In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the usual rules of workplace seniority did not seem to apply to workers in their twenties and early thirties. The dotcom boom was empowering this cohort of youngsters – sometimes known as Generation X – to seize status and wealth with astounding precocity. The dotcom bust exposed that trend as an illusion, forcing the upstarts to serve their time in junior roles. An end to the punishment is in sight, however. Now in their thirties and early forties, many Xers should reach the apex of their power between 2010 and 2020, according to conventional wisdom that suggests white-collar workers peak in their late forties and early fifties (the average FTSE 100 chief executive is 52).
What will this mean for corporate life? Often viewed as ironic and detached, Gen X workers are not the most obvious leaders. But according to Tamara Erickson, author of What's Next, Gen X?, this lack of ideology might be an asset in solving modern challenges (it helps, she says, that they understand gender and racial equality better than their elders). Will their relaxed attitude also help them cope with workplace disappointment? It's possible, after all, that the baby boomers will hang on to power, keeping Gen X in a Prince Charles-like holding pattern.
And then there are the people nipping at Gen X's heels. Enviably at ease with digital technologies, members of Gen Y have little love for hierarchy. The downturn has left many of these whippersnappers more whipped than snappy. When – or if – they bounce back, their needs will complicate life for Gen X during its final push up the greasy pole.