The 1960s – the decade and the workers who were born in it

Many people who were born in the 1960s and are in their 60s today have found the corporate world not quite as welcoming as it was when they entered the workforce as freshly minted college graduates.

While those in their later years previously were valued for wisdom, experience and insight, many hiring managers in today’s technology-driven job market seem to favor the younger generations. This decision may be costly for many companies.

The 1960s brought upheaval across America and revolutionary change, from civil rights to corporate life. The popularity of television delivered cultural phenomena right to our living rooms. Music, fashion, politics, sports, celebrities, world news, travel — the decade opened our collective eyes to the good, bad and ugly around us and taught us to interact in new ways.

The 1960s also ushered in the end of the baby boomers (the generation born between 1946 to 1964) — many of whom are now retired or thinking about it. This year will see the largest number of Americans hitting age 65 (which traditionally has been thought of as retirement age).  More than 4 million people will turn 65 each year from 2024 through 2027, according to estimates from the Retirement Income Institute at the Alliance for Lifetime Income.

Just as the 1960s brought significant cultural change, those born in the early part of that decade are ushering in their own decade of change, with many choosing — or needing — to continue working.

Hiring managers often equate younger employees with lower pay (and therefore lower overall personnel costs). But hiring only younger people could have implications that counterintuitively drive costs up. Some studies have shown that older employees tend to have less turnover, take less time off, and have deep bench knowledge and skills making them adaptable and valuable.  Older employees may be less interested in ladder climbing and promotion seeking, since they may feel content with their professional achievements and more focused on finding satisfaction from the work itself and their contributions.

So what’s the right solution for hiring managers and not-quite-ready-to-retire 60s people?

• Enjoy the unprecedented access to today’s five generations of highly qualified employees in the workforce (traditionalists, boomers, Generation X, millennials and Generation Z) and what they bring to the table.
• Find the value in each generation, and more importantly in each employee. Reward them realistically for their contributions.
• Don’t label or stereotype — integrate and innovate instead. No one person has everything it takes, so instead of defaulting to perceived generational differences, be open minded to collaborative work environments that leverage opportunities and strengths. Develop peer networks, reverse mentors and team-based work groups to get the best out of everyone.

Companies that open their doors to multiple generations will gain a competitive advantage. Employers can balance the heartbreak of trying to hire another Gen Z or millennial who is job hopping for a perceived “grass is greener” scenario, with the heart burn of working with a baby boomer who may be slower to pick up cloud computing and artificial intelligence, but whose human intelligence is built on years of resources and experience.

Sherri K. Lindenberg is the principal of SKLD MarComms. Contact her at sherri.lindenberg@innfeedback.com.

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