Sandwiched between the baby boomers and millennials, members of Generation X are reputed to be technophiles, just like their younger peers. After all, Gen X helped create the internet and modern tech culture.
Yet, according to a recent survey, they are no longer enamoured with the prospect of working for a major company in the sector they helped to build.
The survey in question, carried out among 1,000 tech employees in the United States, suggests that those of Generation X – born between 1965 and 1980 – no longer aspire to work in the sector.
In fact, only 37% of them said they want to work for a leading tech company, while millennials and Gen Zers (at 60%) are twice as likely to want a career in tech.
Similarly, a quarter of the Gen Xers surveyed said they would only look for a job at a tech company if they were to resign or be made redundant from their current firm, compared with 30% of millennials.
As true “slashers,” Gen Zers are the least attached to the tech sector, with only 19% saying they would look for work only in this field.
These results reflect the extent to which working people are becoming more discerning about the company they work for, and more generally, about the sector in which it operates. They intentionally choose the sector they want to work in, in line with their skills and aspirations.
Change in attitude
While young people are known to be particularly committed to balancing their professional and personal lives, their tech-savvy elders seem to be even more so. For example, 68% of the Gen Xers surveyed said their job is no longer as important to them in achieving their life goals as it was before the pandemic, compared with 51% of millennials and 58% of Gen Zers.
Several factors are contributing to this change in attitude towards the technology sector, the first being the major wave of job cuts that has swept through the industry since the start of this year.
In the space of nine months, some 986 US companies have shed 233,442 workers, according to the Layoffs.fyi website, which compiles redundancy announcements in the technology industry.
Added to this is a desire to protect mental health, which emerged with the pandemic and its lockdowns. As a result, the tech industry is no longer as attractive as it once was for Gen X, despite the lavish compensation packages it offers to workers whose skills are in short supply on the job market.
Indeed, Gen X workers in the sector are the most disillusioned about the industry that once fuelled their dreams: only 38% of them said their company’s mission and values are more motivating today than they were before the pandemic, compared with 56% of millennials and 47% of Gen Z respondents.