From corner offices to country clubs, the markers of success have completely transformed
Status isn't what it used to be. Walk into any room of people under 40, and the traditional markers of success that Baby Boomers spent decades chasing might as well be invisible.
The shift isn't just about taste. It's about what we value, how we define prosperity, and what we're willing to sacrifice to get it. Recent data shows millennials prioritize experiences over material goods, reflecting a fundamental departure from Boomers who viewed ownership as a status symbol.
Here are nine status symbols that dominated Boomer culture but barely register with most people today.
1. The corner office
For decades, the corner office represented the pinnacle of career achievement. Big windows, a door that closes, space to display your awards. It was the physical manifestation of making it.
Gen Z workers are radically challenging traditional workplace expectations, shifting their idea of what success and achievement looks like beyond obtaining a corner office in a corporate space.
Younger workers increasingly prioritize flexibility, remote work options, and work-life balance over physical workspace prestige. They'd rather work from a coffee shop on their own schedule than sit in a corner office for sixty hours a week.
2. Designer brand logos everywhere
Baby Boomers were instrumental in making designer labels synonymous with status and success, particularly during the 1980s when logos and branding became major elements in fashion.
The conspicuous consumption that defined Boomer luxury (wearing brands loudly) has given way to what's called "quiet luxury." People now signal wealth through quality and fit rather than visible logos.
Gen Z has adopted quiet luxury as a way of rejecting blatant displays of wealth, trading it in for simple styles and everyday upscale staples. The shift reflects both aesthetic preference and a cultural move away from obvious materialism.
3. The white picket fence dream
The 1950s saw a big increase in suburban homes, and the white picket fence symbolized the dream of suburban life for the Baby Boomer generation. It represented homeownership, stability, and having arrived at the American Dream.
Today? From 1960 to 2025, the number of 30-year-olds who owned a home and were married has dropped from 52% to 12%. Economic realities aside, many younger people actively choose urban apartments or flexible living situations over suburban homeownership.
The values have flipped. Mobility, experiences, and living in walkable neighborhoods often trump the settled permanence that Boomers prized.
4. Multiple luxury cars in the driveway
For Boomers, luxury cars were rolling advertisements of success. The Mercedes in the driveway, the BMW for weekend drives. These signaled you'd made it.
Younger generations are less impressed. Between ride-sharing, environmental concerns, and changing urban lifestyles, car ownership itself has declined among millennials and Gen Z, let alone luxury car ownership.
They're more likely to spend money on a trip to Japan than a premium sedan. The status comes from where you've been, not what you drive.
5. Formal china and crystal collections
Wedding registries used to be dominated by fine china patterns, crystal stemware, and silver serving pieces. These items represented sophistication and readiness for proper entertaining.
Now they represent clutter. Younger people prefer experiences over possessions, and the formal dinner party has largely given way to casual gatherings. That china set gathering dust in grandma's cabinet? Most millennials don't want it even for free.
The shift reflects broader changes in how we socialize and what we consider worth preserving.
6. The McMansion
Millennials are the least likely out of all generations to want a single-story home, with the majority of potential millennial home buyers prioritizing two-story homes. But that's different from the sprawling suburban McMansions Boomers built in the 90s and 2000s.
Younger buyers prefer smaller, more efficient spaces in desirable locations over square footage in distant suburbs. They value walkability and proximity to amenities over sheer size.
The excess that once signaled prosperity now feels wasteful and impractical.
7. Country club memberships
Golf memberships and country club access were classic Boomer status symbols. They offered networking, prestige, and a specific vision of leisure.
Today's professionals are more likely to spend on boutique fitness classes, wellness retreats, or adventure sports. According to Deloitte's 2025 Gen Z and millennial survey, work-life balance remains the top consideration when these generations choose employers, reflecting their prioritization of experiential value.
The country club model of status and networking doesn't resonate with generations who network differently and seek different forms of recreation.
8. Expensive jewelry collections
While the lingering sophistication and prestige of expensive jewelry might still appeal to older millennials, many Gen Zers would prefer to spend their money elsewhere, like taking vacations or investing in experiences.
The shift isn't about rejecting beauty or craftsmanship. It's about prioritizing meaningful experiences and personal growth over accumulating objects. A trip produces memories and Instagram content; jewelry sits in a box.
9. Climbing the corporate ladder for decades
By the 1980s, most employed Americans were baby boomers climbing the corporate ladder or inventing entirely new corporations from scratch. This long-term career trajectory with one or two companies was both the path and the goal.
Younger workers job-hop strategically, prioritize learning opportunities over tenure, and increasingly freelance or start their own ventures. The 30-year career with a gold watch at the end? It's not just rare. It's not even desirable for most.
They've watched companies lay off loyal employees and seen the traditional social contract between employer and worker dissolve. Their loyalty is to their skills and their network, not to institutions.
Final thoughts
The status symbols that dominated Boomer culture made sense in their context. Postwar prosperity, stable careers, and a particular vision of success created a world where these markers mattered.
But millennials and Gen Z are driving a new meaning of luxury, connecting spending to their personal values, with new affluent shoppers set to drive 75% of the luxury goods market.
The shift isn't just generational snobbery. It reflects different economic realities, changing values, and a world where status comes from experiences, authenticity, and personal fulfillment rather than visible markers of wealth.
What we chase reveals what we value. And what we value has fundamentally changed.
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