This is not news to X’ers, but we are the first generation in the US to be worse off financially than our parents, as recognized in an Associated Press article that hit the media today. I’m thrilled that the issue has claimed the attention of the AP but seeing the phenomenon written out in black and white, in hundreds of news sources across the country leaves me with a sour stomach.  Why?  Because it is accurate.  Many GenXers and Millennials are living with very high student loan debt, little to no net worth and have been disproportionately affected by the mortgage and housing crisis.

To quote the article “The typical household headed by a person age 65 or older has a net worth 47 times greater than a household headed by someone under 35.“

Before you jump to the explanation that people accumulate wealth and assets as they age and we Xer’s just need to put our time in, the article is also quoted as saying that “the gap is now more than DOUBLE what it was in 2005 and five times what it was 25 years ago, after adjusting for inflation.”   Yes folks, we are the first generation to do worse financially than our parents and our millennial friends behind us hold the same distinction.

This trend has vast consequences for our public and non profit organizations.  Consider our donor base, philanthropy and planned giving best practices the industry has been using for decades. Ask yourself it they take this trend into consideration?  In my experience, the answer is no.  All of these activities are still very boomer and traditionalist focused.  If you haven’t already come to this conclusion, let me be the first to lay it out, in black and white….the way we raise money to support our organizations today, is not what will be successful in a decade.  I encourage you to review the AP article (or the subsequent flurry of articles resulting from the AP article-click here for the Chicago Tribune version) and begin the conversations in your organizations about this trend.

Finally, millions of Americans are struggling financially, that is not news.  But the state of the economy from a GenX filter is news, at least it was today.

There seem to be two groups of people in the workforce these days.  Those that fear technology and see it exhaustive and a burden and a second group, who see it as a tool to make our work easier.  The division is not always along generation lines-but I do often see the first group born somewhere in the boomer generation.

This is not a new concept, nor can I take credit for calling the concept out for the first time. But I will lay it out there, with a generation lens.

Just yesterday, while in a large strategic planning meeting, I was struck by the division of some seeing technology as a threat and others seeing it as an opportunity.  One particular comment, that started a flurry of fear based comments, was “technology is so unsafe, we have to protect ourselves and our children from it.” While another (also a boomer) chimed in to add “technology is not only unsafe but it is EXHAUSTING, all the constant emails and text messages, I can’t keep up!”  There was a collective sigh, and it was mostly from those well over the age of 55.

Meanwhile, I see the X’ers and Millennials in the group shifting uncomfortably in their chairs.  Some looking around with cagey eyes like they are trapped ready for the finger pointing and  ”those millennials keep texting during meetings” comments to begin. Others were ready to vehemently disagree, wanting to list off all opportunities that technology offers to make our work more effective, efficient and increase accessibility of information.

This division and dynamic is obvious in nearly all meetings, trainings, seminars I attend.

I don’t have a specific solution for either group’s conflict, but I can say that as a “bridge” generation between boomers and millennials…Generation X has a chance to make a significant impact in this argument.  Boomers, some better than others, have adapted to common workplace technology developments like email, texting, internet, google etc. But it has been an adaptation for boomers.  Millennials were born connected, they don’t know a life without it. Meanwhile, GenX, was in our prime developmental years, psychologically, emotionally and educationally during the rise in the use of technology for communications and work.  We were also just beginning our careers during the dot.com explosion-a pivotal turning point in the evolution of technology in the workforce.

As a generation, we can argue both sides of this technology argument.  The positives, the negatives.  The challenges and the opportunities.  What is even better however, is that we can act as the bridge between the boomers and millennials.  Technology is here to stay, and will continue to evolve, avoiding it is no longer an alternative.  Not using email or learning to text for work communications, not googling your next job applicant candidate, avoiding social networking or websites to promote your organization, is no longer cute.  Technology doesn’t have to be scary and bad.

To my fellow X’ers, stand up and offer to help your colleagues to adapt.  Bridge the gap between generations. Explain to millennials about where the fear of technology comes from so they are better able to validate boomers.  At the same time, be assertive with boomers to give time and space for Xer’s and millennials to teach about the advantages of being more connected. Technology has much to offer, so let us frame the conversation to be less about fear and more about an opportunity to learn from other generations.

Happy New Year!  As I reflect on my first year of official “blogging” I am filled with  obligatory blogger guilt for not posting more often.  Thankfully, the guilt is counterbalanced with  pride knowing that other people at least READ my thoughts…and a few of you even commented on them!   I had intended to blog for year then re-evaluate….but after I received this handy little wordpress report, I decided the pride outweighed the guilt so I’m committing to another year of a blonde in a sea of grey….

If you are a stats geek like I am,  you’ll be interested to read what wordpress crunched for me.

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 2,600 times in 2010. That’s about 6 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 20 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 9 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 2mb. That’s about a picture per month.

The busiest day of the year was February 3rd with 74 views. The most popular post that day was …don’t you want to be “developed”?.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, digg.com, slashingtongue.com, WordPress Dashboard, and google.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for generation x values, values of generation x, gen x values, generation demographics+technology, and events that shaped generation x.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

…don’t you want to be “developed”? February 2010
10 comments

Generation X values…a bit more context March 2010
4 comments

all about me…. January 2010

Technology…game or workhorse? February 2010
6 comments

It’s our time….Goonies Anthem or GenX Manifesto? February 2010
4 comments

Here is to another year of blonde’s navigating the sea of grey!!  -V