GENERATION X – GENERATION OF LOST POTENTIAL OR OF NEW OPPORTUNITIES? THE POLISH CASE

The article presents the main research focus on Generation X in Poland, on the problem of this generation’s (un)adjustment and (non)capitalization of the potential and circumstances related to the collapse of socialism and the onset of the country’s system transformation process. In countries such as Poland this problem becomes of particular significance because the life of Generation X became integrally interwoven with the radical political, social and economic changes. The primary objective of this paper is to present selected conditions of a start of the working lives of the Polish Generation X and the significance thereof for a successful entry into the adult life by this generation. An attempted analysis covered homogeneity vs. diversity of behaviors typical of this generation. The paper comprised studying the subject literature, the desk research method, descriptive statistics method and the collective case study method. Reference was made to the reports and data bases collected by Eurostat and by Poland and the USA, including by the bureaus for statistics in both countries.