Cusper

A cusper is a person born near the end of one generation and the beginning of another. People born in these circumstances tend to have a mix of characteristics common to their adjacent generations, but do not closely resemble those born in the middle of their adjacent generations.[1][2][3][4]

"Cuspers" redirects here. For the life stage, see Twixter.

Background

Generational profiles are built based on people born in the middle of a generation rather than those on the tails of a generation.[5] Generations may overlap by five to eight years.[5][6][7] As such, many people identify with aspects of at least two generations.[5] The precise birth years defining when generations start and end vary.[8]

Notable cusper groups

Greatest Generation/Silent Generation

Date ranges

Characteristics

These cuspers experienced the lows after World War I but also the highs of the early Roaring Twenties, the Flappers, the Charleston and early silent movies. As these cuspers came of age, some of them become more visionary like the Greatest Generation or stoic like the Silents.[9]

Silent Generation/Baby Boomers

Date ranges
  • 1933-1945 as identified by Susan Mitchell[10]
  • 1939-1945 as identified by Claire Raines Associates[5]
  • 1940-1945 as identified by Lancaster and Stillman, authors of When Generations Collide as well as The Mayo Clinic[11][8]
  • 1943-1948 as identified by Deon Smit writing for HR Future[4]

Characteristics

Claire Raines Associates names these cuspers the Sandwich Group.[5] Susan Mitchell calls these cuspers the Swing Generation.[10][12] According to the Mayo Clinic, these cuspers have the work ethic of the Silent Generations, but like Baby Boomers will often challenge the status quo.[8] Codrington describes them as having the status-seeking, career advancement motivations as Baby Boomers.[9] Codrington adds that they are old enough to remember World War II, but were born too late to enjoy the 1960s.[9] Hart notes that research has found the younger members of the Silent Generation tended to share more traits with Baby Boomers.[13] Writer Marian Botsford Fraser described women in this cusper population as girls who "...did not smoke dope at high school, go to rock concerts, toy with acid and the pill and hippie boyfriends at university or tour Europe with a backpack." Instead, she notes "These girls wore crinolines and girdles, went to The Prom, went to nursing school and teachers' college, rarely university."[14] Speaking of Susan Mitchell's population specifically they are believed to be an anomaly in that they tend be more activist and free thinkers than those born prior to them in the Silent Generation.[3][10] Lancaster and Stillman echo this last point and note that these cuspers were on the frontlines of America's internal struggles as adults, agitating in favor of human rights. They go on to say many women among these cuspers entered in to male-dominated workplaces before the women's movement existed, blazing a trail for other generations of women to follow.[11]

Famous members

Baby Boomers/Generation X
Main article: Generation Jones

Date ranges
  • 1954-1965 as identified by Jonathan Pontell[15]
  • 1958-1967 as identified by Mark Wegierski of the Hudson Institute.[16]
  • 1960-1965 as identified by Lancaster and Stillman, Mayo Clinic and Andrea Stone writing in USA Today[11][8][17]
  • 1962-1967 as identified by Smit.[4]
  • 1964-1969 as identified by Codrington.[1]

Characteristics

This population is sometimes referred to as Generation Jones,[15][3] and less commonly as Tweeners.[17] These cuspers were not as financially successful as older Baby Boomers.[8][11] They experienced a recession like many Generation Xers but had a much more difficult time finding jobs than Generation X did.[8][11] While they learned to be IT-savvy, they didn't have computers until after high school but were some of the first to purchase them for their homes.[8][9] They were among some of the first to take an interest in video games.[11] They get along well with Baby Boomers, but share different values. While they are comfortable in office environments, they are more relaxed at home. They're less interested in advancing their careers than Baby Boomers and more interested in quality of life.[9]

Generation X/Millennials
Main article: Xennials

Date ranges

Characteristics

The Generation X/Millennial cuspers are most commonly referred to as Xennials, although other names include The Oregon Trail Generation, Generation Catalano and The Lucky Ones.[7] Researchers point out that these cuspers have both the healthy skepticism of Generation X and the optimism of Millennials.[11][9][8] They are likely to challenge authority, but also are more career-focused than Generation X.[9] While not all of these cuspers are digital natives,[22] they are very comfortable with technology.[8]

Millennials/Generation Z

Date ranges

1993-1998 as identified by Smit.[4]

Characteristics

Referred to as MinionZ by Smit.[4] A more common term is the portmanteau term "Zillennial" to refer to those who were coming of age around the introduction of smartphones and rise of social media.[23]

Workplace importance

Communication misunderstandings between employees of different generations are detrimental to workplace morale, increasing turnover and absenteeism while decreasing job satisfaction, work commitment and productivity.[24][25] Effective communication between employees of different generations, however, allows for collaborative relationships and ensures that information is retained from one generation to the next.[24] Cuspers play an important role in multi-generational workplaces and other organizations.[11][9] Metaphorically cuspers are like bridges or glue that connect members of their adjacent major generations.[4][22] Between generations, they are naturally skilled at mediating, translating, mentoring and managing.[11][9] Strategically placing cuspers in the workplace has the potential to reduce generational workplace friction and give organizations doing so a competitive advantage.[7][26]

Generational identity

Many cuspers don't feel a sense of belonging to a specific generation.[9][11] Researchers studying generational subculture theory have speculated that there may be populations within larger generational cohorts whose values are more in line with those of preceding generations, for example, someone born in the range of Generation X who has a moral philosophy more similar to the Silent Generation.[7][27] The generational fuzziness theory purposes that one's generation is best defined as the combination of one's birth year and generational identity—the cultural generation to feel most similar to.[28][29]

gollark: Maybe. It could also ensure that channels don't end up beeized, which has happened before.
gollark: Anyway, thoughts on an IRC services thing for APIONET? I could reconstitute Apioid™.
gollark: January is not scheduled for tomorrow until 2028.
gollark: Why not do it on the serverside, for purposes?
gollark: No.

References
  1. Codrington, Graeme (2008). "Detailed introduction to generational theory" (PDF): 1–15. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. Hammill, G. "Mixing and managing four generations of employees". FDU Magazine Online. 12 (2).
  3. Giancola, Frank (2006). "The generation gap: more myth than reality". Human Resource Planning. 29 (4): 32–7. ISSN 0199-8986.
  4. Smit, Deon (December 2017). "Do you have enough "Generational Glue" in your organisation?". HR Future. 2017 (Dec 2017): 22–23. ISSN 1608-8506. Lay summary.
  5. Claire Raines Associates (2003). "Generations at Work: Frequently Asked Questions". Archived from the original on 2006-08-08. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  6. Kupperschmidt, Betty R. (2000). "Multigeneration Employees: Strategies for Effective Management". The Health Care Manager. 19 (1): 65–76. doi:10.1097/00126450-200019010-00011. ISSN 1525-5794. PMID 11183655.
  7. Taylor, Melissa Kempf (2018). "Xennials: a microgeneration in the workplace". Industrial and Commercial Training. 50 (3): 136–147. doi:10.1108/ICT-08-2017-0065. ISSN 0019-7858.
  8. Mayo Clinic Staff (2005-07-06). "Workplace generation gap: Understand differences among colleagues". Archived from the original on 2007-03-16.
  9. Graeme Codrington (1 October 2012). "Chapter 9: If you don't fit in ... You could be a 'Cusper'". Mind the Gap: Own your past, know your generation, choose your future. Penguin Random House South Africa. ISBN 978-0-14-352911-8. Lay summary.
  10. Susan Mitchell (2003). American Generations: Who They Are, how They Live, what They Think. New Strategist Publications. ISBN 978-1-885070-46-3. OCLC 51031116.
  11. Lynne C. Lancaster; David Stillman (13 October 2009). "Chapter 3: The Tie-Dyed Preppy". When Generations Collide: Who They Are. Why They Clash. How to Solve the Generational Puzzle at Work. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-175589-7.
  12. Wey Smola, Karen; Sutton, Charlotte D. (2002). "Generational differences: revisiting generational work values for the new millennium". Journal of Organizational Behavior. 23 (4): 363–382. doi:10.1002/job.147. ISSN 0894-3796.
  13. Hart KA (2006). "Generations in the workplace: finding common ground". MLO Med Lab Obs. 38 (10): 26–7. PMID 17086828.
  14. Elve, Barbara (2000-06-15). "Stats prof has come a long way". University of Waterloo Daily Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2006-10-14. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  15. Wellner, Alison Stein (2000). "Generational Divide. Are Traditional Methods of Classifying a Generation Still Meaningful in a Diverse and Changing Nation?". American Demographics. 22 (10): 52–58. Lay summary.
  16. Wegierski, Mark (23 April 2004). "Defining the "Cuspers"". Hudson Institute. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  17. Stone, Andrea (22–24 March 1996). "Not boomers, not Xers, they are Tweeners". USA Today. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 2019-02-01.CS1 maint: date format (link)
  18. Shafrir, Doree (24 October 2011). "Generation Catalano". Slate. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  19. "Words We're Watching: 'Xennial'". Retrieved 2017-12-02.
  20. Stollen, Marleen; Wolf, Gisela (10 January 2018). "There's a term for people born in the early 80's who don't feel like a millennial or Gen Xer". Business Insider. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  21. Lebowitz, Shana (10 March 2018). "There's a term for people born in the early 80s who don't feel like a millennial or a Gen X-er–here's everything we know". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  22. Fluck, A.; Dowden, T. (2013). "On the cusp of change: examining pre-service teachers' beliefs about ICT and envisioning the digital classroom of the future". Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. 29 (1): 43–52. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2011.00464.x. ISSN 0266-4909.
  23. Spence, Sade (16 June 2020). "What is a Zillennial?". StayHipp. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  24. Nwosu, Moses C.; Igwe, Chuma O.; Nnadozie, Kingsley N. (2016). "Managing generational diversity in the workplace: implications for the digital era university library management" (PDF). International Journal of Applied Technologies in Library and Information Management. 2 (2): 1–17. ISSN 2467-8120.
  25. Sakdiyakorn, Malinvisa; Wattanacharoensil, Walanchalee (2017). "Generational Diversity in the Workplace: A Systematic Review in the Hospitality Context". Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. 59 (2): 135–159. doi:10.1177/1938965517730312. ISSN 1938-9655.
  26. "The organizational value of Xennials". Human Resource Management International Digest. 26 (4): 22–24. 2018. doi:10.1108/HRMID-04-2018-0066. ISSN 0967-0734.
  27. Robertson, Christopher J.; Ralston, David A.; Crittenden, William F. (2012). "The relationship between cultural values and moral philosophy: a generational subculture theory approach". AMS Review. 2 (2–4): 99–107. doi:10.1007/s13162-012-0029-2. ISSN 1869-814X.
  28. Campbell, Stacy M.; Twenge, Jean M.; Campbell, W. Keith (2017). "Fuzzy But Useful Constructs: Making Sense of the Differences Between Generations". Work, Aging and Retirement. 3 (2): 130–139. doi:10.1093/workar/wax001. ISSN 2054-4642.
  29. Appel-Meulenbroek, H.A.J.A.; Vosters, S.M.C.; Kemperman, A.D.A.M.; Arentze, T.A. (2019). Workplace needs and their support; are millennials different from other generations?. Twenty fifth annual Pacific Rim Real Estate Society conference (PRRES 2019). Melbourne, Australia. pp. 1–14.
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