Just as Generation Xers are close readers of cultural signs outside the workplace, Xers are close readers of the signals conveyed by corporate culture. Xers are always looking for evidence that investing in a particular employer-employee relationship is worthwhile, or not. That is how Xers decide whether a job is just a job, or has the potential to be something more. When Xers see in the signals of a given corporate culture that a company's leadership undervalues the individual and treats its young workers like easily replaceable cogs in the machine, Xers feel rejected. Xers know they can never thrive in companies like that. In response, Xers reject the company and its management by psychologically compartmentalizing the job and diminishing its overall significance in their lives. The result is sinking morale, lower productivity, and higher turnover. By building an Xer friendly culture, you can let Xers know that your company should be the primary outlet for their creative energy. To break down the wall between Xers' jobs and the rest of their lives, you have to convince Xers that your company is a worthwhile focal point of their personal growth.

Top four corporate culture complaints by Xers:

1) Treating individuals as interchangeable and replaceable
Xers don't want to be the paper plates of the job market.
2) Too many layers of management
Hierarchy for the sake of hierarchy -- Xers get caught in the middle, answering in all directions, trying to manage all those managers.
3) Teams with unfocused missions and weak leaders
The worst of both worlds -- creative autonomy sacrificed for directionless teams where they produce less value and receive less credit.
4) Inadequate diversity efforts
It is hard to feel comfortable any place where a wide variety of people are not welcome.

Top four corporate culture elements desired by Xers:

1) Authority based on credibility
Keeping well informed about employees' work and remaining engaged without micro-managing.
2) Valuing employee input
When Xers' ideas, opinions, and work are regularly included, Xers are more likely to go out of their way to support goals and implement decisions.
3) Supporting individual stars and champion teams
Xers thrive on shared purpose and creative achievement.
4) A little care and feeding
Xers know that companies have to be lean and mean to survive, but a little fat prevents the burning of efficient muscle tissue under strain.