2: The economy may face a SHORTAGE of qualified workers
The position of "older worker" has never been a prestige gig in this country. Even the concept of a retirement age is like a societal frown at the idea of working beyond your mid-60s. And just look at how pop culture portrays older workers as tragic figures, like Lou Mannheim, the 60-something stockbroker played by Hal Holbrook in the 1987 film Wall Street, of whom a younger broker says disparagingly, "Nice guy but a loser.... You want to be coming in here in your late 60s, still pitching?"
Yet, two decades after that film came out, attitudes toward older workers in corporate America show signs of changing. If you're an aging baby boomer, you may suddenly find yourself to be marketable. Increasingly, companies are seeking out folks like you, while also doing more to hold on to older current employees. "Because of the changing demographics of the marketplace, we think mature workers will actually provide a competitive advantage for us," says Mindy Moss, a vice president of human resources at the Principal Financial Group in Des Moines.
The demographic issue cuts two ways. First are all those boomers who started hitting the Big Six-O this year. They're good customers. So it doesn't hurt to have employees of a similar age in customer-service positions. "That population has a fairly high disposable income, and they spend a considerable amount on home improvements," says Dennis Donovan, head of human resources at Home Depot. "We look at this as a very attractive market opportunity."
In demand. Companies aren't just worried about having enough workers who can relate to graying customers. Firms are worried about having enough workers, period. The annual growth rate of the workforce is expected to slow to 0.4 percent by 2010. That will be a huge drop-off from the 1.1 percent average annual increase of the 1990s. Rand economist Lynn Karoly says the slowing rate of workforce growth is caused primarily by a sharp decline in the birthrate after the baby boom. "Employers will begin seeing more competition in terms of filling their employee ranks," Karoly says, "especially for highly skilled workers."
While government projections show more jobs than workers in the coming years, they fail to take into account that many people hold more than one job. Still, if you're nearing retirement age, the workforce's slowing growth could mean a better deal for you if you stay on the job, as employers bend over backward to accommodate valued employees, even if they have to deal with family, age, or disability-related issues to do so. Indeed, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the annual growth rate of workers 55 and older will be four times that of the overall labor force through 2014. As a way of retaining older workers, Principal helps them find other positions in the company if they want to dial back their hours. The company also has a "Happy Returns" program where, working with temp agency Manpower, retirees can come back to work as temps after a six-month separation, with no interruption in benefits. In addition, Principal allows employees who are caregivers for parents or spouses to return to work at half-time status for 12 weeks after a family leave while receiving full benefits.
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