Generation X

62 million
Born 1965-1982
Formative years: 1975 to 1990
Age in 2009: 27 to 44

In the 1970s, America’s established institutions were looking threadbare. America’s global economic primacy eroded, and the employer-employee compact of trust and loyalty collapsed. The country was demoralized by Vietnam and Watergate. Stagflation created a spirit of malaise. Even when the economy rebounded in the 1980s, Gen Xers saw their parents’ jobs and careers “restructured” away. It was also an era of social breakdown: soaring divorce rates leading to latch-key kids, rising crime and unwed births reflecting inner city decay. But the personal computer heralded the emergence of the New Economy, while the fall of the “evil empire” opened up world markets to globalization. Gen Xers grew up to be self reliant, self sufficient and skeptical. They don’t trust in the permanence of things. In the workplace, they are independent and don’t respond well to micro-management.