Generational stereotypes - such as the notion that all Gen Yers were born to be super-shoppers - aren't always valid, a study has found. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey
Generational stereotypes - such as the notion that all Gen Yers were born to be super-shoppers - aren't always valid, a study has found. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey
KEY POINTS:
Generational stereotypes are seductive. It's a compelling idea: generations experience definitive historic events that mould common character traits, values and attitudes.
The Gen Y kid is born to consume. The drifting Gen X slacker is disillusioned and disengaged. The what-about-me baby boomer is spoiled by post-war abundance, andthe stoic war generation survivors still wash their plastic bags.
The evidence doesn't support this, says social scientist Keith Macky. "What the popular media likes to refer to as generational differences are simply differences in life stage needs and relative experience."
In other words, maturity.
Macky, an AUT associate professor in human resources management, says some studies show little or no generational difference in work attitudes, for example.Other research does suggest differences.
A major review to be published in the Journal of Managerial Psychology found Generation Y showed higher levels of narcissism, anxiety and depression, lower needs for social approval and a stronger sense that their lives are controlled by external forces.
An Australian study found few generational differences in personality and job motivation, but more cynicism.
The economic realities you come of age in will, however, affect your life choices.
Liz Hawes, co-president of the New Zealand Union of Students' Associations, says the legacy of student debt will be far-reaching.
