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America’s baby boomers have dramatically reshaped everything they have touched, from child rearing to health care,
housing, and education. Their changes have been particularly apparent in the workplace, where they have pushed companies to harness their talent
on a scale previously unthinkable.
In 2006, the oldest of the 78 million baby boomers turned 60. If this group of workers behaved like the preceding
generation, most would be well-settled in retirement plans by now. But boomers are determined to once again do things their way: They intend to
remain very active, on the job, and involved in community service.
The continued presence of these mature workers presents both opportunities and challenges for employers. In 2005, The
Conference Board began exploring this issue to help U.S. business leaders and policy makers better understand the importance of engaging mature
workers in employment and community service.
Report credit: Mary Young, with Diane Piktialis, and Anna Rappaport, Gray
Skies, Silver Linings: How Companies Are Forecasting, Managing, and Recruiting a Mature Workforce, The Conference Board, Research Report 1409, p. 14-15, 2007.
With the support of the Atlantic Philanthropies, The Conference Board launched the
Mature Workforce Initiative, which
incorporated a combination of conferences, cross-industry professional groups, and research working groups to examine key questions surrounding older workers. It produced
a wide range of research to educate employers on the best ways to retain the commitment, skills, and knowledge of mature workers; explore new
models for their retirement; transition their corporate skills to use in the nonprofit world; fully involve mature workers in a
multigenerational workforce; and recruit and attract them when needed.
This research shows that making a one-size-fits-all business case for hiring and retaining mature workers is not
possible. Depending on their industry, leadership, customers, and corporate culture, some companies will make greater use of mature workers than others.
While a number of enterprises want to learn from and profit by boomers’ accumulated experience, others do not see the need. For
organizations that have already completed strategic workforce planning, The Conference Board’s research offers a look at implementation
methods and pitfalls. For companies that have not analyzed their workforce dynamics but have begun to experience the "Continuum of Pain" of boomer retirements, this
research provides insight into effective planning.
Companies have other obligations as well, most notably to effectively manage their workforce regardless of age. That means
using planning and performance review tools they already have at their disposal. The
Mature Workforce Initiative provides businesses with
information to make a better financial analysis of the costs and benefits of their older workers—in essence, to create their own business
case.
The Mature Workforce Initiative offers the inescapable conclusion that public
policy makers still have work to do. The
Pension Protection Act of 2006 made much-needed changes to the disbursement of retirement funds to older workers, making phased retirement a
reality. Similar changes need to be brought to other areas, such as the laws and contract language on overtime. In a competitive global economy,
overtime is a critical planning tool and The Conference Board’s findings show that age and overtime are not an impossible combination.
The research holds important conclusions for employees as well. Older workers need to actively manage their careers,
participate in a multigenerational workplace, and assiduously acquire necessary skills to remain attractive to their employers. This focus on
employee responsibility in addition to employer needs sets The Conference Board’s research apart from other studies on mature workers.
This initiative offers a new framework to examine the social contract between older workers and their employers, including
pensions and retiree medical benefits. The expansion of the U.S. budget deficit, increased pressure on Social Security funding, and impending
changes to health insurance all call for a frank discussion of expectations and possibilities. The Mature Workforce Initiative research can be a
valuable resource in these discussions.
Changes to the social contract may also portend changes to nonprofit service by boomers. Many mature workers feel an
obligation to give back to society, and their spirit of volunteerism has been a boon for nonprofits. As full-time employees, many participated
in corporate social responsibility projects and outreach that introduced them to the possibility of switching to the nonprofit sector.
Boomers’ interest in nonprofits could be opportune because the sector is facing both looming retirements from older
members of this generation and a growing demand for social services to aid them. In 2007, the
Mature Workforce Initiative found that nonprofits lag
the government and private sectors in recruiting and retaining mature workers. Nonprofits have since made great progress in this area, but their efforts can be hampered by funding restrictions. Many funders will support only the services nonprofits provide, not infrastructure or operating costs. This leaves the nonprofits unable to create the human resources functions that could serve internal needs and effectively recruit from the outside.
Despite difficulties brought on by the current economic climate, mature workers will continue to play an important role for
employers in the future. Many boomers view traditional retirement age not as the end of their productive years, but as the beginning of a new
application of their skills. The youngest of this cohort will not turn 65 until 2031, and in that year, there will still be nearly 58 million
living boomers.1 The far smaller size of the age
cohort behind them is a prescription for gaps in the labor market over the next two decades.
Answers uncovered through the Mature Workforce Initiative dispel myths and lay
groundwork for a reexamination of the role
mature workers can play in modern corporations. This report guides employers through research produced for the Mature Workforce Initiative by
theme. It also points out to employers which issues still need exploration as mature
workers help rebuild the global economy.
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