There’s no denying that Gen X & Gen Z have their own strengths in the workplace. However, Gen X employees are able to get up to speed with a new job much more quickly than Gen Z, and they can do so with less guidance. Let’s find out why Gen X is able to enter a new job & figure it out faster than Gen Z.
A childhood pattern that included more self-care time
One of the main reasons Gen Xers are able to adapt more quickly to new jobs is their childhood. They spent quite a lot of time alone after school as latchkey kids. It’s something that was more common in their generation than in other ones, and it meant that they had to figure out their daily responsibilities without constant supervision from their parents.
Learning to get home & manage their time independently taught them useful skills for their adult life. They know how to handle uncertainty and make decisions by themselves in a way that later generations didn’t really learn. Gen X is better at self-management than Gen Z appears to be.
Starting careers while job security was getting shakier
By the time Gen X entered the workforce, long-term job stability had already begun disappearing in many industries. Corporate downsizing & restructuring were the norm during the 1990s, as were layoffs. Many workers reported feeling concerned about job insecurity during these years.
But working in such an environment did have its benefits, as it forced Gen Xers to adapt to whatever came their way. They learned to switch teams & adjust their responsibilities without much fuss. They could even learn how to use new systems at the drop of a hat. Gen Z didn’t need the same sense of adaptability when they joined the workforce, so it’s harder for them to cope.
The people who ramp faster usually do the same few things
The people who fare the best in a new workplace are usually the ones with the same few habits. They actively look for information & observe how things are done. They’ll also ask practical questions while trying to get feedback early, and such behaviors are known to help reduce new workers’ sense of confusion. It works wonders for shortening the learning curve.
Many Gen Xers developed these skills after their previous experience, where their formal training wasn’t always clear. It taught them to learn by doing. Nowadays, they’re able to settle into unfamiliar jobs more quickly, while Gen Z is still trying to work out what to do.
Gen X is a bridge cohort
Quite a few people describe Gen X as being one of the “bridge” generations. They sit between older workplace traditions and newer systems, meaning that they started their careers in hierarchical offices but also experienced huge organizational shifts. They were able to see changes to remote work and communication norms first-hand.
It turns out that being in the middle-ground is actually quite useful, as it means Gen Xers are happy to switch between formal & informal workflows without too many problems. But Gen Z entered the workforce during a time of modern flexibility. They never really learned what it was like before.
Earlier exposure to real paid work as a teenager
Gen Xers got their first job before adulthood, sometimes before they even finished high school. It was completely normal to get a job when Gen Xers were teenagers. These jobs came with real expectations, like showing up on time & dealing with consequences. They had to follow the rules early on.
Getting early exposure to the working world helped Gen X understand the way that things work. They began to take responsibility for their actions and practiced listening to their bosses at a young age, so it’s no issue when they have to do the same thing with a new job later in life.
Comfort with direct, real-time clarification
The older generation grew up in a time when you could only ever solve issues face-to-face or over the phone, rather than waiting on long message chains. They became familiar with walking over or making a call to get things sorted out. It’s something that serves them well now. Today, Gen X is able to quickly check in & ask straightforward questions to figure things out.
There are far fewer lingering misunderstandings. Rather than sitting on uncertainty, Gen X takes the initiative to confirm details and keep moving, which helps to make them seem settled when they’re still learning the job. But you’d never guess that from the way that they handle it so well.
More comfort learning from written instructions
The large majority of workplace instructions or training comes from online assessments & videos. But it wasn’t that way before. Gen X spent many years in the workplace, where they’d read through printed manuals and policy documents on their own. They were expected to understand things on their own before asking for help.
Gen X carried those lessons into their new jobs today. They’re not like Gen Z, who need constant verbal reminders to follow directions, because Gen X is happy to look for written directions themselves. They start producing results far sooner than the younger crowd.
More repetition with formal feedback cycles
Gen X has dealt with their fair share of structured performance systems. Whether it’s annual reviews or written evaluations, even goal-setting meetings, the routine of dealing with feedback has become normal for them. It makes it easier to understand what matters in their new jobs.
Gen Z struggles to deal with evaluations because they’re not used to receiving them in the same way that Gen X does. The older generation is happy with it all. In fact, they’ll ask for clarity on expectations and priorities because they understand how unclear goals can mess everything up.
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