Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X & Boomers Have Completely Different Ideas Of What It Means To Be Successful

Every generation grows up with a focus on the values that are most relevant to them. These differences can make it hard for them to communicate across age groups at times, but they're also part of what makes them so special.

Few things highlight these different perspectives more than what each generation thinks it means to be successful. Some ideas about success are pretty universal and unchanging, but individual age groups have specific areas of focus that show the concept of success has changed somewhat over time.

Boomers, Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z don’t fully agree on what the meaning of success is.

Boomers emphasized the importance of hard work as the way to reach true success.

Things have obviously changed a lot between when boomers came of age and when Gen Z did. Inflation has completely changed the value of money over time, and expectations for what you can find in a good job have shifted, too. As these traditional markers of success evolved, so did each generation’s definition of living a fulfilling, secure life.

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This generation was not afraid of getting their hands dirty, and the long hours they worked in the office stand as a testament to their work ethic. Boomers grew up hearing their parents tell stories about living through the Great Depression, so they were determined to build stable lives for themselves and their families that they couldn’t lose easily.

This has worked out well for them because they’re believed to be the richest generation in history, with a collective wealth close to $85 trillion. In this way, boomers’ idea of success is a bit closer to the stereotype we’re all used to. They lived most of their lives in an environment that rewarded hard work with financial gains, which has prepared them well for retirement.

Unfortunately, this simple idea of what it takes to be successful hasn’t held up, which sometimes puts boomers at odds with their younger counterparts.

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Gen X tried to find a bit more balance in their lives while weathering hardships.

They didn’t work any less hard than boomers did, but they wanted to make sure that work defined their lives differently. They watched their parents operate on busy schedules, so they were the first generation to seek work-life balance. Gen X knew that getting a good job and giving it their all was important, but they didn’t want to sacrifice their personal peace in the process.

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For Gen X, success is less dependent on finances because they simply struggled more. They lived through several recessions when they were still quite young, which at times made it hard for them to find work. This shifted their focus to meeting basic needs rather than saving a big nest egg.

Boomers had a fairly easy time going to college and entering the workforce right after, so Gen X was encouraged to do the same, but it didn’t work out as well for them. They’re the generation with the highest student loan debt, which has made it hard for them to prepare for the future the way boomers did. To them, success is less about reaching an end goal than about feeling satisfied with their lives in the present.

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Millennials never put much stock in titles, which helped them bounce back from difficulties.

The Great Recession of 2008 left many millennials unemployed right when it was time for them to start working, although they still felt pretty optimistic about their financial futures despite these setbacks. This showed a new kind of resilience that younger generations were forced to adopt when their parents' formula for a good life stopped working.

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Unlike previous generations that adhered to a more traditional workplace hierarchy, millennials were never particularly interested in climbing the corporate ladder to the top. They expected their superiors to earn their respect instead of just assuming they would get it because of their positions.

Millennials moved in a more confident, independent direction overall. They didn’t believe they had to play by all the rules to be happy. To them, success meant enjoying their lives, even if they didn’t have a lot of money saved up. They thought that everyone started out on equal footing and that working in leadership didn’t automatically mean you had made it.

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Gen Z has continued to carry this independent spirit in their own lives.

Older generations have mischaracterized Gen Zers as being lazy and not wanting to work, when they really just see work differently from their predecessors. They really value flexibility and work-life balance, even more than Gen X, which has led many of them to give entrepreneurship a try.

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Gen Z has had a bumpy introduction to the workforce, though. With the economic instability the world is facing now, many of them don’t feel like they’re making enough money to cover the essentials, and quite a few have taken on more than one job to get by. Unlike millennials, they aren’t convinced things will turn around soon.

For these reasons, Gen Z wants to define success on their own terms by building flexible careers that allow them to make a living while fitting around the rest of their lives. They also understand that success is not guaranteed, even for those who work hard, so they’re equally concerned that they’ll never be able to do that.

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Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.