Retirement: The Times They Are A Changin’

(I wrote this article and it was originally published in the York County Coast Star on January 17, 2013)

I recently attended the retirement party of a local executive, and I suspect it will be the first of many. As I surveyed the gathering, I was struck by the “grayness” of the attendees. We are getting old.

 One could reasonably argue that my perspective is a bit distorted. After all, one is likely to mirror your professional colleagues. But in this case, the census corroborates my observations. The first wave of baby boomers has reached retirement and the number of persons 55 and older has increased by 43%. One in eight Americans is 65 or older and that will increase to one in five by 2030.  And the numbers are worse in Maine making our population the oldest in America.

The attendees at the party came from several organizations to honor the new retiree. One company was represented by four of their senior managers—three of whom have announced their own plans to retire within the next three years. In fact, the banter was about who’d get out first. While this made for good fun, it highlights a real business issue that we as a society face: a large number of our workers will be leaving the workforce and few companies are prepared.

A recent survey conducted by the AMA Enterprise showed that one in five companies is utterly unprepared for the sudden loss of leadership and nearly 25% have no succession plan whatsoever. Only 8% maintain comprehensive plans, never mind any kind of method to capture the knowledge of those future retirees as they walk out the door, never to return. With three senior managers leaving this company, nearly a century of experiences and knowledge will soon be lost. This could be devastating for the company.

All organizations, large and small must put plans in place now.

Job Satisfaction Takes A Dive

Only 45% of American workers are satisfied with their jobs according to the Conference Board’s annual survey of employee job satisfaction, well down from 61% reported in 1987. Few Americans indicated that they were happy with their jobs. In fact, the youngest group, those under 25, expressed the highest level of dissatisfaction ever recorded by any age group. But, before we think it is a youth issue, Baby Boomers, who make up 25% of the working population, had a satisfaction rating of only 46%, down from a high of 60% 20 years ago.

It is not hard to understand why employees feel as they do. The constant pounding from high unemployment, growing job security, and cuts and pay and benefits, continue to wear at workers. And, with no real relief in sight, we can expect to see these numbers to continue to erode.

 As bad as these numbers are, it does not tell the whole story. A downward trend in job satisfaction translates into a drop in employee engagement and productivity. That means problems in the workplace and an adverse impact in the organization’s ability to compete.

So what can employers do? Frankly, a lot. Employers who re-engage their workers will enjoy a huge competitive advantage. When workers find their jobs interesting, like their boss and believe in their company, and feel their boss appreciates them, then engagement and productivity soar. Employees consistently perform at a higher level when they enjoy going to work each day.

While the national news is not good, employers can take advantage of this situation to move their organization ahead by focusing on employee satisfaction. It just makes sense to do so.

To understand how to engage your workforce and increase employee productivity,  read Uncomplicating Management by Rick Dacri http://www.dacri.com/book_uncomplicating_management.htm