |