The Baby Boomers
When money is sufficient for retirement
People in this generation generally have some savings. They have little or no debt.
If you have sufficient retirement investments, savings, and even pension or future defined benefits payment, then you are able to leave the job market voluntarily at any time under your own terms.
Time with grandkids will be on your list. So is taking holidays.
These Boomers will be the lucky ones.
There’s no pressure to stay in the job market much longer than they need to. Hence, they really don’t care about the future of work and what it means for them.
When there is insufficient money for retirement
But if you do not have sufficient savings to live on for retirement (or you just want to work), then you will have to plan to work as long as possible. You will try to hang on to a job (or being employed) for as long as your health permits.
Poor health, illness, and disability will be your downfall. As we age, we will be more susceptible to these challenges.
Impact of automation
If your job can be transformed through automation, then there’s no job security for you. There are certain professions, industries, and even countries that are predicted to be impacted by automation more than others.
There are two choices for you.
Either do nothing, hoping and praying that your job will remain secure until you retire.
Or you could re-learn and up-skill yourself now and improve your job security. By doing so, you become more job-ready and future-ready for the inevitable.
For some people, it is a question of when not if.
In the first option, you just decide to take a risk to stay in your current job without any re-skilling. You may just be too comfortable with what you are doing. You may not want to go back into the classroom to study again. Opening the books is not on your agenda with family and life taking priority.
Perhaps you can find a job that does not require you to re-skill and re-educate. But as you get older, ageism does come into the equation. You may find it difficult to find another job to your liking.
If you do get another job, you just want to stay as long as you can.
The second option is for you to invest in yourself. The plan is to be job-ready and future-ready. You decide to re-skill or up-skill. You will spend time and money on your professional development.
There are a number of employable skills that current and future employers are looking for. Acquire these skills and you have better job security. Your income source will also be secured.
Hopefully, by doing this, it will overcome any ageism issues.
Higher likelihood of job redundancies
Here’s the reality.
There is a higher likelihood that you may be made redundant because of your age. You can be forced to leave the workforce involuntarily.
Age discrimination is very real in a lot of workplaces. As you get older, ageism is going to be your greatest enemy.
Older workers are usually the target of organisational restructures and redundancies. As they climbed the corporate ladder to earn higher salaries and better jobs, they become more vulnerable to cheaper labour and updated knowledge in the form of younger job applicants.
You may also find it difficult to change jobs because employers may not hire an older worker for a variety of reasons.
Just hang on to your job, even if you hate it
So, you are stuck in the future of work!
You may hate your job like a majority of workers. You only stay because you need to pay the bills.
That’s why there are so many people disengaged at work. There are so many unhappy people working in dead-end jobs.
But there’s light ahead because there are not many years to go until you retire.
Minding your own business
If you are relying on Government pension or support payments as the main source of your income, the bad news is that qualifying rules will slowly tighten as more Boomers become eligible for support payments.
Governments will have no choice but to borrow more money to finance increasing pension and welfare payments. It will come to a point where there’s not enough money for you to live on government payments.
So, what can you do, when that happens?
Creating your own job opportunities
According to FreshBooks 2018 Self-Employment Report, 49% of freelancers are more than 50 years old, and 32% of Boomers who work full-time now plan to freelance in the next five years.
Freelancing will be an avenue for Boomers to create their own job opportunities, independent from full-time employment that could be limiting for them.
Be healthy to remain employable
Health-wise, physical illness or injuries, disability, or even old age may prevent you from working longer even if you wanted to.
Keeping fit and healthy should always be one of your goals in life.
From personal experience, employers do not like their workers to take large amounts of sick leave. Unfortunately, many workers think that sick leave is an entitlement, not a privilege.
Corporate knowledge leaving organisations
Significant corporate and industry knowledge will leave businesses and workplaces when Boomers retire.
This can be a real problem as this brain drain may cost companies money especially when the nature of work is intellectually based. Younger hires may not have the same level of capability and experience when compared with older workers.
If your work involves significant creativity, innovation, and problem-solving, then you are in a good position. Your job is more stable. Your job is more secure compared to the rest of the workforce.
If you work in an intense knowledge-based industry or professional services, then your job may be more secure until artificial intelligence sets in. Keeping yourself updated will be your constant challenge.
However, if your job is labour-intensive, then you do not have job security. Younger or fitter job seekers will be your competitors.
When a Boomer struggles to cope with the ever-changing working landscape and technological influences, they will ultimately leave the workplace involuntarily all together.
In summary
The future of work for Boomers can be rosy for some, but bleak for others.
Along with financial issues including high debt and declining pensions, social factors such as loneliness are another reason boomers are experiencing more difficult retirement years than previous generations.