Why Gen Xers Hate Corporate Jobs

Generation Xers don't seem to be clambering to the top of the corporate ladder in the numbers they should be—and many are turned off by corporate life altogether. BusinessWeek has 10 reasons why this might be so:

1. Xers started their careers just as the economy went into its early '90s tailspin
2. Remembered big corporate layoffs has given Xers a strong distrust of large institutions
3. Xers like keeping their options open and don't want to be funneled into narrow career paths
4. The economy is slowing again, just as Xers are reaching upper management
5. Xers are struggling to manage the "pesky" Generation Y strivers coming up

 

6. Xers are left out of the Generation Y-Boomer lovefest
7. Xers are less keen on throwing away the rule book than those on either side, which makes for corporate clashes
8. Many Xers aren't as up-to-speed with new technology as they seem and are too embarrassed to ask
9. Generation Y's parents interfering in the workplace is a huge turnoff
10. Many Xers now have kids of their own and are struggling for a work-life balance

(More Generation X stories.)