SIDEBAR: Working 9 to 5 (Not!)

Whether free agents or gainfully employed, Gen X still insists on flexibility in the corporate workplace

Generation X like to leave early, stay up late and think nothing of wagging work to watch their kid's recital. That said, give them the flexibility they ask for and they'll be among the most loyal and hardworking employees you've got.

"If there is a weakness in gen X," says AGL's Jim Kotoulas, "it's the flexibility that gen X demands." Kotoulas is referring to how generation X prefers to work odd hours rather than compromise its lifestyle, especially where family is concerned. Gen X-ers are determined to balance work, family and relaxation and they don't care how much midnight oil they have to burn or how much Coca-Cola and black coffee they have to imbibe to do it.

"A person may go home at 3 o'clock to see their kid's recital, and that may be frowned upon," Kotoulas says, "but a gen X-er will recognize that particular dad or mum will probably be working at home through the night and be back to work at nine the next day."

For gen X-ers, many of whom come from broken homes, family commitments always come first. But give them some room to move, claims Kotoulas, and they'll make it up to you through their willingness to work around the clock. Gen X-ers can take their laptops anywhere, and frequently do, because this group is often more comfortable working in a cafe or on the train than in a cloistered office.

And once you've lived through the Y2K/GST systems overhaul that accompanied the turn of the millennium, working all night until dawn is nothing new. "It's ironic," Kotoulas says, "everybody is saying increase productivity, but gen X is very productive. It's just that baby boomers work 9-5, while gen X is willing to work 5-9."

Another irony, says Kotoulas, is that while gen X is often portrayed as flighty and footloose, moving from position to position every couple of years, it's actually the current generation of baby boomer CIOs who are best known for changing companies regularly.

"CIOs move on every four years or so, that's the industry average, but for many big corporations the traditional business cycle is still five years," Kotoulas says. "So if you're turning over CIOs every four years they're not even going through a business cycle. And when you've got a four-year turnaround within the CIO role, there's also a good chance that your colleague over at another corporation, the one who you're working with to link industries, may not be there at the end of the project."

SIDEBAR: Essential Reading

Leading Geeks: How to Manage and Lead People Who Deliver Technology
by Paul Glen (John Wiley & Sons, 2003, $41.95)
Motivating geeks is different from motivating other employees. IT leaders who understand this can get a lot more return on their company's biggest investment - people.

Mentoring the New Executive: Old Guard Meets New Attitude
by Kevin Struck (The Writer's Collective, 2003, $US14.95)
A humorous account of a recently-retired CEO's lectures to a young executive.

They're Not Aloof . . . Just Generation X"
by Michael Muetzel, (Steel Bay Pub, 2003, $US19.95)
How make the most of the talent and energy of your gen X employees.