This blog is part four of a blog series culminating in the release of a white paper on the subject to our subscribers. Please stay tuned as we continue this series.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, life expectancy was 44 years old; at the beginning of the twenty-first, the average boomer has another three, four or more decades of life ahead of them.
"For the rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog"
As with all stages of life the boomers have experienced, they’re defying expectations concerning the natural workcycle of the individual and redefining the aging process. Vital, productive midlife has been elongated, and with it, the length of time that boomers will remain in the workforce.
One reason boomers will work longer is to help fund their longer life. Whether they want to or not, boomers will have to work longer than any generation before them. In fact, according to some studies, eight out of ten boomers currently have no plans to retire. Many wouldn’t want to—even if they could.
There’s history to the privileging of age in positions of power. At the time of the founding of our country, age was a sign of respect. In fact, politicians and socialites donned white wigs to take on the appearance of increased age, equating to enhanced power and wisdom. This aspirational notion of aging was to take a sharp turn in the years immediately following World War II. During the war, when most young American males were fighting in the European and Pacific theaters, it was left to the women and older people to work the jobs the soldiers left behind. After the war, the newly minted veterans needed jobs back, so those who’d filled them had to step aside: women, older people and older women, doubly so. To tell you the truth, Rosie the Riveter wasn’t thrilled. In fact, one of the greatest PR campaigns in history had to be launched, appealing to duty and loyalty to motivate older folks to step aside. In fact, to continue working was to be labeled eccentric and to willingly become marginalized was seen as patriotic.
Simultaneously, the move to the suburbs provided a receptacle for the women and elders who were no longer wanted in the mainstream workplace. Women were to be happy being unemployed homemakers. And older folks would dream about retiring to a life of golf and relaxation. Of course, at the same time social security came into play, the average lifespan was only the mid-sixties. A year or two of golf before a fast and final decline made a lot of sense back then—and for the truly ambitious, the goal and sign of success was to retire at age 50.
Most people who work no longer think of retiring at 50 as an admirable goal. In fact, instead, the standard of success is to be serving on the Supreme Court at 80, running for public office at 70 and still aspiring to the next higher position in your organization at 60. The one thing the boomers have retired are the outdated myths.
Eileen Marcus and Carol Orsborn