Build #76 - The forgotten generation's purpose pivot

Hey there,

In the penultimate article from this year's Build Summer Series, Rebecca Bates gives us a thoughtful look at generation X, the "valley of bewilderment" and their subsequent reinvention of the work they do.

This resonated deeply with me as virtually all of what Rebecca observes matches my lived experience - including my "second mountain" working with purpose as a fractional and consultant COO.

best regards,

-sw

Build #76 - The forgotten generation's purpose pivot

I have recently found myself fascinated by a portion of society commonly referred to as 'Generation X'. These are folks born between 1965 and 1980, making them between 45 to 60 years old currently - a smaller cohort sandwiched between the dominant 'Boomers' and the much discussed 'Millennials'.

This 'Forgotten generation' were self-sufficient from a young age; often with two parents working outside the home or from single parent households due to increasing divorce rates. Their formative years and early careers were shaped by the boom in personal computing, the nascent internet and such seismic global events as the fall of the Berlin Wall, AIDS pandemic, end of the Cold War, collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the end of Apartheid in South Africa.

Influenced by these forces, Gen Xers' disillusionment and rejection of what had come before was projected culturally through the later Punk era, Grunge music and aesthetic, and a 'whatever' attitude. For an extreme illustration of this attitude, I highly recommend watching Netflix's recent 'Trainwreck: Woodstock '99'! As a result, Patrick Neate writes, they earned a sweeping reputation for 'cynicism, alienation, amorality, solipsism, childlessness, pessimism, distrust of institutions, atheism and infantilism' and were ultimately labelled 'Slackers.' Ouch.

But Gen X grew up. They emerged much more educated than their Boomer predecessors, with 23% earning a university degree in the UK versus 15% of the previous generation. The majority settled into family life - married, with on average two children. They rose through the ranks into positions of power and leadership in politics, business and culture (think David Cameron, Nicola Sturgeon, Sheryl Sandberg and David Beckham). Yet, through the misfortune of timing and multiple factors, many were not rewarded with financial comfort and stability that is commonly associated with the generation before them. As a tranche of Gen Xers should now be planning their off-ramp from working life, they face 'a dismal retirement outlook' in the UK and across the Atlantic. Double ouch.

The financial crisis of 2008 hit right at what should have been their peak earning and asset-building years, crippling many people's ability to save. They missed the bus on final salary pensions and preceded the uptick of auto-enrolment into defined contribution pension schemes, leaving over half fearing their finances will not be enough to cover their retirement. Higher life expectancy not only means that they need to financially cover more non-working years but also that they are now caring for elderly parents from whom they can expect to inherit wealth much later in life. Having had children later in life, they are simultaneously supporting their children into adulthood. Add to this the fact they have seen the state pension age in the UK rise to 67 (and planned to be 68 from 2044), they are preparing to stay in the workforce longer as 'only one-third of people in the UK aged between 43 to 58 believe they will be retired by the time they reach the state pension age.'

But staring down a decade more, perhaps two, of working life and with 42% already experiencing frequent stress and burnout in jobs where they have climbed the corporate ladder, 'many Gen Xers are at a pivot point now that they’ve reached mid-life, and are re-evaluating the lives they’ve led up to this point.' Rather than grinding out the rest of their working lives in jobs they don't care about, many are seeking more fulfilling future careers. Alongside a trend of increasing environmental awareness and responsible consumption amongst this group, for some this means making a 'purpose pivot' to positively contribute to the causes they are most passionate about.

David Brooks, author and journalist, offers great imagery for this phenomenon in his book The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life. He describes people's lives as a 'two-mountain shape'. The first mountain many climb in life is the one they're told they're supposed to climb, to achieve the goals they're supposed to achieve - the nice home, family, holidays, good food and friends. It is about 'building ego and defining the self', 'moving up' and 'acquisition', about being 'ambitious, strategic and independent.' But many, regardless of their generational label, reach the top of that first mountain, look around, dissatisfied and ask "Is this all there is?"

For Brooks, the subsequent descent into the 'valley of bewilderment' offers a precious, if painful, opportunity for self-reflection and recalibration that 'interrupts the superficial flow of everyday life.' Of course, some cannot face their deepest fears and 'most powerful yearnings' to answer the call, but others emerge ready to take on their second mountain in life - a mountain that feels more like theirs after all. This second mountain is characterised by 'shedding the ego', 'contribution', 'planting yourself amid those who need and walking arm in arm with them.'

There is potentially a great wave of Gen Xers emerging from this valley right now, trying to work out what their second, more purpose-driven mountain could look like as they face the next act in their working life. And it is precisely because of the technological disruption, financial instability and systemic failures they have experienced as the 'sandwich, forgotten, slacker, whatever' generation that makes them, I hypothesise, uniquely positioned to lead on solutions to our most pressing environmental and social challenges:

• they span the analogue and digital eras - like no other generation, they have seen incredible technological leaps and had to adapt to them. In a time where we grapple with the societal impact of increasing technological reliance and perhaps a longing for a time before such dependence, they will have unique insights and solutions to offer.
• they have built up wisdom, skills and grit over long careers and accumulated vast lived experience as well as the energy to keep building
• they have established far-reaching networks and built up professional and social capital and influence
• they are pragmatic, entrepreneurial, innovative, independent thinkers

I have had the recent pleasure of working with one such newly fledged social entrepreneur as part of the Extra Brain consultancy collective. Matt Henry - Laurence Olivier Award-winning singer, actor and MBE, having scaled his first mountain to reach the heights of theatre royalty status, was looking back on the industry that shaped him and to the future for the next generation of actors. For a long time he'd been troubled by the accommodation crisis that faces touring casts who have to find their own short-term lets in every new city. Ensemble members are often forced into unsafe, sub-standard rentals within the means of their subsistence allowance.

Matt came with all the wisdom, lived experience, passion, influence and entrepreneurial spirit of his generation. All he needed was some thought partnership and guidance to help him laser-focus on what the problem is he's trying to solve and how to build something brilliant to solve it. And build it he has. He has secured funding and property to bring his vision to reality and is ready to launch his positive impact venture in the next few months.

So here's my question.

How many more of the 'Slacker generation' are out there sitting on an idea for positive impact, teeming with skills and knowledge, ready to work as hard as they always have, but just need help channeling it to release their potential for the greater good?

Introducing Rebecca Bates

Rebecca Bates works with mission-driven leaders and organisations to achieve strategic clarity in often complex landscapes. Her background in research, brand and marketing strategy across diverse sectors (agency-side, non-profit, start-up and government) combined with her global experience spanning the UK, US and Singapore, allows her to bring a wide perspective and fresh thinking to the challenges faced by leaders and organisations striving for positive impact. 

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Build is Simon Wakeman's weekly newsletter for founders. Simon helps founders through his work as a fractional COO, consultant COO, advisor and coach.