I hope Im not giving away any major secret here. Im taking a gamble that any of you who plan to see the movie or read the book The Devil Wear Prada have already done so.

Bottom line: She doesnt take the job.

The young woman in the movie (a Gen Y) works so very hard to pursue her dream job. She jumps into an industry with which she has little familiarity and no discernable qualifications. She rises to the most impossible challenges, tackling tasks she had no idea how to do with ingenuity and boundless energy. She relies in part on the wise coaching of a Boomer colleague and skirts the deep resentment of an Xer who feels passed over. In the end, she succeeds in meeting the extraordinarily exacting standards of her over-the-top competitive Boomer boss.

Then she quits.

Okay, so she also sacrificed true love and lasting friendships in pursuit of her professional goal, but -- let me emphasize -- she won!

And she quit.

Now, lets fess up. How did you really feel about that ending? In dont mean in the car on the way home from the theater after youve had a chance to reflect. I mean in the moment what was your immediate, instinctive, knee jerk reaction? It may tie pretty closely tied to your generational leanings.

Most Ys Ive asked have really liked the ending. The heroine rose to the challenge, learned a lot, and moved on to find something that strikes a deeper chord in her soul. One of my Y friends explained: For me, although obviously there was some suspense, I knew going in that she had to decline the job -- thats just what a Y would do -- it was just a matter of how.

Most Xers liked it, too. The pinnacle shed reached in the corporate world was, afterall, clearly pretty unstable. Yes, she was on top -- today -- but, if nothing else, the movie had made obvious how being up one day in no way guaranteed a place tomorrow. Wise to get out now. One of my Xer friends elaborated: For Xs, the movie is about whats wrong with organizations and why its a mistake to hitch your wagon to any one person or any one organization for too long or without a sense that the organization will love you back.

Personally (okay, Im a Boomer), I found the ending, well, ridiculous. Why would you work so hard and not take advantage of winning? If shed stayed in the job and done something positive with the spoils, that would make sense to me. Perhaps she might have served as a more humane role model for the next trainee -- changed the corporate culture for the better. Or, maybe she could have even done something more grand targeted some of the corporations resources toward a charitable goal -- used her new-found power to make the world a better place.

Of course, after reflection, I get and respect the happy, balanced life she chose to lead . . . really. I guess I do.

Although extreme, this movie may be more of a parable for our corporations than we would like to admit. Many of the movies themes are ones that our research bears out. Gen Ys are entering the workforce with enthusiasm and confidence and succeeding on many fronts. They are finding Boomers a bit schizophrenic -- both warm mentors and off-the-wall corporate warriors. And many Xers have not exactly welcomed them with open arms.

Many Ys are also, at best, agnostic in their commitment to a corporate career. Maybe theyll stay, or maybe theyll move on to other work environments that offer some new blend of learning, challenge and life balance. The old inducements hold much less appeal.

How did you react to the final moments of The Devil Wears Prada? What other movies or books would you suggest as interesting examples of our Across the Ages themes regarding the generations at work?

Read all of Tammy Erickson's Across the Ages posts.