1 GENERATIONS: WHO ARE THEY? In the United States, five generations are now represented among adults active in work and community life. These are: TRADITIONALIST BABY BOOMER GEN X MILLENNIAL GEN Z before 1945 and before2 ~1946-1964 ~1965 -1980 ~1981- 1995 ~1996 - a.k.a. “Greatest a.k.a. Me Generation, a.k.a. Generation X, a.k.a. Generation Y, a.k.a. i Gen, Centennials Generation”, Silent, Woodstock Generation Busters, Post-Boomers Nexters, the Internet Veterans, Builder Generation  Great Depression  Prosperity  Challenger Disaster  Tech Boom:  Tech revolution – on  World War II  Space race  Fall of Berlin Wall, Computers, e-mail, the grid 24/7  New Deal  Cold War Glasnost internet & cell phones  Ipads, smartphones  Korean War  The First TVs  Energy Crisis  Columbine, Oklahoma  Helicopter parenting  Rural Life  Suburbia  Stagflation City. 9/11  Obama Defining  Automobiles  Civil Rights &  Latchkey kids  Reality TV  Terrorism and  “It Takes a Village”. Events &  Telephones – party women’s movements  Single parents Endless wars – lines  Viet Nam  AIDS  Multiculturalism Afghanistan, Iraq Trends  Golden Age of Radio  Kennedy & MLK Jr  Computers  Princess Diana  Recession – 2008+  Big Band music, Glenn Assassinations  Wall Street frenzy  Tiger Woods  Media on demand = Miller  Rock ‘n’ Roll, Beatles.  Video, Computer  School debt streaming TV, music,  The Silver Screen Elvis (Presley) Games  Grunge, Alt Rock movies  Labor unions  MTV, Disco, Punk, U2  Mark McGwire,  Family-School-Faith  Michael Jordan Sammy Sosa  Duty, honor, country  Work ethic = worth  Independent, Self-  Optimistic  Social media  Loyalty ethic reliant  Individualistic, yet  Instant results;  Conformity.  Success is visible  Desire for Stability group oriented constant feedback Blending. Unity.  Optimistic  Diversity  Social Commitment  Skill gaps Popularized Patience  Consumers  Thinking globally  Digital Native  Lower expectations & Characteristics  Hard times, then  Defined by job  Techno-literacy confidence prosperity.  Personal  Friend of parents  Global mindset - local  National Pride Development  Informality reality  Doing a Good Job  Health and Wellness  Cynical. Pragmatic  Infinite diversity  Age = seniority – retain youthfulness unique to them

1 Sources: Fry, R (2015, May 11), Millennials surpass genXers as the largest generation in U.S. labor force. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact- tank/2015/05/11/millennials-surpass-gen-xers-as-the-largest-generation-in-u-s-labor-force/ft_15-05-11_millennialsdefined/; Center for Generational Kinetics (n.d.) Generational Breakdown: Info about all of the generations. Retrieved from http://genhq.com/FAQ-info-about-generations/; Lancaster, Lynne C. & David Stillman, (2002) When Generations Collide, New York: Harper Business; Zemke, Ron, Claire Raines, & Bob Filipczak,(2000) Generations at Work: Managing the Clash of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters in Your Workplace, New York: AMACOM. 2 NOTE: Years for generations vary slightly among scholars and practitioners.