Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X & Boomers Have Completely Different Ways Of Dealing With Conflict
Studio Romantic | Shutterstock It doesn't matter when you were born. No one manages to make it through their entire life without some degree of conflict.
Life is hard for everyone, but the specific ways in which it's hard shift with the times. People from different generations tend to approach conflict in unique ways that reflect the attitudes and expectations they grew up surrounded by.
Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and boomers all have their own different ways of dealing with conflict
Dealing with conflict is such a universal experience that it can be hard to think about it changing across generations. But cultural norms and etiquette play a huge role in the way people of various ages handle disagreements or hard times.
Boomers treat conflict with the same seriousness that they apply to everything else in their lives.
This generation reached their prime during a time that was both prosperous and historically significant. Most boomers would describe themselves as an important generation because of this, but not in the way that younger people like to make jokes about.
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The fact that baby boomers know they came of age at an important time, combined with their serious work ethic, made them a generation that seemed professional in all areas of life. It would definitely be accurate to say that they are a distinguished group of people.
All of this gave boomers the idea that they have a reputation to uphold, so they do their best not to get overly emotional. They fix problems without a fuss when they can, and they choose to just keep going and put up with whatever’s wrong when they think that’s more beneficial. Younger generations think they’re stoic when they’re really just uncomfortable with vulnerability.
Gen X is best known for their independence, which also applies to how they deal with conflict.
Gen X was raised in a unique way that affected how they think about conflict. For the most part, this group grew up with both of their parents working, so they had to take care of themselves. The way they came home from school and let themselves in led to them being called latchkey kids.
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This meant that Gen X obviously took on a lot of responsibility when they were still young. Being independent was important to them, but more because it was a necessity than something they were actually interested in.
That attitude has spilled over into how they handle conflict. When they know they can solve a problem themselves, they just do it. Sometimes this means they don’t fully resolve hurt feelings or talk through the hard things, though.
Millennials’ thoughts on mental health inform the way they work through conflicts.
Millennials deal with a lot of anxiety because they’ve inherited a pretty stressful world. It’s hard to find a silver lining when faced with that reality, but they have gotten used to talking about their mental health more honestly than any generation before them did.
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Because they communicate about their emotions on a regular basis, they face most problems head-on. While their older counterparts might have chosen to avoid confronting other people with hard conversations, millennials feel much more comfortable when they clear everything up this way instead of just pushing through and hoping for the best.
Being able to communicate is an important skill that brings people closer together, so millennials have an advantage there. It’s not helpful to over-analyze, though, so they also have to know when it’s time to end the conversation and move on.
Gen Z’s answer to dealing with conflict comes from their reliance on setting boundaries.
The youngest generation of adults inherited millennials’ vulnerability, as well as the mental health concerns that made that necessary. Gen Z realized they needed to distance themselves from the things that stress them out for their own good, which is how they got into the habit of setting boundaries.
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Having firm boundaries is usually a good thing because it keeps people from over-extending themselves. Firm boundaries help Gen Z focus on what’s most important and avoid getting distracted by everything else when they have to work through something.
Unfortunately, it’s easy for someone to overuse boundaries in a way that makes connecting with others more difficult. Gen Z’s love of boundaries can go too far at times and actually make conflict even more complicated when they don’t know how to use them properly.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
