The balanced life literature, both online and in books, often remarks that the Baby Boomer generation tends to think that Gen X-ers “don’t want to pay their dues” in the workplace. As much as I have seen this blasé blanket statement, I have not seen a description of what kinds of dues the Boomers (or the talking heads) are referring to.

In fairness, let’s consider the dues the Boomers paid. I can guess at a few: There were 80 million of them competing for college entry and jobs in their early careers, so competition was stiffer than ever (at the time). There was no Family and Medical Leave Act until 1993. Some women sacrificed marriage and children altogether, to advance in the workplace.

From a practical and legal standpoint, however, Baby Boomers cannot expect Generation X to pay the same dues they paid. For one thing, we cannot help that there are only 46 million of us. More significantly, the Family and Medical Leave Act now makes it illegal to deny a person the types of leave identified in the Act, under the permitted circumstances (maybe there is some resentment about that). Firms today that refuse to advance women based on gender, marriage, or children put themselves at risk for lawsuits.

That being said, Generation X is paying its dues. We have our share of competition. For one thing, notwithstanding our lower population numbers, our college application numbers were actually higher than the Boomers. It is even more competitive for the Generation Y/Millenials as they surpass our numbers. For lawyers specifically, billable hour requirements have increased over time. That must mean billable hours . . . used to be less. Further, sexual harassment and sexual discrimination are still rampant. Conventional wisdom is that a lawsuit over sexual issues would be career suicide, so there are likely more actionable cases than are actually filed (fleeting thoughts crossed my own mind a few times). I hope these are not the types of dues the Boomers think we should pay.

What would be appropriate dues? Experience and time? Experience is a legitimate “due.” However, even though law school only teaches you how to think like a lawyer, and not how to act like a lawyer, Generations X and Y are not content to be stuck in the library. If you want us to pay our dues with experience, give us valuable training and meaningful experience (like this). Besides, with firms so desperate for “top talent” that they run like lemmings toward the $200,000 cliff, they send the message that young associates already have valuable experience that they want.

Oh wait, it’s our time that they want. Time for its own sake as a “due” does not mean much to Generation X or Y. By the time we get to a law firm, we have had at least twenty years of schooling, and at least twenty-five years of life experience, all of which is more competitive than it used to be. If we are expected to wait for professional development or advancement, we need a reason. If we are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to an organization, we need personal meaning from it.

However, time spent as an associate, until reaching partner, still has meaning to us. I have yet to meet an associate who expected to be made a partner - even in a small firm - in less than six years (although I have heard of it happening to one in a million). Still, the associates who have partnership in mind want to know how long the pie eating contest lasts before they win more pie. Be open with us about partnership track time frames and partnership expectations, then train us and mentor us along the way.

One last note on time. With face time as important as it is to many Baby Boomer partners, we ask that you give us face time with clients in return. That has more value and meaning to us than mere ass-in-chair time. That in itself is evidence that we are willing to work hard and want to be productive, skilled attorneys.

I do not think it is accurate to say that any generation has not paid its dues, or is not willing to pay its dues. Every generation faces competition, workplace issues, family issues, cultural issues, and global issues, whether they are “willing” to or not. Let’s move past this argument.

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