Keep Going: 30 Somethings Old Enough To Shape The Future, Young Enough To Do It All Differently
Author Kayleen Schaefer explores the work lives and aspirations of thirtysomethings.
Thirty years ago the extremely popular series, “thirtysomething,” aired its last network episode. But the series based on the angst of that age group about family, parenting, work, relationships, life, death and everything in between is revived again. ABC-TV committed to a reprisal with the original cast dealing with the angst of their own children, who are—you guessed it— thirty somethings.
Thirty somethings have a lot to say about how work, life and everything angst-producing is going. No one knows that better than author and journalist Kayleen Schaefer, who examines the professional and personal lives of her peers in her latest book, But You’re Still So Young: How Thirtysomethings Are Redefining Adulthood.
“In her latest book, “But You’re Still So Young: How Thirtysomethings Are Redefining Adulthood,” author @Kayleener explores the work lives and aspirations of thirtysomethings. #workplace #millennials”
“People in their 30s start from a place of working all the time, it’s what we’re conditioned to do, our work and social lives bleed over each other,” says Schaefer, 40. “The free snacks, yoga classes, all keep us working and show us nothing is as important as what is going on in the office.”
Read more in Take The Lead on Kayleen Schaefer here
With all the in-office perks created by and considered the norm by thirtysomethings, Schaefer says the lines between work and home were blurred, boundaries trampled and life milestones skipped over. With the pandemic forcing layoffs, furloughs, remote work and more project demands, Schaefer says an entire generation of women are wondering: Where will all this work get me?
“With the #pandemic forcing #layoffs, furloughs, remote work and more project demands, @Kayleener says an entire generation of #women are wondering: Where will all this work get me? #futureofwork”
Read more in Take The Lead on millennials
Unlike earlier generations—including their parents’—who mostly followed cultural expectations of work, marriage, family, retirement in predictable phases, this generation of Millennials entered into a COVID-redesigned work world without any of the same checks off the bucket list.
“We don’t have the protections other workers did,” Schaefer says. “We don’t have universal paid leave, pensions, universal healthcare, child care.“
She adds, “I felt very much in my early 30s that I would lay down this career and security and then I would figure out my personal life. It’s hard when you realize you will not get to that place.”
“@Keyleener says, “I felt very much in my early 30s that I would lay down this career and security and then I would figure out my personal life. It’s hard when you realize you will not get to that place.” #worklifebalance #workingwomen”
Franziska Alesso-Bendisch writes in Forbes recently, “Almost half of Millennials have children, and this percentage will undoubtedly increase as time passes. It is an attractive feature for companies to offer family-related benefits, such as childcare providers, educational assistance, and paid parental leave. On the other end of the spectrum, younger Millennials may be putting off having children with 60% who reported having no children in a 2016 Gallup survey.”
Backing up Schaefer’s own research and conclusions, Alesso-Bendisch writes, “Millennials may find themselves feeling torn between leading a successful and fulfilling life at work, at home, with family, and with friends. When employers make the effort to create optimal balance in the domain of work, a burden is lifted from the shoulders of their employees.”
As COVID has fused the boundaries of work and home into one address for millions, and the aspirations for work and a successful personal life crisscross, many are questioning how they spend their time, how they are valued and what is the end game.
“As #COVID has fused the boundaries of work and home into one address, and the aspirations for work and a successful personal life crisscross, many are questioning how they spend their time, how they are valued and what is the end game. #workfromhome #newnormal”
A new report from Gloat reflects this new reality and “found that many American workers—particularly women—feel undervalued. Some 3 million women in the United States alone have left the workforce since COVID-19 hit and these survey results suggest that it’s not just about childcare.”
More than half (60%) of women surveyed said they plan to leave their current job with the top reasons including “lack of opportunity for growth, dissatisfaction with compensation or benefits, feeling under-appreciated, feeling pigeonholed or stuck in their position,” Gloat reports.
In other words, they are asking if this is all there is, and are not so happy with the answer. As Schaefer found in her research for the book, being told consistently not to worry because “you’re still so young” is not solace enough. Or even a comfort.
“A new report from @Gloat_com found that many #female #workers in America feel undervalued in their job—with more than half (60%) of women surveyed saying they plan to leave their current job. #futureofwork ”
Read more in Take The Lead on career paths for millennials
Reassurance for the first decade or so of their careers that there was time to sort out their life goals as soon as they achieved their professional goals, did not exactly come to fruition.
The Gloat survey “found women are more likely to feel that their company isn’t utilizing their full potential (43%) than men (24%). This is important, because it turns out lack of opportunity weighs heavily on how women perceive their job satisfaction.”
The report says that 82% of women were in entry-level, associate, or specialist roles, compared to 80% of men were in managerial or executive positions. At the management level, 45% were men and 12% were women. In the C-suite, 16% were men and just 2% were women.
The good news?
“I do think women are happily leading this change. Women are rethinking marriage and children,” Schaefer says. “I do think both sexes are affected by this change, but women are more on the receiving end.”
Collaborating those discoveries is a new report from Chief, the private network driving more women into positions of power. In honor of Women’s History Month, Chief released a survey of “more than 350 C-suite and VP-level women at the top of their companies across industries in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco and Chicago to examine what steps need to be taken to reroute the path toward progress of gender equity in the workforce.”
Read more in Take The Lead on the co-founders of Chief here
The U.S. labor force participation rate for women hit a 33-year-low in January, with 5.3 million women losing their jobs since February 2020, and today, only 23% of executive roles are held by women, according to the Chief report.
“The U.S. labor force participation rate for #women hit a 33-year-low in January, with 5.3 million women losing their jobs since February 2020, and today, only 23% of executive roles are held by women, according to the Chief report. #jobloss”
Over 50% of Chief members say they believe gender parity will be achieved in their workplace by 2040, though women are less hopeful about their specific industry — on average, Chief members say they believe gender parity in their specific industry will be reached by 2052 (average is 31, median is 20).
“When women come together, they can power the change that creates ripple effects in their own industries, compounding progress at scale,” says Chief co-founder Lindsay Kaplan.
““When women come together, they can power the change that creates ripple effects in their own industries, compounding #progress at scale,” says Chief co-founder @Lindsaykap. #futureofwork”
A significant majority, or 83% of Chief members say they believe that women starting their careers today are more supported in the workplace than when they began their careers. More than half, or 56% of Chief members have implemented policies that they believe will benefit future generations of women.
“I do think there is a mindset shift,” says Schaefer. “I’m not just looking for an end or point of arrival. I think we were ingrained to have a happy ending. I have to keep going.”
““I do think there is a mindset shift,” says @Keyleener, a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Vogue, and more. “I’m not just looking for an end or point of arrival...I have to keep going.” #futureofwork #women #careersuccess”
But the change that needs to happen to address the disappointments of a generation are more than thinking in a new way.
“We can’t pretend we are all the same. There is wealth inequality. A lot of policies should change on health care, childcare, pay inequality,” says Schaefer, the author of Text Me When You Get Home and the bestselling Kindle Single memoir, Fade Out.
“When I started the book, I wanted to do two things: make myself feel I was OK and not alone, and follow people’s stories to bolster that feeling that is truly what thirtysomethings are doing,” she says.
She has done that, and feels validated. “We’re still trying to figure this out,” says Schaefer, a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Vogue, and more.
The advice she gives to her peers who are wondering if how they are living their work lives and personal lives is the best it can be is pretty simple.
“There is a lot of truth to the question, how will this end? Keep going. You still have time.”
