Generational gridlock: Are older workers clogging the career pipeline?
There’s no question that “unretirement” is an ever-growing force in the SuperAging world. And now (not that the trend can or should be stopped) some are noticing its effect on younger workers.
As reported here, “with older workers staying on jobs longer, there are now five generations in the workforce and the career ladder has become crowded at the top. Young workers say this has made it harder to launch their careers and get promoted.”
How many older workers? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2 million members of the “Silent Generation” (born between 1928 and 1945) are still fully employed in the USA, in addition to 21 million Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964).
The article quotes Nicola Bianchi, a labor economist at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management: “The boomers benefited from a variety of structural changes to the labor market. These shifts—like delayed Retirement, the high cost of moving jobs, and stagnant firm Growth—have a been a boon to older workers, keeping them in higher-paying positions for longer.” This makes it harder for younger workers to “reach the ranks held by older workers. Instead, they face lower wages, slow career growth and frequent job changes.”
The numbers tell the story. In 1990, workers older than 55 made up 10 percent of the labor force. Today, it’s 23 percent. Bianchi describes the situation as “generational gridlock.”
And it could pose a problem for companies, inhibiting their ability to recruit and retain younger workers if they can’t offer high wages and the potential to be promoted. “It is going to be one of the biggest issues facing firms,’’ Bianchi says.
Younger workers are responding. The article quotes career consultant Karen Litzinger, who “said she has had several clients who chose to look for new jobs since the next step up was held by someone who planned to stay until retirement. Interestingly, some of her clients who wanted to move “because they reached a ceiling at their organization didn’t seem to resent the boomers staying in their jobs, but just accepted it as a fact of life.”
That last observation is particularly important for the SuperAging revolution. As “unretirement” (at least compared to the traditional retirement age of 65) becomes more widely accepted “as a fact of life,” we can expect the trend to get even stronger, with more people opting for it but also more resources being available to encourage it and manage it, from financial planners to retirement coaches. Nothing is slowing this down!
More on work and unretirement:
The 80-year-old worker is now a thing
Less than half of financial advisers think their clients are ready for retirement
1 in 4 adults over 50 who aren’t retired expect to retire…never
What if the job market actually needs older workers?
More Americans want to start a business than retire
Nearly half of US adults say retiring at 65 is “unrealistic”
