More and more baby boomers are riding off into the sunset, and the workforce will never be the same.
While these boomers, the largest generation in U.S. history, are leaving the workforce, the number of workers of any age entering the workforce has remained flat over the past few decades.
Yes, this includes legal and illegal immigration.
In the hiring world, what’s known as the worker replacement rate has become unbalanced, a trend that exerts added pressure on an already complex situation.
Let’s start with the fact that the current U.S. birth rate has been steadily declining over the past 20 years.
It’s no secret that Americans are simply not having as many large families anymore, a decline that also applies to other Western countries.
Spurred by higher costs of raising children (housing, childcare, education) and the rise of two-career couples, that trend means stay-at-home parents now comprise an increasingly smaller percentage of American families.
Meanwhile, due to advances in science and medicine, more Americans are living longer. Going way back to the Social Security Act of 1935, which set the retirement age at 65, average life expectancy was only 62.
Now it’s 79, a figure that’s expected to keep climbing.
What’s an employer to do?
For starters, how about retaining your most reliable and productive “mature” workers – those in their 60s and 70s?
Many boomers, including me, believe we’re in perfectly good health and see no reason to retire anytime soon. Many also fear that if they retire too early, they’ll risk outliving their savings.
Equally so, some of today’s mature workers worry that they’ll miss the excitement and sociability of going to work every day.
Finally reached a life-work balance
Meanwhile, according to a recent Gallup poll, baby boomers are the least stressed and most engaged of any younger age group. This may be because they’ve finally reached a life-work balance that suits their lifestyle.
And don’t fall for the myth that mature workers will switch jobs at a moment’s notice. Research shows that those over 50 are five times less likely to change jobs compared to people aged 20 to 24.
That lower turnover rate translates to big savings on recruitment for employers as boomers also take about the same number of sick days as younger workers.
What about those boomers who are, let’s say, not so tech-savvy?
That’s not necessarily true either.
Spurred in part by the need to work digitally during the pandemic, the adoption of key technologies by boomers has risen markedly since a decade ago, according to Pew Research. The gap between the oldest and youngest adults has narrowed, a trend that continues.
With baby boomers on your payroll, maybe it’s time to formalize the process of knowledge transfer. You wouldn’t want your workforce to lose a generation’s worth of expertise, would you?
If in doubt about the depth and breadth of your mature workers’ knowledge, consider taking periodic assessments or surveys. You might be surprised at what a more mature employee knows that the younger generation does not.
Here are three basic measures you can start implementing today: Start mentorship programs, formal or informal; offer hands-on training to share historical knowledge; and create a reasonable timetable for job succession.
To achieve more focused outcomes, try these:
- Capitalize on millennials’ desire to advance in the organization. They’re more inclined to recognize the expertise of baby boomers, and they also know that learning from them will likely lead to new opportunities.
- Encourage a give-and-take ecosystem that opens opportunities for millennials to share technical knowledge with baby boomers.
- Consider offering flexible schedules and part-time work to anyone considering early retirement.
Surprisingly, one inspired version of this last policy comes from NASA, which offers a detailed, phased retirement program to allow retirees to work half-time for up to two years. At least 20 percent of that time must be spent mentoring younger workers.
Know that with 11,000 baby boomers reaching retirement age every day, all companies need a solid plan for meeting their staffing needs.
As an employer, it’s never too soon to plan for the future.
Blair is co-founder of Manpower West Staffing and author of “Job Won! 500,000 Hires and Counting” and can be reached at pblair@manpowerwest.com
Originally Published: September 16, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.
