I had the wonderful opportunity to join some Gen Zers at a university last week for dinner. As I was chatting with them about life, one of the young women mentioned that her boyfriend had moved to town last summer. I asked what his motivation was.  She said, “Oh, he’s ‘life experiencing.’ He wants to own a business one day so he wanted to get out there and get some real life experience.”

During a visit to see his girlfriend, he found a job that he really enjoys.  He left college after 2 years.  It was an expensive school and he didn’t see the need to go deep into debt when he could get out there and start working now to get ahead.

 The next day, I was in conversation with a Boomer and was sharing that “life experiencing” had now become a verb.  What struck him the most was that when he was growing up, to not go to college meant you were a “drop out” or a “burn out.” The societal pressure was huge to keep moving in that direction. He even felt a few emotions as he thought about how his life might have looked different had he felt like he had the option to be more of an entrepreneur. 

 Many of the Gen Xers in the conversation felt relieved to know that their child was not the only one considering not attending college.

What are you doing this week to understand the generational shift that is occurring in the workplace?