Australian Maritime Issues 2007 - Royal Australian Navy

244 AUSTRALIAN MARITIME ISSUES 2007: SPC-A ANNUAL
The Baby Boomers
The Baby Boomer generation grew up in a time of unprecedented economic expansion
in the aftermath of World War II; they had an optimistic view of life and a strong sense
of entitlement. 22 They were affected by historical events such as the Civil Rights
Movement, the Vietnam War, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and John F.
Kennedy, Watergate, the first moon landing, and the sexual revolution, to name but a
few. 23 The work attitudes and values that are commonly attributed to this generational
cohort are: putting one’s career before self; loyalty to the organisation; valuing
promotions and prestigious positions (and the fringe benefits that go with them); and
an inherent belief that the value of work is measured in terms of hours worked. 24 In
terms of the navy today, the Baby Boomers are the senior officers and sailors who have
served in the order of 20 years or more.
Generation X
Generation X is an extremely diverse generation: 25 diverse family constellations, diverse
races (resulting from liberalised immigration laws), and diverse and rapidly changing
technologies. 26 In contrast to the Baby Boomers, their formative years were marked
by economic, family and societal insecurity. 27 The Boomer’s optimism was therefore
replaced, in Generation X, with a general sense of insecurity – they are a generation who
learned to take nothing for granted. As such, the work attitudes and values attributed
to this cohort include: mobility and flexibility – they believe that security comes from
being able to market one’s skills and transfer them to new organisations as the need or
desire arises; an expectation to balance work and family responsibilities; independence
and resourcefulness; and a marked cynicism towards authority and organisations. 28
Interestingly, given the Generation Xer’s cynicism towards authority, the single greatest
motivator for them is a high quality of leadership. 29 The Generation X population of
the navy range from people holding senior positions to those who have served up to
10 years and are probably entering middle management.
Generation Y
In many ways, the experiences of Generation Y could be said to be an amalgam of
both the Baby Boomers and Generation X. Like the Baby Boomers, they are a large
cohort – much larger than Generation X – and their early lives were marked by
economic growth and prosperity. 30 However, they, arguably, have much more in
common with Generation X. They too were brought up with diversity, and as a result
are very comfortable with it. They have also been brought up with rapidly changing
technology; ‘absent’ parents resulting from family breakdowns and/or dual income
parents; the Gulf and Iraq wars; terrorism; and, although brought up in economically
prosperous times, are maturing in an age of economic uncertainty and increasing
violence. 31