A growing number of experts are suggesting a new demographic segment has entered the workplace: Generation U, or the Unretired.
The recession has driven many would-be-retirees back to the daily grind. For many though, retirement just wasn’t all they hoped it would be. Either way, research now shows older Americans returning to work are a considerable force to be reckoned with.
The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) says that 8 out of 10 baby boomers will keep working past retirement age.
The Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire also released a study confirming that, since the mid-1990s Americans are retiring less and working longer, reversing a decades-long shift to earlier retirement.
The study, "Older Americans Working More, Retiring Less", authored by Anne Shattuck reports that 22% of men and 13% of women over age 65 were in the work force in 2009, an increase from 17% of men and 9% of women over the age of 65 in 1995. The research also reveals the proportion of older adults working for pay is still growing thanks in no small part to the recession.
Meanwhile, a Charles Schwab study finds that as many as 9.5 million retired Americans are considering at least a partial return to the workforce and 32% of those currently employed expect to hold their job and delay retirement.
The Pew Research Center also reports that older adults are staying in the labor force longer, as younger adults are staying out of it longer. “Both trends took shape about two decades ago. Both have intensified during the current recession. And both are expected to continue after the economy recovers,” the group states. Pew cites one government estimate projecting Gen U workers will fuel 93% of the growth in the U.S. labor force from 2006 to 2016.
The good news is that older workers are the happiest workers, according to Pew. The group reports that roughly 54% of workers ages 65 and older say they are "completely satisfied" with their job, compared with just 29% of workers ages 16 to 64.
One reason older Americans may be happier in the workplace: perspective. "Someone returning to the office with a career full of experience, can more easily leave the enjoyment of work life in, and a lot of the pettiness out. With age, comes wisdom that allows one to see the forest for the trees. Imagine that,” said expert and author Lynn Taylor in a Psychology Today blog.
7/29/2010
Move Over Millennials, Make Room for Gen U: the...
via allvoices.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment