Flying Thoughts Millennials vs Baby Boomers

My flying thought for today; are baby boomers and millennials that different?

This article will likely piss people off on both sides of the argument, but it’s been something on my mind lately, so let’s go for it. Baby boomers, like myself, were named because of a surge of births in the years after WW2. Think 1946-1964ish. (I was born in 1962 and am just turning 60 which not long ago was defined as quite old!)

Millennials (or Generation Y) were born around 1981-1996. Before you say anything, I know that there’s Generation X in the middle, and Generation Z afterwards. But bear with me, there’s a reason for my focus on the two cohorts, and it’s this…

As many baby boomers are retiring, millennials with 10-20 years in the workforce, are set to take their place. I’m going to make an assumption here that I know doesn’t apply to everybody but, for the purpose of this article, let’s pretend it does. People retiring tend to be in high-level roles. They’re the managers, the highly skilled, they may have worked their way up the career ladder from the bottom to the top. As they jump ship and head toward retirement, somebody needs to take their place. Enter: millennials.

Each generation has their own stereotypes. Millennials are all snowflakes. Boomers are all selfish. The myths are both damaging and unnecessary. As humans, we like to know what makes us different to others. We love a good comparison. Yes, my generation might have had it easier in some ways, but does that mean we’re all write-offs? Does it mean we don’t care because houses were more affordable? Of course not.

Part of being a decent member of society is acknowledging your privilege and I acknowledge that I was lucky to get into business when I did. To buy a house when I did. The thing is, you have to live with the hand you were dealt, or do something about it. Understanding our differences means that we can reshape our society.

My opinion…

We are all capable of succeeding no matter what generation we were born in.

Yes, Millennials and Generation Zs have it more difficult in some aspects, but they also have the world at their feet. Technology. Social reform. Education. Accessibility. The world is a different place than when I stumbled out of a derisory education and into the fire. A better place? I couldn’t say either way. A different place? That is for certain.

I’ve never been one for finding fault with others. I’m far more likely to find fault in myself. Every generation has their faults. Just as every person has their faults. Instead of focusing on the liabilities of each generation, why not focus on equipping the next generation for the future? The millennials are ready to step into the jobs the boomers are retiring from. After that, it’ll be the turn of Gen Z.

My proposition…

We should be focusing our energy on making each generation a better generation than our own.

The world deserves that. We shouldn’t let our jealousy cloud our judgement. We should want to provide for the future and equip our children and our children’s children with the tools they need to survive, thrive, and make the world a better place. We should be setting them up for success, not failure. After all, the future is in their hands, and selfishly I want there to be a promising future, not least as I now have two Grandchildren!