Gen Y vs Genx

1278 Words6 Pages
Generation Y, also defined as someone born between 1980 and 2000, has significant changes between their previous generation, Generation X. In Hong Kong, many young people were growing up in the rapid development of economy so they were heavily influenced by material comforts, high living standards and good educations. They become open-minded, confident and optimistic. Therefore, this paper compares with the two generations in three main areas which are work, money and relationship, in order to comprehend their similarities and differences. Although there is a great job market competition in Hong Kong, Gen Y mainly focuses on work-life balance and work satisfaction. As the Hong Kong government enhances educational standard, most of youngsters have a high qualification. Predominating over Gen X, they are not worry about the employment. In fact, for Gen Y, salary is not as important as having good career prospect, the chance to learn and advance. As Harrington (2011) points out, Gen Y thinks occupation is not only for earning money, but also some values such as achievement and recognition. That means they set work satisfaction as a higher priority than salary. Furthermore, they are regarded as care free and without worries because of good material comforts. When they encounter financial problems, their parents can cope with it. Consequently, they tend to consider their occupational interest and goal. Having a work-life balance, they want to seek a flexible job which has less working hours. For example, the trend is that Gen Y tries to build their own business. They may achieve satisfaction from it and can do what they like. On the contrary, Gen X just has one purpose of work—Family. In the early stage of Hong Kong, the education policy was not all-rounded. In addition, most Gen Xs’ families were not wealthy. They might not have enough money to pay for school. At
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