In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the usual rules of workplace seniority did not seem to apply to workers in their twenties and early thirties. The dotcom boom was empowering this cohort of youngsters – sometimes known as Generation X – to seize status and wealth with astounding precocity. The dotcom bust exposed that trend as an illusion, forcing the upstarts to serve their time in junior roles. An end to the punishment is in sight, however. Now in their thirties and early forties, many Xers should reach the apex of their power between 2010 and 2020, according to conventional wisdom that suggests white-collar workers peak in their late forties and early fifties (the average FTSE 100 chief executive is 52).
在上世紀90年代末和本世紀初，通常的職場資歷規則似乎并不適用于那些20多歲和30歲出頭的員工。互聯網熱潮讓這群年輕人——有時被稱為X一代(Generation X)——以驚人的早熟姿態獲得了地位和財富。互聯網泡沫破滅表明這種趨勢只是假象，迫使那些職場新人在初級職位上熬年份。然而，現在看來這種懲罰有望結束。目前許多30多歲和40歲出頭的X一代應該會在2010年至2020年間攀上權力巔峰，因為傳統的觀點認為，白領工作者的事業會在45歲到55歲之間達到巔峰（富時100指數成份股公司首席執行官的平均年齡是52歲）。