Spotlight: Gen X

All of sudden for everyone, that is, except Tom Fitzgerald the Generation X workforce is in the spotlight in northern Nevada.

The keynote speaker at this week's Directions 2006 event, a researcher who describes herself as a "disgruntled Gen-Xer," says the northern Nevada's ability to attract the 25-to-44 demographic is critical to its economic future.

The consultants who are mapping the economic future of northern Nevada, too, are taking a close look at whether the region is hospitable to young professionals and entrepreneurs.

And individual companies increasingly are shaping their work environments and their benefits programs to respond to the needs of the next generation of workers.

Fitzgerald, chief executive officer of Renobased Nevadaworks, devoted much of the past few years trying to focus the attention of employers on the changes that accompany a Gen-X workforce.

Now, he says, they're beginning to listen as Baby Boomers start to retire or look for ways to downshift their work lives.

And the group that includes professionals aged 25-44 isn't important merely as a replacement for a retiring segment of the work force.

The generation represents a lion's share of the creativity, entrepreneurial risk taking, and innovation in most communities, says Ben Loftsgaarden, project manager at AngelouEconomics.His consulting company is working on studies of the economic futures of the Truckee Meadows as well as the future of Carson City and nearby rural counties in northern Nevada.

The differences between Baby Boomers and the Gen-Xers who follow are dramatic, says Rebecca Ryan, a Wisconsin-based consultant who keynotes the Directions 2006 event on Wednesday.

"This is the first generation that says,'Live first,work second,'"Ryan says.

That philosophy, Fitzgerald says, troubles hard-driving Baby Boomer managers who've made the 60-hour workweek a badge of honor.

But he says companies either need to adjust themselves to a new generation of workers or prepare themselves to deal with the consequences of ignoring a significant part of an already tight pool of potential workers.

Attracting Gen-X workers, Ryan will tell participants in the Directions 2006 event sponsored by the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada and the Reno- Sparks Chamber of Commerce, requires that steps be taken by individual companies as well as the community as a whole.

The research undertaken by Ryan herself a 33-year-old finds Gen- Xers often decide where they want to live before they decide where they want to work.

Among the factors that drive their decisions, she says, is the ability to make a living perhaps through an entrepreneurial venture as well as recreational opportunities, the chance to connect with other young professionals and the availability of opportunities for continued education.

Adds Loftsgaarden,"They're drawn to dynamic regions with a lively downtown, burgeoning arts and culture, and entertainment amenities."

Ryan's firm,Next Generation Consulting, suggests that communities take a close look at their assets and emphasize the strong points.

At the same time, she acknowledges that a single negative housing prices out of the reach of young professionals, for instance can be difficult to overcome.

That means, Loftsgaarden says, that economic plans for Reno and Sparks need to emphasize creation of high-wage jobs that can support purchase of more expensive homes.

Fitzgerald cautions, too, that attracting and retaining a cadre of skilled Gen-X workers isn't as simple as going through a checklist.

"We're attracting them from somewhere else.

But that somewhere else is working to keep them," the Nevadaworks executive says.

Individual companies, Ryan says, need to look at the ways they can make work meaningful for Gen-X workers.

That generation, she says, is looking for a feeling of connection to other workers, a sense that its voice is heard and its work is appreciated and a balance of work and life.

And opportunities for education are important, Ryan says.

A study by the University of Phoenix which specializes in classes for working adults supports that idea.

A full 70 percent of 2,500 Gen-Xers nationwide surveyed by the University of Phoenix said education is essential to keeping them happy.

(Among the next generation those in the 18-25 group education is viewed as essential by an even-larger 77 percent.) The university's study found, too, that employers need to think about strategies to retain Gen-X workers.About 43 percent of workers aged 26-39 expect to change jobs within three years.

"Younger workers don't require the same treatment as generations past, and helping them advance at work is critical in retaining them," says Derick Cole, director of the University of Phoenix campus in Reno.

Benefits programs that emphasize the "life" portion of the work-life equation sometimes prove a winner.

Krump Construction of Sparks, for instance, sweetened its benefits package to include time off for birthdays, anniversary bonuses and a wellness program that rewards employees for everything from going to the gym to subscribing to a fitness magazine or getting a massage.