Motivate Baby Boomers to keep them in the workplace longer
Stress for Success
April 11, 2006



Last week I gave a thumbnail sketch of the oldest generation in today's workplace, the Veterans. This week we’ll consider the next generation, the Baby Boomers, the largest of all time. The birth years I use for this generation are 1943 to 1960, making boomers 46 to 63 years old this year. Through their 76 million the U. S. population had its first expansion in 200 years.

Unlike the vets, the boomers grew up in times that were far more optimistic. With the war and the economic hard times behind her, America was on the move. Sure, there was the Iron Curtain with its ubiquitous threat of nuclear annihilation, but America was ahead of the communists. Anything seemed possible, like beating the Soviets to the moon.

Life was still pretty simple. Many didn’t lock their doors at night. Families gathered around not the radio but the TV watching I Love Lucy. The homemaker mother and employed father both worked hard to make sure their kids had more than they had. They doted on their little boomers and told them they could be anything they wanted to be.

Boomers’ sheer numbers demanded attention. They became known as the "me generation" with their legendary quest for personal and immediate gratification.

As with all generations, the boomers thought they invented rebellion. And rebel they did.

The events of the tumultuous 1960s were brought into livings room across America by TV: the Vietnam War with its deadly, daily body count and related upheavals like the anti-war demonstrations, three assassinations, violence surrounding the 1968 Democratic Convention and the Kent State killings. If this weren't enough there was also the civil rights movement unfolding with its own marches and race riots.

Many boomers became very active in the movements of their day and distrustful of authority (“don’t trust anyone over 30”) for the mess they’d made of the world. Life should be fairer and their world wasn’t fair.

The most stunning social change was “the pill”. With reliable birth control women marched into the workplace and educational institutions in huge numbers. Their expectations for equality expanded and the Women’s Liberation (or as my brother calls it, the women’s lip) Movement was reborn.

The motto for this generation became, "drugs sex and rock 'n roll". The sexual revolution and the drug culture were born. Woodstock was a symbol.

The 1970s brought great cynicism in politicians over Vietnam and Watergate leaving younger boomers less optimistic and cause-oriented. They’re more like the next generation, the skeptical Gen Xers.

Because it's such a huge generation, boomers have always had to compete with each other for everything so possessions and visible status symbols are prized. It’s also why there are so many workaholics among them and why they have conflicts with those who don't take their work seriously and aren't willing to put in the extra hours.

Given how boomers grew up it makes sense that they value optimism, service, consensus and teamwork. Health, wellness and personal and spiritual development through lifelong learning are also important. Even though historically over-achievers, life balance is becoming increasingly vital.

To alleviate some of the employee shortage problems, encourage boomers to put off full retirement by:

• Creating relationships with them in a personable and casual workplace that is fun, warm and humane
• Helping satisfy their need for personal gratification and financial security by offering benefits that allow them to have greater balance and also earn enough to maintain their cherished lifestyle into retirement
• Involving them in problem-solving, which is their forte
• Offering visible rewards that imply status, such as public recognition and visibility as star performers within the organization

Next week we’ll look at Gen X, the most misunderstood generation.

Jacquelyn Ferguson, M. S., of InterAction Associates, is a trainer and a Stress Coach in Lee County. E-mail her at http://www.jackieferguson.com/ or call 239-693-8111 for information about her workshops on this and other topics. Register for her open enrollment seminar on June 9 at FGCU, Bridging the Generation Gap (590-7815).