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Defining the Changes and Characteristics through the Generations X, Y, and Z

In recent years scientists have just begun to research the differences between generations
and how much of an impact these changes have had on the worlds workplace and all of its
business employees today than in previous years. The changes have been so influential in fact
that many people would go as far as to say that they are going to, and will forever continue to
change in the populous. There are various characteristics and skills that experts make note of that
can be said to have helped influence the recent changes in the population. Throughout this paper
we will explore the various changes, characteristics and skills that have been noticed such as: the
basics for explaining generations in-depth, specific characteristics and skills within each
generation, changes and differences between the generations, similarities between the
generations, and examples will be provided.
Specific events and factors in periods of time during formative years have been shown to
shape individual generations. The idea of having different generation such as the generations x, y
and z refers to the period in time when certain characteristics of children was born. These groups
of children are known to have a particular type of characteristic and/or skill that associates them
with those years. These generational groups of individuals are born in different periods,
however, regardless of the year in which a person is born they are able to share characteristics
with other generations. These generation X, Y, and Z are therefore also referred to through
different names which distinguishes them, and also to a larger extent assists in showing the
essence of the distinctive characteristics and features of the group. In this reference, some
generational groups are associated with the technology of the era they born in for example the
internet and technological era. Other key characteristics that differentiate these groups include

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the sort of music they listen to, and generally the form of media they relate to. What is
significant, is that each generational group has important roles they play which become
important features of classification and description (United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund 3).
The generations vary from one another due to the characteristics they have and the names
they have been referred to. The duration they have been born to also is a clear indication of how
importance the generational groups are. There are four basic generations namely the
Traditionalists also referred to as Veteran Generation. This generation is regarded to have been
born between the year 1925 and 1945 during the first two major world wars. They are understood
to have taken an important role in those conflicts and hence in this regard they are understood to
possess much life experiences unlike the other generations. What is more is that this generation
is characterized by members who are ambitious owing to their uncertainty of the economic and
political as well as financial stability in the war period. The Veteran Generation is also
characterized by members who are financially conservative and extra careful in all their
endeavors. Veterans also tend not to be chance takers, as they did not like to place their hard
earned income at risk; and they were heavy believers in their word, if they said they would do
something they used to do anything to keep it true. They are also referred to as the command and
control generation, because it was in this generation that a manundertakings and alsothey have
been born to also is a clear indication of how importance the generational groups aone else to go
to their rooms, they would do exactly that because he was the authority to the family; and they
also tend to be born leaders, highly compatible with leadership (United Nations Joint Staff
Pension Fund p.5).

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The generation after the Veteran Generation is the generation regarded as The Baby
Boomers. The Boomers were born between the years 1946 and 1964 after the two major world
wars. They are seen to have been born in a period where the economy was growing steadily and
was generally characterized by abundant wealth in many parts of the world. The wealth is also
seen to have made the boomers more egocentric as they became more self-centered due to the
desire to accumulate a lot of wealth and hence achieve personal prestige. Baby boomers tend to
have nuclear families, meaning that their families are usually composed of the parents and the
children, the simplest form of a social group. Because of the economies boom, people became
ambitious and self-worthy also giving them the quality that makes them find joy in hard work in
order to invest more through their earnings. Boomers also work under the belief that work is the
most important task and because of this anything else asides from works revolves around their
work. Finally, Boomers are time conscious and use this ability to keep time in order to obtain
more success and wealth through their work hours (United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund p.6).
Generation X is composed of individuals born between 1965 and 1980 in a period that
economic stability was also witnessed. Industrialization had also occurred in most parts of the
world and hence their parents were had become wealthy due to their endeavors to dedicate a lot
of time in accomplishing tasks. In this regard, they do not value hard work since they were
already born into rich families. They also view the world through cynical and distrustful eyes, as
opposed to the Baby Boomers who compete for their wealth through ambitious and competitive
points of view and acted upon these throughout their endeavors (United Nations Joint Staff
Pension Fund, p.6).

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The third generation is the Generation Y, born between 1981 and 2000. This generation
was born in the technological era when computers and the internet had started to become popular
(Schroer Para 4). The group is regarded as powerful and hence able to transform their lives in
many aspects of life. Generation Y members are basically lazy due to the fact that their lives
depended on their parents who provided both safety and security. Although this may be true, the
members of Generation X (the parents of Generation Y) generally tend to take control of
Generation Ys lives but with the purpose of having parents guide them on the correct path
ensuring that they do not go astray in life. In this sense, individuals from this generation learn
through experience and exploring activities (United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund 6).
The last generation is Generation Z, born in the middle 2000s to present day. This group
is seen to have been influenced by technology and the social media. The internet is a central part
their activities and due to that, Generation Z regard individuals from preceding generations as
backwards, outdated and analog. Because most of their interaction is done through the social
media they have been a product of globalization where they have created virtual and online
communities. Additionally, they have transcended through the cultural terrain and been able to
integrate through sharing information, values, and cultures through the internet (Schroer Para 8).
Generation X was born just after the economic and political booms that occurred in the
prior generation has stabilized, and industrialization had also just occurred in this era. Secondly,
their parents are born from wealthily families having attained wealth from working hard hence
they do not value hard work. The third distinctive characteristic of the Generation x is that they
view the world with a lot of cynicism and distrust. This is due to the fact that they do not need to
struggle in order to meet their basic necessities. Members of this generation also have a positive

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attitude having already witnessed the world in the most stable condition both economically and
positively hence they are focused to ensure that they keep on developing the world for the better
of the future (McDaniel p.38). Multi-tasking is also another key feature of this generation. This is
because they are able to use technology in carrying out their duties while also conducting other
activities that are aimed ensuring that they remain flexible and can incorporate other important
aspects into their activities. Lastly they are inquisitive and ready to probe for more information in
regard to all their endeavors. They are not satisfied by just any information they are given, they
carry out their own research and propose what they think is valuable based on facts rather than
fiction (United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund Paragraph 4).
Generation Y was born between 1981 and 2000 during the technological era when
computers and the internet started to become popular (Schroer Paragraph 4). They are

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integrate technology accomplishing their duties while also conducting other activities that are
aimed ensuring that they remain flexible and can incorporate other important aspects into their
activities. Multi-tasking is also a key characteristic of this group of individuals who opt to carry
out a number of activities without relenting since their ultimate desire is to accumulate wealth
and gain prestige. Responsibility is also another key aspect of the of the Generation Ys
members. Individuals from this generation tend to learn through experience and exploring
activities (United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund p.6).
This is the last generation and is born in the middle 2000s to present day. The main
characteristic of this generation is that they are techno savvy and hence all their lives revolve
around the social media and the new technology. Most of their interaction is done through the
social media and hence they have been a product of the globalization where they have created

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virtual and online communities. Learning and every aspect of their lives are carried through the
internet and in this regard they perceive individuals from preceding generations as backwards,
outdated and analog. They are generally lazy and spend the best part of their time playing
internet games and other computer games as well as watching and building new relationships
through the internet. They view the world with a lot of cynicism and do not take life serious as
they are catered for by their parents (Schroer Para. 9).
The major changes witnessed among these generations basically include; revolution of
the technology, economic growth due to industrialization and emergence of wealth individuals.
In regard to technology, the generation y for instance was born between 1981 and 2000 during
the technological era when computers and the internet had started to become popular. Prior to
that, the Generation x did not use the internet and most of their activities were done manually.
After the generation y, technology improves massively and in this sense, generation z members
are known to take the internet-based technology and the social media as central part of their
lives. In terms of economic development, many changes have occurred across these generations
(Biggs p.698). For instance during the Generation x era, economy had started to grow after the
major wars, the trend has continued to the current generation where economy of many countries
are stable.
The relationships that exist between these generations are generally based on
development and stability. For example, among these generations economic growth is seen as
central part and growing steadily due to peace and stable working environment. The other
relation between the groups is that success is highly valued and hence every member is working
towards that direction. For example every individual of these generations find that there is need

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for prosperity and hence even the members of Generation z hope to have a brighter future
oblivious of their lazy nature.
The generations differ in many different ways, some examples of real-life situational
differences are: in past generations people were respected by age, the first person to eat would
normally be the oldest at the table, and everyone would only start eating after him; another
generational difference would be the gender differences, the men would work and the women
would usually stay home, do household chores and say yes to their husbands. A few more
practical everyday examples are: people from prior generations would still rather go pick up a
phone book than look for a telephone number on their cells; they would also buy a newspaper as
opposed to looking for a news app on their computer or cell; people used to use checks in
situations where they didnt have enough cash to pay for something and nowadays we just use a
debit or credit card. One more much exaggerated example of generational difference that we can
see as broad as day is communicational differences: these differences are one of the simplest to
tell about, these would include the changes from having a telegram, to a radio, then to a
telephone, and a cellphone; the prior communication changes are miniscule compared to what
could be called the most recent one being the smartphone. Smart-phones having an incredible
capacity to do almost anything a computer can like online face-to-face (skype).
The scientists who study the different generations and the so-called generational gap have done
a good job, however, more studies on the different types of changes must be done. I say this
because the majority of studies made on this topic are regarding the workplace and it should be
an all-round type of study rather than a specific situation. That being said, they do a good job
covering and conveying the changes in skills and characteristics throughout their different

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papers. They have managed to show us that there is a massive quantity of differences from
Veterans generation to Baby Boomers, to X, to Y, and to Z, and that there is however much
research left to be done.
Works cited
Biggs, Simon. "Thinking about generations: conceptual positions and policy implications."
Journal of Social Issues 63.4 (2007): 695-711.
McDaniel, Susan A. "Generationing gender: Justice and the division of welfare." Journal of
Aging Studies 18.1 (2004): 27-44.
Schroer, William J. The Generations X, Y, Z and the Others. The Social Librarian. 2014. Web.
26 Jun. 2014. <http://www.socialmarketing.org/newsletter/features/generation3.htm>
United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund. Traditions, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation
Y (and Generation Z) Working Together. Overcoming Generational Gap in the
Workplace. 2014. Web. 26 Jun. 2014. <www.un.org/staffdevelopment/pdf/Designing
Recruitment, Selection & Talent Management Model tailored to meet UNJSPF's Business
Development Needs.pdf >