The Most Overlooked Generation X Employees in the Workplace

Many employers say they don’t play favorites, but one generation seems to be getting lost in the shuffle. While bosses are thinking about Gen Z employees and those who are retiring, Gen X is being overlooked and hurting their morale.

Despite making up a third of the U.S. workforce—more than three times the number of boomers in the office—Gen Xers are 18 percent less likely than other generations to say they feel a strong sense of belonging to their organization, according to a new report from Achievers, a workplace software company. This generation, ages 44 to 59, is also 30 percent less likely than others to say they are significantly recognized at work.

Hannah Yardley, Director of People and Culture at Achievers, says wealth that Generation X is not neglected because of birth order. Instead, these workers largely occupy middle management positions. Overwhelmed and burdened with too many responsibilities, nearly half of middle managers want to quit, according to a 2023 survey by the Workforce Institute of UKG, an employee software company. Management can often forget that these managers also need feedback, attention and appreciation.

“Gen X tends to have more leadership roles and therefore is expected to operate more independently,” says Yardley. “When you think about all the things that are going on in our workplaces, between COVID and our outside world, that’s a huge burden to put on managers. We see this high level of burnout because of the duality of their roles as employee and leader.”

Gen Xers are about 30% less likely than other generations to say they are able to share honest feedback and know they will be listened to and respected. They are also 27% less likely to say their company does a good job supporting their well-being than older and younger colleagues. Their emotional health also suffers, with Gen Xers around 31% less likely to say their mental wellbeing is supported compared to other generations.

But that lack of support still bleeds into how they show up for work. Gen X are 24% less likely to be excited at work, 23% less likely to say they are more productive at work, and 20% less likely to say they are highly engaged at work compared to other generations, according to the data. the report.

And with many Gen Xers bearing the burden of supporting both children and aging parents, other generations, such as Gen Z, are less likely to speak up when they’re unhappy.

They weren’t “born into a generation that was typically used to sharing their voice publicly,” says Yardley.

Emma Burleigh
[email protected]

Around the Table

A presentation of the most important HR titles.

Tech companies say demand for industrial robots is down in 2024, despite many manufacturing plants claiming to be taking over automated machines. Bloomberg

OpenAI has leased 90,000 square feet of real estate in Soho to open its first New York office, and property owners hope it will boost demand for workspace in the area. WSJ

The largest U.S. firefighters union, which represents nearly 350,000 workers, has declined to endorse a presidential candidate after both nominees tried to garner their support. The Guardian

Water cooler

Everything you need to know from wealth.

On hold. The dockers’ strike was suspended until January 15 to allow time for contract negotiations, but they reached a salary agreement. —Tom Krisher, AP

Careful. Amid declining airline ticket sales, Dutch airline KLM is launching a slew of cost-cutting measures to increase productivity while trying to avoid mass layoffs. —AFP

Jump in. Billionaire Richard Branson says so Gen Z could be more successful in their careers by adopting a “just go out into the world and do it” attitude.and skip college to “get on with it.” —Orianna Rosa Royle

This is the web version of CHRO Daily, a newsletter focused on helping HR executives navigate the needs of the workplace. Sign up to get free shipping delivered to your inbox.