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Understanding the generations begins with acknowledging that the time you’re born into influences who you become. Table 1-1 gives a breakdown by generation.

TABLE 1-1 Generational Breakdown

While it’s easy to look at this breakdown and think, “You’re just putting people into boxes!” the truth is more complex. For decades, generational theorists have found that the end of one generation and the beginning of another stems from the experiences they have in their formative years. To get a glimpse into some of those major moments, take a nostalgic walk through the timeline of generations past in Figure 1-1.

BridgeWorks. Minneapolis, MN. (October, 2016)

FIGURE 1-1: Generational timeline.

These years are not static; they’re fluid. Here’s a brief FAQ:

❯❯ These numbers are different than others I’ve seen – why is that?

Generational-year breakdowns are not fixed. They’re fluid because generational theory is a sociological science and therefore doesn’t follow hard rules. These years are determined by the researched truth that the events and conditions that you experience growing up shape who you are. For more about the distinction between sociology and psychology, see Chapter 2.

Before jumping to any conclusions about who generations are, an education in generational theory can set you straight. If you feel like becoming a generational expert who knows all things generational, take a dive into Chapter 3.

❯❯ What happened to Gen Y?

If you are excited to read the passage on Gen Y and how different they are from Millennials, or if you’re a Millennial who is proud to be Gen Y and not a Millennial, we are sorry to disappoint you. “Gen Y” and “Millennial” are synonymous. When researchers were first puzzling out the youngest generation at work, they named them simply as the successor to Gen X and made fun with the play on words “generation why.” Super clever. However, as more research was done, “Millennial” stuck. You can use either moniker you want. Just know that they’re the same, and in this book, we mostly use the term “Millennial.” (Gen Y is more popular outside of the United States.)

❯❯ What are their population sizes?

At their peaks:

● Traditionalists – 75 million

● Baby Boomers – 80 million

● Generation Xers – 60 million

● Millennials – 82 million

Note: Peak population indicates the highest population point of a generation. Information is taken from U.S. Census Data.

❯❯ So how technologically savvy are Millennials really?

Here’s the truth – all Millennials are not technological geniuses. The oldest Millennials didn’t use cellphones until they got out of college, and the youngest of the generation used a cellphone for the first time in middle school. That being said, they’ve always known a world where they’re expected to have a technological know-how beyond the generations that came before them. With each young generation comes another wave of the most technologically adept.

❯❯ How much of the workforce do they comprise?

It’s too hard to really pin this statistic down because it’s ever-changing, but just as generations before, the younger generation will continue to comprise more of the workforce than older generations. Many have estimated that Millennials will comprise 50 percent of the American workforce by 2020. In 2015, Pew Research Center updated the numbers as shown in Figure 1-2.

Note: Pew Research Center’s birth years are ever-so-slightly different from ours, but not so significantly that it impacts the data trends.

"Millennials Surpass Gen Xers as the Largest Generation in U.S. Labor Force" Pew Research Center, Washington, DC (May, 2015) http://www.pewresearch.org/fact; tank/2015/05/11/millennials-surpass-gen-xers-as-the-largest-generation-in-u-s-labor-force/ft_15-05-04_genlaborforcecompositionstacked-2/

FIGURE 1-2: Labor force generational composition.