“Boomers”. “Millennials”. “Gen Z”. 🤦♂️
“By 2034, there will be more people over the age of 65 than under the age of 18.”
The workforce is not being replaced.
As a country, we are growing older. And we didn’t have enough babies to backfill the next generation of work.
Soon, there won’t be enough people to take over all the jobs in our businesses and governments.
And if anything, our needs for services have grown larger, not smaller.
As a worldwide problem, what can we do?
Let’s change the way we think about age in the workforce.
The traditional “go into the twilight at 65” retirement model is dead.
That’s because when we stop working altogether, we lose our purpose.
And hate to say it, but when we lose our purpose, we tend to croak sooner.
Does this mean older people want to work forever? No.
Older people usually want to maintain a connection to a place we can provide value and purposeful work.
Just look at my retired dad – he provides bookkeeping for myself and my brother for about 10 hours a week.
Providing services to his two sons helps him maintain a sense of purpose and community while providing structure for his week. This not only helps me…but also provides him additional fulfillment, connection and joy.
There are millions of people like my dad – experienced professionals who are looking to work, but can’t find jobs that meet their needs.
The problem is – organizations do not hire people over 65!
This is why ageism has got to go.
Generational conflict is the worst thing we can do to ourselves as a culture. So why is ageism so widely accepted?
Bradley Schurman puts it this way in his book “The Super Age”,
“In the era of #MeToo, #LoveWins, and #BlackLivesMatter, many have become finely attuned, if not sympathetic, to the challenges and prejudices faced by others, yet ageism persists as an accepted bias.”
Saying “Ok, boomer” might seem harmless, but it’s generalizations and stereotypes like this that not only divide generations, but create differences where there aren’t any.
The truth is, there is a lot we can accomplish as a 5-generation workforce – if we rise above the generational bullshit!
By hiring older workers part-time, organizations in the private and public sector can fill their knowledge gaps with wealths of experience.
Believe me – when you make the space for a transfer of knowledge between generations, your work will get better.
Interested in learning more about supporting an age diverse workforce? Drop me a line here.