How Gen X Lawyers Can Bridge the Gap, Foster Work-Life Balance
The 30- and 40-year-olds who make up Generation X have an important new role in molding the younger Gen Y workers whose brush with the recession has turned them into Generation Comply.
That’s the assertion of Miami Herald columnist Cindy Krischer Goodman, who says Gen X supervisors can help bridge the gap between younger workers who grew up in a world where technology brought flexibility to work and the older Baby Boomers who require face time and sacrifices.
Greenberg Traurig executive chairman Cesar Alvarez told the Miami Herald in a prior article that he thinks the recession was a wake-up call for Generation Y, defined as those between the ages of 18 and 30.
“I think their concept of the ultimate safety net has shattered,” Alvarez told the newspaper. “I’m seeing them much more engaged. I think this was a tipping point that helped the new generation suit up for the game.”
Now Miami Herald columnist Goodman reports on lawyers in Generation X who can see the issue from both sides. One of them is 35-year-old Jaret Davis, a partner at Greenberg Traurig who considers himself “a bridge between two extremes.”
“The Gen Y perspective is not foreign to my generation,” Davis tells the newspaper. “We came with the mind-set to work hard, do what it takes, but we’re open to Gen Y who looks at it as ‘how can I work hard and master my craft while not sacrificing my life?’ ”
Davis says he’s working with young lawyers at his firm to use innovations that will allow flexibility but still get the work done.
