In U.S. boardrooms, the torch is passing from baby boomers to Gen Xers. The result: more leniency toward flexible work, according to The New York Times.
The average age of incoming CEOs is 54. As members of Gen X — those born between 1965 and 1980 — take the helm, they're more likely to embrace "work-from-anywhere" policies than their boomer predecessors.
"Gen X are the latchkey kids — we grew up very independent," Robert Glazer, 47, founder of the marketing company Acceleration Partners, told the Times. "Gen X was one of the first generations to expect a little more from work, trying to set boundaries but not expecting the workplace to change around them."
Although fresh-faced Gen Zers are associated with greater demands for flexibility, Gen X is remote work's unlikely champion. Young people are ready to jump-start their careers with in-person interactions and report loneliness when working from home; similarly, baby boomers have long been empty-nesters, and crave the social structure of an office.
Gen X falls in the middle. Many are still caretakers to children and/or elders. The lives they've established are still unfolding around them, and they want to be present to partake in soccer games and school pickups.
Although many Gen Xers felt anxious at the start of their careers — aiming to climb the corporate ladder with hard work and long hours — now, the Times' Emma Goldberg writes, "The angst, for many, is fading. Cue a sense of workplace confidence; they became something."