The Aging Workforce And Its Impact On Organizations

BABY BOOMERS were born during 1946-1964 and are in the 48-65 age range. Health, energy and wellness are major goals for them. Family values are very important to this generation. Many are becoming Empty Nesters since their children are leaving home. The necessity of having a family vehicle is not essential anymore.

Many people in the "baby boomer" generation are staying active as they age. By either jogging, swimming or becoming part of a sports team. They strive to remain youthful and mentally young and view retirement as an active period of their life. Theirinterest in health , fitness, looking young and attractive and longevity is quite phenomenal. They can expect to live longer due to medical advances however stress and burnout could impact on this expectation of longevity. They are well educated, thirsty for information interested in travel and will want to stay involved in the political processes. In addition they are optimistic, forward thinking and undoubtedly redefine old age. As the oldest of the nation's 75 million baby boomers approach the age of 60, a Pew Research Center survey finds many are looking ahead to their own retirement while balancing a full plate of family responsibilities either raising children or providing financial and other

As of 2012, there were 65.2 million Baby Boomers still living in the US. These individuals, all now currently between the ages of 50 and 68 years old, represent 21% of the current US population.

Age discrimination in the workforce is a major issue in Today’s society. Although this is hardly ever mentioned, it is a concern that affects the aging population and their work performance. Those who are of old age are often not given a chance and looked down on. They are thought of as being mentally and physically in decline, less adaptable, unwilling to be trained, and costly to the organization. The elderly are considered “slow workers.” They are often forced to work extra hard to prove to their employer, they are capable of working as effective as the young. Defining someone’s work performance according to their age is against the law. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) addresses discrimination against the older population. This Act was passed by congress to ensure people of age 40 and older are given fair judgment in the workforce; however, the maturing population of baby boomers has led to an increasing number of elderly workers. This has cause age discrimination to rise. It is important that we review and analyze age discrimination has a political issues that must be changed. Although ADEA sets out to help the aging population, changes should be made within the employer. In order to seek change, one must first understand ADEA and how it promotes fair treatment for the elderly.

Economic factors will play a role in baby boomers working beyond the age of 50. Due

In today’s society, the work industry is comprised of numerous generations from baby boomers to millennia’s. Due to reasons ranging from increased cost of living to political policies, Americans are being forced to work longer in order to obtain the social security benefits they’ve contributed to during their careers. Each generation has certain generational influences such as war times and civil rights for the baby boomers and social media and the technology boom for the millennia’s. One constant that has not changed, however, is that the average American has to work for a living, and with the evolution of the US economy, they are having to work longer and are retiring later.

Baby Boomers constructed America in the 1960s, and soon the Millennials will get their chance. Baby boomers are currently the largest generation of active workers. Research has shown that boomers identify their strengths as organizational memory, optimism, and their willingness to work long hours. Many earned, many still earn high incomes. The millennial generation, born between 1980 and 2000, are starting to enter businesses in large numbers. However, they do not have the same views and values when working compared to the Boomers. This Boomers grew up in organizations with large corporate hierarchies, and Millennials grew up with management structures and teamwork based job roles. By 2025, millennials will make up the 75% of the workforce replacing the Boomer generation. But, are they ready for the workforce and is the workforce ready for them? I think they would be ready if businesses are able to change and adapt towards them.

The Baby Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964, and they fall between the ages of 53-71. This generation was subject to the civil rights movements, the Vietnam War and the Cold War, and space travel. Their parents had the highest divorce rate and second marriages in history. “The American Dream” was promised to them as children and they spent their lives pursuing it. As a result some generations see them as being greedy, materialistic and ambitious. This generation believes in working long hours to establish self-worth and identity, they tend to be workaholics and are used to working up to 60 hour work weeks. Working this much caused an imbalance between most work/home life because the workers of this generation were afraid of losing their position at work if they took more time to spend with their families. The preferred work environment for a Baby Boomer is going to be democratic, believe in equal opportunity and be a warm friendly environment. Some pros of the Baby Boomer in the workplace include that they are anxious to please and tend to challenge the status quo. They are mission oriented individuals who will go the extra mile. Some cons of this generation are that they expect everyone to be workaholics like themselves and they don’t like change either after being raised by traditionalists. Some keys to working with these Baby Boomers is understanding how

Baby Boomers have greatly impacted and shaped society to what it is today. Specifically health care, social issues, and the market place. All these things will immensely effect upcoming generations’ lives.

Most baby boomers will be retiring and it was because the social security to drain and future people who will retire in throughout the upcoming year to consider other ways to finance their retirement. They are the highest earners in the United States. Boomers have an impact on the buying habits of Americans. They contribute about 77% of wealth in America. Without baby boomers, many retail businesses would suffer from much lower profits.

Baby boomers were raised during the time period where success was attainable due to a strong financial foundation which allowed for financial and personal success that we might never experience again in the United States. This makes you want to go into a deep depressive state because this is what we want and want our children to have. History.com states that Baby Boomers are those who were born from 1946-1964 which made up 40% of the population. This is a scary to imagine because we only have 62.9% of the community in the workforce and that will decline as baby boomers retire. http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11300000 Earlier this week we read the article, “Aging in the United States – Past, Present, Future” which discussed the pyramid to

Aging! We all do it every day, but have you ever thought how it is going to affect the rest of your life or more importantly your career? Aging isn’t something that we get to choose if we participate in, however working is, and aging may affect that choice. Right now, I want you to think about the age of sixty-five. What words pop into your head when you think of someone sixty-five? I’d imagine some of the words you thought of were retired, old, fragile, slow, as well as many others. Those words right there all help to explain the many concerns that one’s employer may have when hiring someone that is of the older population. When we think of the older population in the work force we don’t necessarily think of positive things, instead we think of things. When we think of this population in the workforce we generally think of lower production rates and higher costs. These can create issues among the older population, as employers must consider all the possibilities when hiring someone. We know that more people in the older population are continuing to try to continue their careers, but why? How hard is it for them to continue? What changes have made it easier? How are the younger and middle aged populations perceiving them in the work place? This are only some of the many question surrounding the increase of aged workers.

Kyles (2005) defines them as competitive, political, hardworking, and nonconformists. “Known for their workaholic ethic, Boomers will do whatever it takes to get the job done and get ahead, and they expect to be rewarded. They outnumber all generations and hold a majority of management-level positions. They are also approaching retirement and are heavily concerned with financial and job security” (Kyles, 2005, p. 54). This group is very hard working and also offers a lot of wisdom that can be beneficial to those of the younger generations.

“The number of employees over the age of 55 has increased by 30 percent; however, the number of 25- to 54-year-olds has only increased by 1 percent” (Claire, 2009). In 2008 the eldest of the 77 million baby-boomers turned 62. Estimates are that by the end of the decade about 40 percent of the work force will be eligible to retire. As people begin to reach the age of retirement there may be not be enough new employees to fill the gap (Clare, 2009). Companies need to find ways to attract Boomers and Millennials. Companies that want to attract Boomers and Millennials need to be creative in their culture, HR policies and work environments.

The world’s labor force primarily consists of three major generations: the “Baby Boomers,” “Generation X,” and “Generation Y.” The “Baby Boomers” were born during and after the 2nd World War (1940 to 1960). This generation has a legacy of expertise, “old-fashioned” autocratic management, and healthy productivity. “Boomers” are known to work hard, remain loyal to their employers, and receive promotions on the basis of hard work and high skill. Technology was rather limited (Hewitt and Ukpere, 2012).