February 22, 2012

Workforce Demographics: Rethinking Retirement

Am I the only person who sees warehousing people over 70 in “retirement communities” as dangerous to the country and horrible for the people themselves?  Every time an employee retires, much less takes early retirement; history, perspective and people skills leave the building.  When those individuals are later incarcerated in same-age living quarters, even the younger people who would want to pick their brains are thwarted.  This problem can only grow as the retirement industry continues to lure the unsuspecting into a belief that retirement will be like living in Disney World.

Fortunately, many fewer Boomers will retire soon because they haven’t saved enough money.  That will save Boomer skills and perspective for many organizations.  However, so many who can retire do — only to find that they are bored past bearing by a lack of stimulation they can’t provide themselves.  Boomers have lived to work.  It’s been both necessity and entertainment since their twenties.  Here’s a novel idea:  Instead of discriminating against people over 70, how about actively recruiting them and making the workplace elder-friendly to boot?

What would happen if we dusted off that old feminist concept of the job share?  Why couldn’t two  70-year-olds share a job as effectively as two thirtysomethings?  They could, if a fortysomething boss could rethink his/her agenda and explain what the job really required.  Oh, you say, “These people aren’t technically competent.”  What about the local community college?  Does it discriminate against older workers?  Here’s another idea:  What about providing technical training to any person who agrees to work a job or a job share for one year?  You won’t get the twentysomethings to agree but older workers will.

You can’t see the coming worker shortage because the Great Recession has masked it.  You can’t tell who might be a terrorist in the security line at O’Hare either.  Does that mean there aren’t any?  Same logic.  The real danger in retirement is that the people who shouldn’t be allowed to retire go first.  They lived prudent lives.  That leaves the desperate who will do anything to stay on the payroll.  Are they really the role models and mentors we want for the next few generations?  The latter aren’t sold on organized America anyway.

Retirement takes away the very people needed to patiently nurture the next generation of workers.  Wouldn’t it make sense for companies to recruit at retirement communities?  After three trips to China, not to mention, Tibet, some of those residents would be interested in greater stimulation.

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Filed under Boomers, Current Research, Demographics, Workforce Demographics

February 20, 2012

Career Strategies: Is Plastic Surgery a Realistic Option?

 

In the iconic musical, A Chorus Line,  one of the songs is called “Dance Ten, Looks Three.”  The singer tells the tale of her life’s transformation through surgery on her nose, bottom, and breasts.  You don’t have to listen to the song twice to understand that what was transformed was her self-confidence.  Fifty- and sixtysomethings are wondering if plastic surgery could lengthen and/or transform their careers.  “If I looked 35 would I be treated as if I were 35?”  Well, no, because your peers would recognize you’d been surgically  reworked.  However, thinking about plastic surgery as a solution focuses attention on how worried Boomers are about  rampant, sincere, all-encompassing age discrimination.  Our issue is, “What is the real question?”  Clients tell us it’s raging helplessness in selling themselves to younger bosses.

That’s important but it’s not a medical issue, it’s a confidence issue.  Consider the following:

1.  If a lifestyle or complete face lift would make you feel more competitive, consider it.  You may even consider medical tourism.  Ask a specialist here.  We’re finding more people getting work done in Brazil and India by physicians recommended by American physicians who trained with them in US hospitals.  Check it out.

2.  People who are most critical of older people tend to be ten or 20 years younger than the people they dread becoming.  They are the ones most likely to say they don’t want to work with people older than themselves.  Those views are unattractive to thirty- and fortysomethings hoping to be mentored by the oldies.

3.  Is the problem age or skills?  Anyone considering surgery might do a skills check up first.  How are you with the social media?  If you’re lagging behind no amount of surgery will close the gap.

4.  Do you look healthy?  A perfect body isn’t an asset if it’s clear you’re not vigorous.  We could tell horror stories of people who got lots of surgery only to feel worse, not better, about themselves.

5.  Can you afford the cost and time off?  When people actually weigh the options many decide there must be less drastic measures.  There are.  Are there courses you could take that would change your self-confidence?  Try the community college for all updates.  Get fashion advice from a stylist.  Network this one.  You have friends who know.  Hint:  a wedding consultant has lots of resources of who does what with exceptional skill.  (Men:  the  wedding consultant knows people who make men look great.)

6.  Have you had one turn down or many?  One of anything isn’t definitive unless it’s the Hope diamond.  If you have a series of terrible interviews during which you feel age discrimination was a factor, consult an objective counselor.  You may find a pattern which is not age related.  For example, you keep referring to what you did ten or twenty years ago instead of last week.  Consider a video of you answering questions.

The tail on this tail:  Before you decide on surgery make sure it will solve the real problem.  I’d say that right now it’s 50 -50 among my clients.  More men than women seemed enhanced in all ways by surgery.

Note:  I’m republishing this piece because 23 people since January 1 have asked about cosmetic surgery.

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Filed under Boomers, Career Strategies, Demographics

February 17, 2012

Demographics: Maybe Younger Workers Won’t Follow You Anywhere!

Over a large martini a Boomer lamented that her twentysomething workers were unresponsive to her offers of help, mentoring, and general transmission of office folklore.  They evinced no interest in power or politics.   “I’ve got six direct reports and not one of them has ever asked a question about my boss, other departments heads, no big picture questions!  It’s as if they don’t care what anyone else is doing.  Sometimes I think they are bored and just waiting for another opportunity to appear.”

Welcome to the great demographic divide.  Whatever myth the Boomer tells herself she accurately assessed the mood of her direct reports.  They see the job and the company as means to an end.  It doesn’t matter what happened ten or even five years ago.  Nothing matters that happened since the Great Recession began.  You know this isn’t true.  There are lessons in history if those lessons are grounded in the here and practical.  If not, they are myths and fairy tales old people like.

The Boomers, with their much-lauded people skills aren’t the communicators they believe.  For instance,  techno twits are not role models anyone under 30 admires.   Why be guided by someone who’s still longing for Word Perfect?  Also, it’s not productive to demand admiration for accomplishments younger people don’t admire such as bamboozling a boss.  You smoothed over a problem with your boss so that he hardly remembered he was mad at you.  You didn’t solve the problem as the twentysomethings expected/wanted you to do.

Here’s the point:  You can’t teach, lead or mentor in ways your audience doesn’t want to learn or follow.  Is this too obvious?  I see self-help books not to mention posts and newsletters which all describe how the author (a Boomer) would behave now if just starting out.  This is the equivalent of discussing manufacturing today and not mentioning China and India or even Mexico.  I am as susceptible to believing I have something to teach as any Boomer but that needs to be translated into the kinds of experiences these people have had.  Yes, in the olden days we had school loans — but $150,000 for undergraduate?  Not really.  In fact, so much of the advice people want to share is worthless.  Someone who didn’t have Facebook has a different expectation of privacy than someone who’s posted his/her own raunchy pictures.

So is the demographic divide unbridgable?  No.  But it depends on starting from the premise that the facts transcend ages, but interpretation of the facts is age defined.  I like to start discussions with people half my age by asking:  “What does this mean?” or “How did you read this situation.”  Try it.

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Filed under Boomers, Workforce Demographics