8 Reasons No One Wants To Hire Gen Xers Anymore

Sometimes called the "forgotten generation," Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) is struggling to secure employment while also being unable to afford to leave the workplace.

About 44% of Gen Xers believe it would take a miracle for them to be able to retire, so why are employers shunning this experienced and vetted group of workers? Despite the following assumptions, employers will want to scoop up these experienced employees before they find different ways to tap into new sources of income.

Gen Xers are terrified they will never be able to retire, but employers fear the exact opposite — that a middle-aged employee might somehow scrape enough savings together to retire within a decade and they'd have to hire again.

While employers fear the time and money spent hiring won't produce a worker who stays long-term, Gen X often values stability over job-hopping for raises. This is the last generation who witnessed their parents working for the same company their whole lives and then retiring on a pension, and now have discovered that opportunity has been denied to everybody else.

Generation X has decades of occupational experience under their belt now, which employers should view as a good thing. Instead, businesses are unwilling to pay for experience in a suitably qualified role while simultaneously being aware that under-employment leads to employees leaving for a better offer.

Gen X is often deemed as being bad with technology, as they didn't grow up with the same technology of today. But Gen X was there when the "old magics" were created. They learned on DOS, watched the rise of Microsoft Windows, and pioneered the social internet as we know it.

Unfortunately, employers worry that Gen X workers may be harder to train or will struggle to adapt to the digital landscape we live in.

Companies that refuse to provide a work-life balance are often resistant to hiring Gen X, knowing they will push back harder against additional hours or working over weekends.

With things like childcare and family life to consider, they may be unwilling to put in unpaid effort for career advancements that have failed to materialize after decades of going the extra mile. In reality, every generation has obligations outside of their career.

Common sense would indicate that actually doing the job for many years would provide better qualifications than a freshly printed degree. Some hiring managers, though, have different perceptions on what a degree actually brings to the table.

Workers who couldn't afford to complete higher education but have the skills and experience are often overlooked in favor of bright-eyed, bushy-tailed college graduates. But Gen X has already mastered the skills they'll have to train younger candidates on.

Gen X is often considered uninterested in furthering their professional education but are simultaneously not offered opportunities for upping their skills due to their age. But they aren't the unenthusiastic workers some paint them out to be. In fact, they're often known for doing whatever it takes to get the job done.

Gen X can't afford to work for less than what pays their bills. They don't have the option of "moving back home" and often have the added pressure of needing to care for aging parents in addition to their own children. They simply can't afford to take a job in which the salary only covers the bare minimum.

Unfortunately, many employers may opt to hire someone cheaper, and younger applicants are less likely to demand a higher salary.

While technically illegal, ageism still permeates workplaces, even if implicitly. Older employees can often be viewed as out of touch, unenthusiastic, or as having familial obligations that prevent them from unrealistic business practices such as unpaid overtime. These hiring biases can harm Gen X applicants from serious consideration, despite being proven and reliable members of the workforce.

Employers say they want qualified and loyal applicants for job openings, but their actions can indicate otherwise. Hiring managers have an untapped gold mine of potential in Generation X that is being overlooked.

According to a recent study, Gen Xers make up 31% of the workforce. And from the skills and experience to do their jobs well to the ability to mesh with older and younger generations, they bring valuable assets to companies. In exchange, all they want is the opportunity to move beyond living paycheck to paycheck.