Post-retirement Boomer careers – taking a tip from younger generations?
Posted On August 22, 2013
You can barely pick up the paper these days without hearing about the 10,000 Baby Boomers who are reaching retirement age every day and how they will a) be a drain on the social security system and b) not “go gently into that good night.” Yet whether it is for the flexibility to visit with grandchildren and pursue travel dreams, the need for added income, or simply the desire not to be seen as past their prime, more and more Boomers are taking post-retirement careers.
Boomers that achieved executive status often return to the workforce as consultants – working flexible hours on focused projects of special interest or where their retained knowledge is especially helpful. But more and more Boomers are shifting gears completely, focusing on post-retirement careers that feed into a creative desire or relate to hobbies and personal interests outside of an individual’s primary career. Could it be that the generation that told its children to “go out and find something that makes you happy” is taking its own advice?
A recent article in the Plattsburg Press Republican speaks to this phenomena, which has been dubbed “encore careers.” The University of Hartford has a program, Encore! Hartford, specifically geared toward helping individuals find their encore careers.
If Boomers don’t really want to – or can’t fully – retire, and Xers and Millennials are seeking careers that are more about happiness than climbing the corporate ladder, businesses that figure out how to let employees find passion in their work will surge to the forefront. This doesn’t have to mean small, entrepreneurial companies are the only way to find loyalty and engagement, but it does mean that corporations will have to work harder to be the places of business where today’s employees want to work.