ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2006 > August > 14 > Entry
The Big Gap
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Do you wish you could work for a while and then take a break for a couple of months?
Even though you are now gainfully employed, do you wish you still had the proverbial “summer off”?
Supposedly the Gen Y, 20-somethings want flexibility, travel, and life balance. Sounds good to me.
Even though I’m sandwiched between the Gen X cynics and the work-a-holic Baby Boomers, whose idea of a good time is flipping TV channels and obsessing over their “crackberry.”
I still think the rapidly rising Gen Y’ers have a great concept.
The unfortunate part is that recruiters and many of the Boomer hiring managers are going to have to find a way to bridge the gap (or better yet chasm) between these generational divergent work forces.
As good as it sounds, while you hike the Appalachian Trail, someone in the next cube may have taken your job and left you in the dust with an unemployment gap to explain.
While you are enjoying expanding your personality with cool life experiences, the Boomers are sizing you up as unfocused, not ambitious, and nearly unemployable.
So here is my advice. The self-motivated Gen Years need to quickly work their way into leadership roles and change the rules. The Gen Yer’s will be grateful and the Boomers will be jealous.
As long as you Gen Yer’s can accomplish what needs to be done in 10 months rather than 12, I say get ‘ahead’ quickly and show the rest of us a new way to work, live, and play.
What do you say? Would you be more likely to join a company, or stay with your current employer, if they offered you a “summer off” as part of your benefits, even if it was without pay or meant less money to total compensation?
Comments
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By LHK
August 14, 2006 04:06 PM | Link to this
There are many ways for 20-somethings to travel and not go broke… or be devoid of work experience. You just have to be shrewd about finding your opportunities. I did a work-abroad program in Asia after college — I got some great experience that wiped away my youthful shyness, I visited a number of countries, and I came back to the U.S. at age 24 with money for my savings account. I worked part-time for a while and eventually got my first “real” post-college job (full-time; long-term; managing projects and people) at 25. It’s the conversation skills and problem-solving skills I gained from working overseas that allow me to do my job at all. If I’d gone straight from college into the type of job I have now, I’d still be meekly stammering my way through every phone call.
Also, I’m an hourly employee with no PTO. This may sound like a raw deal, but I honestly prefer it to being fenced in by having only 10 days of vacation. I don’t feel any guilt about taking 5 days off if I’ve pulled 20 hours of overtime the week before. My bosses probably don’t understand why I prefer this, and I may not prefer it in 10 years, but for now, it’s great. My husband (who gets 5 weeks of paid vacation!) and I travel a lot more than our friends do.
I’d love it if my bosses offered me the summer off. I’d take the type of pay structure public school teachers have — 10 months of pay spread out over 12 months — if it meant having an extended period of time off.