Reaching retirement age is therefore less about complete liberation from the workforce and more about the opportunity to work more flexibly. The idea of the sideline, or side hustle, is also becoming increasingly relevant for Baby Boomers. On-demand staffing platform Wonolo, which offers blue collar and contractor jobs, reported that one in three (31%) of its Baby Boomer workers are taking on three shift jobs a week in 2019, compared to just 22% of Millennials.
As more brands acquire Boomer workers, they will need to consider how they can adapt both their benefits package and their office space to better suit this ageing workforce. Earlier this year, the Amsterdam-based co-working space TSH Collab explored this idea with its project Senior Spaces, in which its headquarters were transformed into an age-friendly working environment. Wheelchair-accessible ramps, chairs with deep lumbar support and a café serving health supplements were just some of the initiatives proposed by the brand to help support older employees.
A flat-age approach
A big part of the emotional shift away from retirement is linked to the fact that Baby Boomers do not subscribe to the term ‘elderly’ and – as the Brewin Dolphin survey quoted above illustrates – work is therefore an opportunity to keep their minds active and continue on their journey of self-improvement.
This year, Saga, the personal finance and travel company renowned for targeting the over-50s, experienced catastrophic losses. Michael Skapinker, associate editor of the Financial Times, attributes this decline to the brand’s inability to understand that Baby Boomers do not define themselves by their age. ‘When I was younger, I chaired a discussion about new opportunities to sell products and services to older consumers,’ writers Skapinker. ‘Now that I have reached the age we were talking about, I am not interested in these carefully directed products.’
