An upbeat book about the future of boomers in the workplace has crossed my desk from Harvard Business Press titled “Retire Retirement.” Given the relationship to Harvard Business, I think we can all be officially optimistic about the prospects for boomers to retain their jobs, find new work, be valued, create flexible workplaces, etc. etc.—or, on the other hand, does the fact that the book was written before the dark shadow of the dismal economy inflicted its dimming of the light upon us, mean there should be second thoughts?
"For the rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog"
Obviously, faithful blog readers who have visited our whitepaper “Boomer Wanted: The Next Great Workplace Revolution” know that any doubt I cast upon the author, Tamara Erickson’s, cheerful assessment of boomer prospects applies to our own reading of the research at hand.
In a series of blogs, I will wrestle with some of Erickson’s assertions and see if tempering is called for. But first, here’s Erickson’s thesis:
“Whatever lies ahead for retirees will be very different from the post-sixty lives of any previous generation. Not only do the demographic numbers tip in Boomers’ favor, but astonishing changes in the relationships among generations and in the flexibility of work arrangements combine to present a wide array of options for how Boomers will spend their 'second careers'—whether in paid work or other productive activities.
Decades of sidelining older workers, a characteristic of an industrial economy, are giving way to on-going opportunities for significant contribution to knowledge-based work. As the gap between the number of workers available and organizations’ demand for employees with skills and experience steadily widens, Boomers who want to continue making contributions in their professions will be increasingly welcome to do so. The growing talent shortage, coupled with dramatic changes in technology, will position them to renegotiate their relationship—in radical new ways—with those seeking to leverage their talents.”
And then, there’s the three boomers who just emailed me who have been down-sized from their positions—but that’s the other side of the story, that we’ll be engaging with over the next several blogs.
Carol Orsborn