I am brining this up because the article I read today deals directly with this. As a Gen Y-er, I have seen how hard both of my parents worked and I just don't know if I want to invest all of my time into work. There needs to be a balance, and Gen Y will find it.
Leisure time, as Ms. Nazareth defines it, is time to use as wished after working and taking care of housework, child care, errands and other necessities. The time-crunch economy, she says, is a baby boomer phenomena focused on long hours and high productivity in the office and, at home, the fastest way of doing things, drive-through eating and keeping a busy schedule.Even as a college student, I come home from school and find an endless list of errands and housework. Now, I understand that as a college student, I naturally have "more time" than most people, but this semester has been oddly different. I feel like I am already trying to accomplish the work-leisure balance.
After I finish 19 hours of schooling, I then end up working even more in the campus newsroom. Don't get me wrong, it is so much fun and I am definitely learning, but I have noticed my time for "leisure" (i.e. doing housework) has steadily fallen.
Gen X and Gen Y workers — as well as retired boomers — will want to fill their time with more leisurely activities, such as hobbies, entertainment, volunteerism and travel, Ms. Nazareth says.This is completely true! I would like to have an awesome job that pays fairly well, and still have time to enjoy myself at home. These things already have begun to worry me, and I fear the juggle that would arise if I had children within the next ten years.
The article pushes the point that even though Gen X is in the work force already, they are still competing with the Baby Boomers. However, once the Baby Boomers have "filtered out", Gen Y will be coming into play.
However, over the next several years, members of Gen Y, along with those in Gen X, will gain bargaining power, due to a low unemployment rate and a projected shortage of workers as aging boomers retire, she says.
Hopefully our generations will work together and reshape the work force so that the United States won't have the highest number of hours worked per week in the world!
6 comments:
Its ironic that you talk about generation X and Y. I took a course were we talked about the ideas of generation X and Y. We discussed how different the two were in terms of how they view life and how technologically advance each of the are. I think that people should be fully aware of the difference between the two but the world is constantly changing and so are the people in it.
It's funny that you mention this because I was actually just talking to my parents about this over dinner today. When talking about my boyfriends' internship, my dad mentioned him working at the desk job, 9-5. "Welcome to the real world," he said. My response and the first thing that popped into my head, "I don't think that will last long with my generation." Some may explain it away as laziness or entitlement, but I really believe Gen Y simply has different priorities. Where our parents value hard work and providing for their families, we seem to be focusing more in relationships and getting the most out of life; leaving our mark in the world. I don't know what that means for the future of our planet, but it will certainly be interesting to find out how the workplace changes once the Baby Boomers retire and Gen Y takes over.
It's going to be a great thing if we end up not feeling pressured to work the typical 9-5 job to be able to provide for our families. I, like Christi said, value my friendships and the relationships I have with family more than I do my work and school. Yes, we all want to be successful and leave a mark on the world, but who's to say that we can't leave our mark with our close friends and family? Maybe this means our generation will be on less medication and "happy pills" than our parents and grandparents are. I personally don't want my job to force me to take blood pressure pills. Your job shouldn't stress you out to the point that you feel you have to work constantly and never have any fun (or leisure time for yourself).
I agree with Christi and Mel. How much longer will the 9-5 job be available. I think that if we have more time for ourselves to do our own hobbies and spend more time with family and friends, that the stress levels of the population will decrease. Or, were we put on this earth just to work and that's it? No fun and games just work and blood pressure pills. Maybe the workplace will change signifigantly once the Baby Boomers do retire. Gen Y might just be taking over before we know it.
"...we seem to be focusing more in relationships and getting the most out of life; leaving our mark in the world."
Way true. I've never wanted one of those set jobs where I go to the office in the morning, then fight traffic all the way home just so I can get those few hours in front of the television before I have to go to bed and do it again. I'm looking forward to a hectic and unpredictable life of interviewing rock artist, reviewing shows and festivals, doing photo shots of upcoming stars, writing books and poetry on the side, making movies, skateboarding at night, vacationing in wherever the rugby world cup is, and marrying a man who loves doing this all with me...
Honestly, I don't really plan on the joining the real life...ever.
I've never been on of those women who goal was to have a family either. Call me a feminist, but I'm aiming for that perfect profession first. Somewhere down the line I'll think about adding some kids in there.
I realize my way of thinking is not a recent trend in my generation. Studying history, I really see a fizzle in the last wave of feminism. When I went to Baylor, I could promise you that 3 out of 25 girls in any given class would be married. I'm not talking about returned to school after the kids and years in a menial job either. These were 19-24 year old women. How do I know? Many of my professors would ask during random role calls, just see if the count has changed. The sad part was, there was a good number of girls that were wasting $32,000 of their daddy's money just for their MRS. degree.
Okay I'm going to stop before I go on a rant :)
I definitely agree that we focus more on relationships and families. I certainly value leisure time with friends more than work accomplishments.
And while I would definitely not stay at a job where I had to work 12-hour days like past generations, I'm not that opposed to 9-5 jobs. You can do most of your work when your kids are at school and your friends are at work. Then, at 5, you all have time to hang out with each other and drink because work sucks.
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