As Published in Business 2 Business, December 2009

A Nation of Geezers

By Ira S Wolfe, Success Performance Solutions

The Baby Boomers are the first generation that will actually live too long. The oldest of the baby boomers turned 63 this year. Many of them act and think that they're never going to die. Generation X and their successors Gen Y, successors to the Boomers, are starting to worry that they might be right.

The Boomers reaped the greatest gain in life expectancy in all of human history during the 20th century, an increase of 30 years. Americans today can expect to live to be 77.7 years old. The government says we may even reach 79 by the year 2015. And in just 32 years, roughly one generation, the proportion of older people will double from 7% to 14% of the total world population.

But Boomers are threatening the social order. According to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants President James Metzler, "70 is the new 65."  In a recent survey, two-thirds of the Institute's clients said they would delay retirement and work an additional five years. 

Some believe that Boomers are poised to make us a Nation of Geezers. A combination of healthier living and advances in medicine will keep Boomers working and driving long after the age at which their grandparents quit working. Today aging workers are starting new careers, new businesses, and "reinventing" themselves well into their 70s and even 80s.

But this may not be good news for anyone other than the boomers.  Our social institutions have not adjusted to this extended life expectancy. Lifelong marriage, for example, is one thing when you expect to live to be 60. It's quite another when there's a chance you may one day turn 110.

Boomers nonetheless will be reaching the traditional retirement age of 65 over the next 20 years, but a mass exodus from the workplace is looking less likely every day, particularly in hard times. Boomer professionals aren't vacating the corner offices anytime soon; 70 percent say they're going to keep working.

So what are the organizational implications for Boomers working longer? 

The "I'll work forever" attitude of the Baby Boomers is bringing movement up the career ladder to a complete stand-still.  For Gen X and Gen Y, it’s like waiting for a table in a busy restaurant when the guests at the table you want have finished their dessert and paid the bill … but are busy chatting well beyond their "allotted" time.  The longer they stay, the more intense the glares and more uncomfortable everyone becomes.

 
For some organizations the retention of Baby Boomers is a good thing. The threat of an imminent brain drain has faded for the time being.  But while Boomers may have experience and knowledge, they don't always possess the talent and skills needed to compete in the "new economy."

Bringing in fresh new talent has always been re-invigorating for an organization.  A slowdown in job creation and concurrent freeze on hiring threatens this injection of fresh blood and ideas. A subtle but dangerous side effect of the recession threatens innovation and change. If complacency takes over while Boomers hang on for a few more years, the future of many organizations may be compromised.

With the brain drain slowed, Gen X feel like they are trapped between the gray haired Boomers and spiked hair Millennials. Baby Boomers are blocking the exits and Millennials are beginning to crowd the entrances. The squeeze is creating a measureable resentment in this Gen X cohort. This “gray ceiling” is not only frustrating Gen X, but Gen Y too. These new entrants into the workforce are blocked by their predecessors who can't move out of the way until the Boomers make room.

For those organizations who don't take heed and notice the resentment building, they could easily lose the experience and wisdom of both the seated guests (Boomers) and the wait list (Gen X and Gen Y) at the same time.

Sidebar #1

Several weeks ago, a blogger posted an intriguing question when she asked, "Brett Favre - Poster Child for "Un-retirement." Will Boomers Do the Same?" She highlighted Favre's journey from his Hall of Fame career to the soap-opera history of his retirement to un-retirement to retirement. She posted her comments on her blog the day after Favre announced his un-retirement …..again.

For those unfamiliar with Brett Favre, he's the former quarterback of the Green Bay Packer,  who in the last 4 years has retired and un-retired four times. Favre at 40 years old is sporting quite a few gray hairs but is having one of his best years ever, an impressive feat for a future Hall of Famer. The blogger asks if Baby Boomers, “like Favre, will have second (and third and fourth) thoughts after they leave the workforce?"  If so, her blog raises an important question – can the extended retention of Baby Boomers compromise the long term health of an organization?

Download a pdf version of "What Jobs Won't Return."

About the author

As president of Success Performance Solutions, Ira S Wolfe helps organizations find and hire the right employees and identify high-potential leaders. He speaks nationwide on hiring, workforce trends, managing the generations in a presentation titled Geeks, Geezers, and Googlization. He is also the author of Perfect Labor Storm 2.0: Trends That Will Change the Way You Do Business.