Like every generation before and probably after us, Gen X'ers were tagged by those older than us as "Generation Me," "The Entitled Generation," and "Generation Whine." There's certainly some truth to the monikers but it isn't because our generation was more self-centered, spoiled, or likely to complain. It was because, for a while, we were young and naive and made the mistakes of youth in the workplace. As Gen Y started to enter the workforce, we moved from being the newcomers to managers and, according to a new study, from being valued to being taken for granted.

Deloitte Consulting LLP found that nearly two-thirds of executives at Fortune 500 and other large organizations were concerned about not being able to retain their Gen Y employees yet fewer than half of them had similar concerns about losing the Gen X employees. According to Robin Erickson, a manager with Deloitte's human capital division, the assumption amongst managers is that Gen Y'ers are the least loyal and most mobile and that those managers must therefore make an extra effort to retain Gen Y'ers.

Gen X'ers, as compared to the younger Gen Y'ers, seem to be getting lost in the shuffle and employers should pay more attention to the needs and wants of the smaller number of Gen X'ers. A companion survey found that only about 37 percent of Gen X'ers plan to stay in their current jobs after the recession ends. By comparison, the percentage who plan to remain in their current positions include 44 percent Gen Y'ers, and 50 percent of Baby Boomers.

So what's an employer to do? Ignore their Gen Y employees? Absolutely not. Instead, understand that an employee should be valued based upon their current and likely future contributions rather than their date of birth. One of your most valued employees may be 20, 40, or 60 years old. It isn't their age that matters. It is the work that they deliver and will deliver. Younger employees tend to have more upside as their skills have not yet caught up with their potential, but they also lack the wisdom of older employees. Both groups are important, as are the employees who are sandwiched in between and therefore bring some upside and some wisdom to the workforce. An organization staffed primarily by any of the groups is an organization with a lot of problems so retention of your best employees -- regardless of age -- is critical to the success of every organization.