It has become common wisdom that different generations view their careers and workplaces differently based largely on the influencing factors that occurred during their lives. But new research suggests that a person’s age may be as influencing a factor as when they were born. That is, some behavior transcends generational values and can be better explained in terms of life stages. For example, it is not surprising that people of any generation think that their 20’s is a time to establish independence, a career and a family. This seems to be true if someone was born in 1980 or 1940. The research, done by Janet Polach, identifies five life stages that affect attitude, performance and goals. They are (1) Youth (age 0-21) – a period of learning and growth; (2) Raising Adulthood (22-35) – priority is placed on establishing career and family and there is significant pressure to balance a burgeoning career with family needs; (3) Midlife (35-50) – when most desire more leadership opportunities, a fuller desire to parent and mentor and there is pressure to “have it all”; (4) Legacy (50-70) – a period of reaffirming values, and layoffs and buyouts create strong pressures to keep what has been earned; (5) Elderhood (70+) – priority is placed on giving back and passing on values and methods. The suggestion is that combining this image of workers with generational images provides a better understanding of the workplace issues. (Source: MIT Sloan Management Review, Summer 2007)