I was in Cologne this week, chairing an HR conference for German companies. Almost every speaker took as a key perspective the gap between “baby boomers” and generations X, Y and Z. Of course, the whole thing is a myth – but it seems to be like astrology – a convenient framework into which everyone can put their gripes, prejudices and observations.
What, of course, is the case is that some small differences do emerge over time, but most of the differences that exist are a product of each person’s maturity and not some sociological/demographic phenomenon. There may be significant differences between mean averages on some elements – but hey – no one is Mr or Mrs Average. It is like saying women like shopping more than men? Yes, women like shopping more for clothes – women’s clothes – and there is far more variety to choose from than boring men’s clothes. This reduces the shopping enthusiasm and time spent by men undertaking such an activity.
So if clear differences do exist they are largely between younger and older people – and these differences are more pronounced in some cultures than others. For instance, in countries where “extended families” are the norm the differences are far less pronounced. Socio-economic factors also interact with age – so poor, young people tend to differ most markedly from rich, older people. But they always have. What I find the most remarkable statistic is one produced a two years ago by the Max Planck Institute. The researchers found that since 1790 puberty amongst boys has fallen by 2 months every ten-year period and amongst girls by 3 months. That adds up to 3.7 years for males and 5.5 years for females. Yet although people mature faster their length of full-time education has increased, and they are starting their careers, getting married and having children much later than ever before. How can we explain this contradiction?