Over the past few months I’ve been working behind the scenes putting together a podcast for Gen X’ers. The first full episode went live today so I thought I'd share how and why the idea for WTF Gen X?! came together in the first place.
To give credit where credit’s due, the catalyst came this summer when I stumbled across an Instagram post from a woman called Stacey Duguid. Duguid posted a video of her harried self, walking down a London street outside a Job Centre, decrying the fact that at the age of 52, and with a stellar media career behind her (she was one-time editor of UK’s Elle magazine) she couldn’t find work for love or money. This struck many nerves for me.
- The fact that she had a great career track record and yet couldn't find work.
- The fact she was still young by most people’s standards today.
- And, the fact that she not only wanted to work, but needed to work to support herself and her family as a single parent.
#iamstaceyduguid
If I was going to start an internet hashtag, it would have been “#iamstaceyduguid”. And as it turned out, tens of thousands of women felt exactly the same way.
Her Instagram account has since gained about 80k new followers, and perhaps most importantly she soon caught the attention of the international media. She was featured in news stories everywhere, and appeared on US TV's Good Morning America, and Sky News in the UK, the list goes on.
So I slid into Duguid's DMs because it seemed to me that this was/is the perfect topic for a podcast and I wanted to invite her to co-host it with me. While she didn’t answer my Instagram DM, she did respond to my LinkedIn message saying how much I related to her story with: “I’m sorry to hear.” And shared her email address. I emailed her immediately, but didn’t hear back. No biggie. The seed was planted in my mind.
The Start of Something
So like any good Gen X'er, I just got on with it. I turned to my professional community—I’m a paid-up member of an amazing group called Mixing Board—and asked if people in their late 40’s into their 50’s would be willing to chat with me about the next decade of their careers. Their hopes, fears, dreams, goals. The response was overwhelming. I heard back from tens of people within just a few hours. And so began my qualitative research.
I quickly learned that being underemployed as a Gen X’er, being passed over for jobs we are perfectly qualified for, and having our expertise, strategic recommendations and insights replaced by AI chatbots, is something that everyone is worried about. And not surprisingly, the impact of all of this is a lack of certainty about financial stability, the ability to support families, put kids through college, pay mortgages, etc.
Yet others had dealt with a sudden health issue that knocked them sideways and reminded them of their mortality. Some were grappling with the end of 20+ year marriages and trying to navigate the world solo for the first time since their twenties. And there were those who had recently moved their lives geographically—perhaps it was only 50 miles from their home base community or perhaps it was 2,000 miles—in either case, the center of gravity had shifted and it was very disorienting.
WTF?!
At some point in Every. Single. Conversation. the phrase ‘what the fuck?’ came up. WTF happened to my career? My relationship? My health? My finances?
I quickly discovered that all these problems aren't solely affecting women. Men are just as impacted, but perhaps less willing to talk about it openly. It is clear that Gen X is grappling with a LOT of transition, and in many cases that transition is causing us to question and examine our purpose.
So I decided, that with or without Stacey (just kidding), I needed to tell these stories, AND I really wanted to focus on how to get past the WTF moment, and focus on the other WTF: What’s the Future?
The Way Ahead
It seems critically important to me that we focus on solutions, the way ahead. The media is starting to report on the problem, I want to take it a step further. And so WTF Gen X?! was born.
Over the past few weeks I have been recording interviews with people who have hit a series WTF moment and found a way through it. By widening the aperture, and understanding that the old ways aren't going to serve us anymore, I hope that it will inspire others to think about their next decades from a different angle.
I've interviewed a career horse trainer who is training to be a nurse in his mid-fifties. A marketing exec who has founded a new magazine for Gen Xers. A dating coach who specializes in working with Gen X. Every conversation has helped me broaden my thinking about what's possible, and I hope it will do the same for you.
You'll find all the latest episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and on YouTube, and on this page.