G for Generation; G for Gap

Priorities and preferences change with each generation, based on the past experiences, current challenges and future prospects. What ultimately binds us together is the thought, culture, mindset and values that each generation carries forward as a legacy and passes on from its antecedents to its descendants.

Born in 1980, I find myself on the cusp of the X and Y generations, though I belong to the X generation. This generation would rather walk for 15 minutes to work, rather than spend Rs 15 on an autorickshaw ride. In contrast, those born between 1981 and 2000, known as the millennials, would shell out Rs 20 and take an auto to the railway station, rather than waste 20 minutes walking it down.

Well, this difference is just the tip of the ice berg. Our forefathers (those born before 1945) lived their lives, wading through tough economic conditions, lacking job security and thus, remained loyal to their organisations.  Look around and you will find so many of your relatives, having served and retired from the same company, which was their first employer. This generation aka the Builders, which witnessed the World War II, placed lot of emphasis on family bonding and marital ties.

No wonder that they were proponents of the joint family system and divorces were mostly unheard off those days. Bank accounts were the only means of saving those days, and fixed deposit receipts were guarded more than bank locker keys. Properties were mostly purchased post retirement, using the superannuation amount, and bequeathed to the next generation. Of course, their descendants will be among the super-rich today, considering the appreciation in the property rates and the large archetypal houses in olden times.

Moving to our parents’ generation (the Baby Boomers, who entered the world between 1946 and 1964), having seen the aftermath of war, they decided it was important to work hard, manage an average standard of living on frugal, shoe-string budgets, but ensure they had enough to get their sons educated and daughters married when the time came. This generation woke up to the need for insurance and unit-linked plans, term plans etc, which helped them accumulate a large kitty over several years, and earmark funds for specific goals. Over the course of their lives, they managed to inculcate in their children a strong sense of financial discipline, and the need to excel in academics.

We, the X Generation, are more materialistic, after having seen the earlier generations battle rough economic patches, job-cuts, and emergencies. So, we believe in the institution of family and marriage, team work and work-life balance. Sizes of families have drastically reduced, with people restricting the number of children to just 2-3, as against the past logic of ‘more-the-merrier’. This generation also got the opportunity to dabble in stocks and make the moolah and try their luck with mutual funds.

Moving ahead, walked in the Millennials, who saw the Internet Boom and the new guru called Google. A generation that exudes self-reliance, and confidence, individuals are comfortable with the EMI culture, thanks to the banks who have thrown open their coffers, and doling out loans and credit cards. They have the house, the car, vacations abroad, and a lavish lifestyle, but also believe in saving through systematic plans.

Children born post 2000 are the Z generation, which has witnessed tremendous advancement in science and technology, and carry a different set of values when it comes to socialising and lifestyle. Brandishing the latest mobile phone, they update their status on Facebook, to let the world know of their whereabouts, and plan their weekends with friends, over a Whatsapp chat group. They believe in multitasking, working from 9 to 5 at a corporate office and attending lectures for a three-year part-time MBA at a B-school.

What’s most striking in this entire journey is the changing face of women in family life, academic and career progression and their overall contribution. While the generation of builders may have had a very small number of its women folk actually stepping out of the threshold to earn a pay packet, the Baby Boomers have women taking up jobs at schools, banks or government offices, attracted by assured employment and pension benefits. However, these women reared their daughters to be far more career-focused, encouraging them to enter fields such as medicine and engineering, and create a strong imprint in the nation’s workforce. Our generation has practically seen the scope for gender stereotyping in the professional world diminishing at a rapid pace, with no career now strongly earmarked for men or women. Today we have women as CEOs of companies, pilots, doctors, nuclear scientists, astronauts, and the list is exhaustive.

Even if we were to look at choice of careers for both boys and girls, especially for those born post 2000, the options are myriad, with fewer arched eye brows, and lesser number of tongues wagging, when a girl decides to wear the pants in her house and allows her husband to manage the house, or when a boy returns home with a degree from an overseas university and decides to become a Master Chef at a five-star restaurant, or a stand-up comedian. The moot point is the current generation is least affected by the syndrome called ‘what-will-people-say’ or as we understand it better, ‘log kya kahenge’. They believe in being their own person as self-satisfaction takes precedence over social acceptance.

To each, his own… to conclude, learning from mistakes made by your past generations, need not and must not deter you from setting foot on newer soil; it should rather make you more resilient, prepared and determined to raise the bar for your children and grandchildren.