The Xennial Journey
I never knew there was a name for us. Then one day I was scrolling through Facebook and I saw this article about Xennials, a micro-generation born between the late seventies and early eighties. As a card carrying member born in '79, I would easily dub Xennials as the "Generation of the Cataclysms." We are the ultimate mashup, as the children of Boomers, younger siblings of Xers, and in some cases parents of Millennials. And for that, we are often misunderstood.
No matter the workplace, I've always been the question mark. What is she really about? What is she really here to do? How long is she really going to stay? What is she really gonna contribute? How old is she again? She has how many degrees? She can't possibly have that much experience? She's five. Doesn't she really know what we do here? Who does she know? Is she qualified?
Carrying several identity markers that have historically raised questions of competency (i.e. African American and Woman), I find that age runs as closely in the race as bodies against tape at the finish line in olympic sprints. Age is the eyebrow raiser, and in fairness to societal expectations (whoever they are), I get it.
Society suggests that anything done well takes time, whether it be bread or fine wine. Product marketing trends promote that it is indeed the time that one takes, that should prompt investment. So perhaps that explains why younger members of the workforce and those in leadership, clash when it comes to a worthy investment of trust in their work.
I recall walking in an interview in 2011 for a position as a division manager of a public service agency. The small interview panel (two people) locked eyes with each other as I walked in the door, and I knew that in some way, I'd not met their expectations, not necessarily in a negative way, but I apparently caught them by surprise. I thought that I would sit in the seat of mystery for the entire interview, with them never showing their hand as to what had them so stumped. I pristinely answered a question or two. They locked eyes again. No longer able to sit on the egg, one interviewer let it hatch.
"It appears that you've been awfully busy in a very short period of time," she chuckled. "You've done quite a bit to be so young."
At the time, I was 32, and my resume was approximately 7 pages long with substantial work experience, and a testament to 3 levels of degrees.
"Would you mind walking us through your timeline again?"
I proceeded to articulate that upon graduation, I went to college for 12 years straight until the completion of my doctorate, and that I'd worked full time for the majority of my doctorate. I explained that I only took internships with applicable experience that most effectively resembled the work in my field and mimicked only professional positions. I explained that I worked and went to school every summer since 1998, hence I completed all degrees on schedule, on top of volunteering.
She was satisfied. I'd answered accurately to the best of my ability complete with a drop of blood from my first born to insure the accuracy of the statements lol.
What hit me then, is what I've watched unfold time and time again in my career; age undercuts trust for older generations. It is not that older generations deem my generation to be a cesspool of liars, but moreso our motives are called to question. Xennials are the synergy between, "Work hard for an honest days pay," and, "Work smarter, not harder...well work hard (enough), but play way harder!"
We are fine working our way up the ladder as our parents did, but also learned the value of being your own boss after the economic downturn of '08 (hence we are the beginning of the Side-hustle Generation). While Boomers stayed with the company for 20 years, and Millennials leave in an average of 2, Xennials stick around for 5-8.
This oxymoronic existence that is the Xennial, makes it difficult to establish trust in our process, because it appears to be rooted in two schools of thought. So employers spend more time bouncing between those two schools of thought, than actually investing in relationships with Xennials if they aren't careful.
In the name of creating enough safety for employers to build relationships with my kind, I would like to offer the following solution to our riddle:
We do understand the value of longevity, and will consider it a little more readily than our younger counterparts, if properly incentivized.
Being incentivized does not mean 5 weeks vacation and the ability to work remotely Wednesday through Friday, but it doe mean the ability to pay for a place to live, pay student loans (don't ask), and take a vacation farther than 120 miles.
We do want to move up the ladder, and increase autonomy, but we also want to be adequately developed to do so. Paid trainings are valuable.
We don't do oppression really well. Our parents are a part of the Civil Rights and Hippie era. We advocate for ourselves.
We critique measures of progress in any context with much scrutiny, because we are the product of the California Achievement Test, and other mechanisms that marginalized different talents outside of test-taking, so we don't believe that the numbers tell the whole story.
We believe in second chances, because we watched plenty of our friends and loved ones make a come-back from the crack era/war on drugs, the teenage pregnancy epidemic, and again the economic downturn. We believe in the unusual suspects.
There (lol)! Our cover is blown. So know that when we walk into work environments, our goals are way more similar than they will ever be different. Xennials show up to be active contributors, do our part on the team, while also excelling in areas where we have unique gifts and talents. We will call things to question, but with the primary goal of improvement. And we will advocate for what is right for ourselves and others.
We may be a part of the microwave generation, but we don't cook 12 course meals in one. We can be trusted to work smarter, still harder, but certainly deliver. You may not always like our process, but more often than not, we don't miss on the product. You can trust us.
Signed,
The Trustworthy Xennial:)