Why the forgotten Generation X will inherit the earth

WHILE Boomers and Millennials have been hogging the limelight, Gen X have been quietly readying to take centre stage, and are set to make their mark in leadership roles, writes Jane Fynes-Clinton.

WE are the forgotten middle child, but now that we are in our 40s and 50s, this is our time.

Clear the drivers’ seat for Generation X: we are in charge now, taking over the senior statesmen and women positions from the Baby Boomers, who have shuffled off into retirement.

Gen X has long been described as bland, indistinct, nondescript. We are considered, well, a bit vanilla.

But we are the new sheriff in town, and we are doing just fine.

The recently-released Global Leadership Forecast 2018, a three-way collaboration between Ernst & Young Global Ltd, Development Dimensions International and The Conference Board, drew on information from more than 25,000 leaders and 2500 human resources professionals and leaders in 54 countries including Australia.

It heralded the arrival of Generation X as the group set to make the biggest leadership mark on the workplace in coming years.

And it was announced this week that we are to be the oldest generation, bumping the Boomers off camera, in the new incarnation of the popular TV quiz show Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation, which was shelved for six years and is being dusted off on Monday.

New comedy quiz show, Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation has Andy Lee as Gen Y captain, Robyn Butler as Gen X captain and Laurence Boxhall as Gen Z captain. (Pic: Supplied/Nine)

Our ascension to the top was not garishly glorious. The time just came and we have seemingly been handed the reins of industry and business.

Remarkably, there has been precious little mention of the transition, or how differently Generation X does things.

We are those born between 1963 and 1980 — roughly. We are 55 at the older end and heading for 40 at the other: young enough to be radical but old enough not to go too crazy.

Screeds and screens have been dedicated to Generation Text, or the Millennials as they are also known, just as reams of paper have been written about the Boomers, but not us.

Poor, misunderstood us.

When we were young, we were supposedly lost souls. We were the generation of latchkey kids, who endured economic vacillations, divorced parents and AIDS.

We were insecure and seen as wishy-washy.

But we grew up and into ourselves, with several studies showing that we became independent, self-sufficient types. A little cynical, maybe, but we embraced technology, social progress including interracial and gay relationships, and were ignited by social media.

We are the true internet generation, sandwiched by the Boomers, who don’t completely understand it and Millennials, who were raised with screens in their hands. Generation X made the internet what it is, wading around in the pristine waters, creating a dotcom boom or two and learning from a few busts besides.

Baby Boomers, you no longer rule the roost. (Pic: Supplied)

We remember interest rates of 17 per cent. We have seen the dissolution of our manufacturing industries. We bought up the last of the affordable homes and embraced recycling and began to finally listen to the warnings of environmental devastation.

We may have been quiet, but we have always got up early to go to work, regardless of the drinks or drugs we might have indulged in. We have flourished in the shadow of the Baby Boomers, who were always said to have lived in the past and had a ransom on the future.

Since the end of World War II, Baby Boomers have been running the show. They were the first generation of children to get their own way and be given attention when they demanded it.

But we were there, learning from their selfishness and mistakes, ready to take over when the time came.

Maybe our problem is that we are a smaller generation by almost half, compared to the Boomers and Millennials. We have been promoted less often and have been less likely to leave our jobs for something better.

But we have also managed to slow time, making 50 the new 40 through attitude and playing video games and maintaining the rage for rock and punk while still adulting and mostly paying the bills on time.

We are the forgotten middles, but we have worked hard and played harder, adapting and revolutionising and learning from the past.

We are in charge now, but don’t worry: we are ready to rule.

Dr Jane Fynes-Clinton is a journalist and journalism lecturer at the University of the Sunshine Coast.