Generations, Inc.: From Boomers to Linksters—Managing the Friction Between Generations at Work

CHAPTER  3

Managing Boomers

Two reasons to hire Boomers: They don’t expect to be complimented for breathing and they’re unlikely to take the week off because someone broke their heart.

—Cindy Cooke, Director of Boomerz¹

Pushing Back Retirement

As they prepare to retire, many Baby Boomers are looking forward to either starting new careers or engaging in active retirements. Unfortunately, because their stock investments and retirement accounts took such a drastic hit during the economic meltdown of 2008, many Baby Boomers will have to wait to do either. In an AARP survey published in May 2008, 27 percent of workers ages 45 and up said the economic slowdown had prompted them to postpone plans to retire.² The good news for employers is that they ...