"The years teach much which the days never knew."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson


Part 1 of "Why Hire Boomers?" explored several basic assets of older workers: skills, knowledge, productivity, creative problem solving, and flexibility. Now it's time to turn to the intangibles: In what other ways does a mature workforce add to an organization's environment and culture?

Engagement and Commitment

Employee engagement does matter. A Towers Perrin research report(1) explored the connection between measures of employee engagement and financial performance, such as revenue growth. Their study built a strong business case for the value of motivated and committed employees at any career stage.

Older workers, in turn, can be a vital component of a committed workforce. Research sponsored by the Center on Aging & Work / Workplace Flexibility(2) examined national statistics on "loyalty to employer" and "willingness to work harder than required." Combining these elements into a "commitment to employer" scale that measured job engagement, they found that older workers tended to exhibit greater commitment to employers than younger employees.

Many "third agers" continue to be highly engaged with work. They embrace their next step and seek opportunities to utilize their experience and apply their skills in new venues. The right work situation can result in a very productive match between the skills of a mature worker and an organization's needs.

Wanting to Work!

The traditional notion of retirement (no paid work and living off a nest egg) is fast being replaced by a "portfolio" approach to life and work. The portfolio model of career development reflects an ever-changing mix of paid work, volunteer activity, and leisure pursuits.

In the past few years, there has been an explosion of books, articles, and professional services focusing on the issue of "working in retirement" for the boomers. Even the language of 'retirement" is up for grabs. The article "It's Time to Retire Retirement" by Tamara Erickson appeared in The Harvard Business Review in 2001. Popular press book titles are popping up everywhere suggesting that boomers are entering a next career / life phase, rather than planning for retirement in the traditional sense. Examples include: "Too Young To Retire" by Howard and Marika Stone; and "Don't Retire, Rewire" by Jeri Sedlar and Rick Miners. All of these trends suggest that the achievement-oriented boomer generation is not, by and large, a population that is preparing for a later life of total leisure.

The Conference Board(2) report succinctly captures this attitudinal shift about retirement: "Retirement eligible employees are not necessarily retirement prone. Employees want to continue working for both personal fulfillment and financial reasons."

Developing and Mentoring Others

Mature workers make good mentors. Having achieved career success, boomers are in a phase of their career life cycle where they are ready to pass on wisdom to the next generation of the workforce. They are less inclined to view younger workers as a threat to their own careers and more inclined to think about legacy and continuity.

Learning and development in organizations is a three-legged stool: education (classes, seminars); experience (projects, stretch assignments); and developmental relationships. These relationships are critical to individual and organizational success. They can be structured (formal supervision, mentoring) or they can occur naturally through work-based social networks.

In "The Social Life of Information," John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid make a powerful case for the value of these informal learning and knowledge-sharing networks that spring up in organizations. From a "human capital" perspective, older workers are a wise investment. They have knowledge and experience, and they appreciate the value of sharing it.

Making the Customer Connection

Boomers are customers. Pure demographics show us that the aging population will continue to be a large customer base with evolving tastes and needs. The helping orientation of mature workforce may be well-suited for customer-facing roles that require a service orientation. For some product and service markets, customers may relate well to a workforce that looks and thinks like them. SHRM(3) reports that older workers often have valuable, established networks of contacts and clients.

Mature workers add a diversity of ideas and approaches to the workplace. Eager to share their experiences, they can build connections with customers and colleagues.

"Ripeness of experience seeks brevity of expression."
- Leo J. Muir

References / Sources


  1. "Working Today: Understanding What Drives Employee Engagement." The 2003 Towers Perrin Talent Report (Towers Perrin is a global professional services firm that helps organizations around the world optimize performance through effective people, risk and financial management.)

  2. Bond, J. Galinsky, E. Pitt-Catsouphes, M., and Smyer, M. "The Diverse Employment Experiences of Older Men and Women in the Workplace. Research Highlight, November 2005. The Center on Aging & Work / Workplace Flexibility at Boston College. (Funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the center works in partnership with decision-makers at the workplace to design and implement rigorous research investigations that will help American businesses prepare for the opportunities and challenges associated with the aging workforce.)

  3. "Managing the Mature Work force." Research Report. The Conference Board, July 2005. (The Conference Board is a not-for-profit organization that creates and disseminates knowledge about management and the marketplace to help businesses strengthen their performance and better serve society.)

  4. "Older Workers Survey." Research Report June 2003 SHRM / NOWCC / CED (SHRM is the Society for Human Resource Management. It serves the needs of HR professionals by providing comprehensive resources and advances the HR as an essential partner in developing and executing organizational strategy; NOWCC is the National Older Worker Career Center, which focuses on expanding employment and training opportunities for workers age 40 and over through job placement, education, research, and advocacy; CED is the Committee for Economic Development, a nonpartisan organization of business and education leaders focused on policy research on major economic and social issues.)