Rebecca Ryan’s book almost perfectly described my perspective as a GenXer at work: an individualist, nonconformist problem-solver with little respect for authority. As I’ve grown older and started a family, I’ve reprioritized life-work balance and feel a great deal of resonance with the themes of her book. But I wonder if things are really that different for millennials?
When I worked in the high-pressure, startup culture in Silicon Valley, much of the work-over-life lack of balance was driven by younger workers. I remember convincing my best friend to come work with me and on his first day, we were there until 11pm getting something to work. There were no boomers forcing us to work long hours; it was the nature of the culture to stay at the office late and combine work and social life to the point that it felt like there was no life to be had outside work. It’s a cliche, but it really was a work hard, play hard culture.
About a year ago, another guy I used to work with sent me this video about working at Yahoo. It can be a really fun lifestyle. It’s hard to go home. You don’t want to leave. But what if you have a family? Every hour you spent shooting hoops with your co-workers is probably an hour later you feel you need to stay that night. And what if they have “movie night” at work? This kind of stuff is what passed for work-life balance only a few years ago.
I don’t want that kind of all-encompassing career/life. I want to do what I love and I want to blend my passions and interests into my work, but I can’t afford to spend that much time each day at some company—even if it is with my “work friends.” I’m seeing the same is true for the GenX people I work with—people need to get home to their kids. And even if they don’t have kids, they have other stuff to do like sports and bands they are in…and…life. I wonder what millennials think. Is that kind of company culture still as cool?