Fascinating Numbers: 15 Influential Events that Shaped Baby Boomers

Generational personality comes from events that a generation of people experience as they are growing up in a certain point in time in American history.  These events shape the values of that generation which they later bring to the workplace. The core values of Baby Boomers include optimism, team orientation, personal gratification, health and wellness, personal growth, youthfulness, work, and involvement.  When a workplace environment supports their values Baby Boomers are more satisfied with their jobs. When these and other values important to them are missing, Baby Boomers are less engaged.

One can understand the restless nature of Baby Boomers when we look back at some of the influential events that shaped them as they were growing up.  Here’s a list of 15 of those events:

• 1954 – McCarthy hearings begin
• 1955 – Rosa Parks refuses to move to the back of the bus
• 1957 – First nuclear power plant
• 1960 – Kennedy elected President
• 1962 – Cuban Missile Crisis
• 1963 – Martin Luther King leads march on Washington DC
• 1963 – President John Kennedy assassinated
• 1964 – Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed
• 1965 – United States sends ground troops to Vietnam
• 1966 – National Organization for Women founded
• 1967 – American Indian Movement Founded
• 1968 – Martin Luther King assassinated
• 1968 – Robert Kennedy assassinated
• 1969 – First moon landing
• 1970 – Kent State University Shootings

Reference:  Zemke, R., Raines, C & Filipczak, B (2000). Generations at Work. AMACOM

Tagged as: 4 generations, Pop Culture

About the Author

Robert Tanner is the founder of the Management is a Journey Blog and Principal Consultant at Business Consulting Solutions LLC. He is a certified change management consultant, management mentor, trainer, and an Adjunct Professor of Management. Robert has a passion for helping managers and leaders fulfill their potential. Connect with Robert on Google+ and Twitter. To join the mailing list, subscribe here.