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Gen X were the among the least likely to have moved during the pandemic, the least likely to have lost a job, and the best at adapting their current jobs to remote work.
While some millennials embraced the YOLO economy and boomers rushed to exit the workforce during the pandemic, Xers decided to stay put, according to Insider's Knight.
"Gen Xers aren't making many seize-the-day decisions post-pandemic because of our stage of life and constraints," she wrote. "We have kids firmly ensconced in schools, spouses or partners who also work, aging parents to care for, and home equity that's needed for looming college-tuition payments."
While some are moving, switching jobs, or going back to school, she added, the majority see post-pandemic life as business as usual. Megan Gerhardt, professor of leadership and management at Miami University, told Knight millennials and boomers have more freedom and flexibility during their current life stages.
In an opinion piece for NBC News, she wrote that Gen X is best equipped for the pandemic for three reasons: They've had experience riding out historic crises; weren't raised with the overscheduled life of millennials, which has left millennials feeling directionless in a pandemic; and are well-incentivized to stay home to serve as a role model for the parents and children they're caring for.
Alison Huff, an Xer who lives in Ohio with her husband, two kids, and elderly mother, told Knight she wouldn't dream of moving or scaling back. "I sound like an old fogey, but I want stability," she said.