I recently spoke at the MPI Mid America Conference in Lexington, KY and one of my presentations was on working with the generations in the workplace in turbulent times.
I was in the elevator coming down to set up for the presentation and I was joined by a gentleman who would be considered to be a Zoomer ( a modern Baby Boomer). I introduced myself and told him I was going to be presenting on the generations. His immediate comment was:
“Those Gen Y are having a reality check right now aren’t they? Now they know what it feels like to be in a recession.”
It got me to thinking and asking myself, “Is it possible that because Gen Y has not had experience with past recessions they do not have a context for this one?”
That thought then led to the next question to myself which was, “Is it also possible that the fear and cynicism of those of us who have been through previous negative experiences is causing us to ‘project’?”
We simply cannot compare ‘recessions’ and we also cannot ‘project’ our fear of past experiences on to the current generation. First of all they don’t believe the hype. Yes some of them may have lost their jobs and yes that is a wake up call at any age- but their concerns are not about the same things that would concern a Gen X or a Zoomer.
Gen Y’s have a natural born social structure supported by social media that as quick as they may have lost a job they have a friend who is telling them about another opportunity!
Zoomers who are using social media (FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Plaxo etc.) at varying levels are recognizing the benefits of being ‘connected’. If as a Zoomer you are choosing to remain a lone wolf or to figure things out for yourself then indeed YOU are in for a harsh reality.
It is easy to be more optimistic when you are connected and socially supported. It is also easier to be pessimistic when you are disconnected, wishing for things to return to the way they were and unwilling to change.
So in the end are Gen Y’s more optimistic than Zoomers?
Well the next time you drive by a high school, college or university take a look at the ‘mood’. You will likely see fist bumping, hugging, laughing, texting, and talking on cell phones. 
