HRreview 20 Years

Generation X-ers found to be the best workers in the UK

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One of the key bands in the patchwork quilt of Generation X culture
Sonic Youth – one of the key bands in the patchwork quilt of Generation X culture

With more and more focus being placed on the role of generational blocks in the workplace, there is of course a growing level of competition as to who works the hardest. Many would say it’s surely the baby-boomers with their nose-to-the-grind-stone, 9 ’till 5 attitude. But, alas, they have been pipped at the proverbial post, by the often overlooked, but highly durable, Generation X.

In a recent survey of over 2,500 office workers conducted by Workfront, a provider of cloud-based enterprise work management solutions, it was revealed that over half of UK employees identified Generation X (roughly those aged between 34-54) as the hardest workers and almost 60 percent claimed that GenXers also had the strongest work ethic.

Skills

Gen X was also revealed to be the most skilled followed by Baby Boomers, Millennials. Those born between the 1980s to early 2000 were identified as by far the most tech-savvy

 

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When it comes to problem solving, a highly desirable trait, Generation X came out on top, they were also declared to be the most helpful generation by quite a wide margin.

Curmudgeons

In comparison it was Millennials who were found to be the real curmudgeons of the office, nearly half of those surveyed claimed that Millennials were the least co-operative and the biggest complainers. Those born between the 1980s to early 2000s were also named as the least likely to take responsibility by 57% of those surveyed

Luckily for Millennials it wasn’t all bad though, as they were also categorised as the most creative by 46 percent of people, followed by forty one percent of Generation X.

Robert joined the HRreview editorial team in October 2015. After graduating from the University of Salford in 2009 with a BA in Politics, Robert has spent several years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past he has been part of editorial teams at Flux Magazine, Mondo*Arc Magazine and The Marine Professional.

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