What aren’t we smoking?
Since we’re getting ready to go dark for the holiday, thought it might be a good time for a silly story. And this one might not normally be the best candidate — you’ll see why in a moment — except that I already shared it with the guys in charge, and they basically laughed at us Gen Y-types and called us nerds.
Some people, surprising as it may be, see Fortune and think “stodgy.” And I’d have paid to see their faces this issue, as they picked it up —with huge letters proclaiming, “What were they SMOKING?” on the cover — and realized this was not in fact a copy of Vice, but Fortune.
Though the PTBs no doubt went back and forth on whether such a Jon Stewart-esque question would be too flip for the cover of 75-year-old Fortune magazine, they decided to go with it. (Especially because, of course, this wasn’t just a snarky coverline, but sass specifically directed at cover subject and Bear Stearns CEO James Cayne’s alleged Half Baked extracurricular activities, reported in a Wall Street Journal story earlier this month.)
Based on the reaction when we saw it in the office, our bosses’ fellow Boomers agreed with the choice. But it’s the young people that got all stressed out. As a fellow Yer in the Fortune family told me: It’s cool, but I don’t know, it just seems a little “inappropriate.” Of course, that person made the comment somewhat sheepishly, and the minute s/he said it, we both laughed. How funny that, with all the talk about Yers’ irreverence and hipness, we’re actually the stodgy ones. (Can’t you just see the indie movie version: A bunch of us sitting around some neighborhood coffee shop, the ringleader saying, “I’m all for selling magazines, but at what cost?!”)
Guess the experts aren’t joking when they say our values are more like those of the WWII-era Traditionalists than those held by our free-wheeling Boomer parents. Maybe we just need to chill out. Or maybe this attitude is what’ll get us through despite our devil-may-care outlook. Are you often more uptight than your bosses when it comes to judgment calls like this one, or do the “adults” sometimes need to button up a bit?
And while you ponder that turnaround, have an amazing Thanksgiving. See you next week!
Fortune, can I have a job writing a column? I have all kinds of workplace anecdotes that I can turn into sweeping generalizations about whole generations!
Actually, I just decided that I’m just “stodgy” for my age. I’m 24 and I expect better than livejournal-quality writing from a national magazine.
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What started as a quirky Fortune cover story on Generation Y in 2007 has turned into a full-time job covering the fastest growing segment of the American workforce for Nadira A. Hira. But it's on The Gig that she's been able to speak directly to the much discussed, much maligned, and she thinks, very much underestimated Yers themselves, reflecting with them on everything from finding meaningful work to hiding meaningful body art. Herself a Yer, Hira has always been interested in engaging her peers, from her time writing for MTV News' Choose or Lose 2004 campaign, to her work spreading the Gen Y story as a speaker and television personality, from CNN to VH1 and back again. A recipient of the NewsBios 30 Under 30 award, showcasing business journalists on the rise, the would-be poet, sometime bartender, and professional sports fan, calls downtown Manhattan - and The Gig - home.
“Fortune, can I have a job writing a column? I have all kinds of workplace anecdotes that I can turn into sweeping generalizations about whole generations!” – Posted By Rebecca, Philadelphia, PA
You should definitely be a writer for Fortune!
I just don’t understand how this magazine cover applies to Generation Y or what it has to do with Gen-Y types being called nerds.
The article is about a serious financial mishap that has devastated the economy. The line “What Were They Smoking” has been around for at least 30 years now. I do not see how the headline, besides being in big letters, would be seen as being provocative or edgy.
I believe this blog would be better if the posts were about something relevant to many workers, regardless of age. Nadira uses the Gen-Y label like politicians use “liberal” and “conservative”. Generation Y, liberal, and conservative lack true definition and relevance because of their overuse. Generation Y makes no more sense than any other generation labels. They define when a person was born, but tell nothing of the complex and dynamic lives that the members live. Not everyone in a generational group faces the same issues and lives the same lifestyles.
Nadira could really use this blog to bring light to serious and/or relevant workplace issues. But her amateur style of writing seems no better than a college newspaper opinion piece. Most entries contain at least ten different topics with no focus. The only consistency in her blog is using “Gen-Y”.