It may be hard to picture this reality, but approximately 10,000 baby boomers are retiring every day. Can you see it? Probably not. If you’re still working, maybe in a large company, you don’t notice. Maybe it seems like there are more retirement parties but it doesn’t give you a clue that it’s 10,000 a day. If you’re no longer working, you would have even less perspective on that number.
As a practical matter, what does it mean? For one thing, it makes a lot of space for millennials and Gen Xers to move up the ladder, which is a good thing. The downside is the loss of institutional memory for how the company works and how things get done. It’s definitely a case of “you won’t miss it until it’s gone” and for some companies and organizations it can spell disaster. Coupled with a shortage of candidates to step into the boomer vacated jobs, the loss of these retirees can put the brakes on the efficiency of both private and public sector organizations.
If you are retired or about to retire and think, “Well, it’s not my problem.” Think again. If the companies and organizations that we rely on for healthcare, utilities, groceries, etc. become less efficient/competent, the end result impacts our wellbeing.
Millennials and Gen Xers will figure it out and life will go on, but baby boomers may need to change their expectations regarding how well their former companies and organizations deliver. You can already hear some boomers saying “well that’s not the way we did it” or “they need to get their act together.”
If we think AI will pick up the slack, we need to be realistic. Artificial intelligence will be a dominant force in every industry and service but it may be unable to replicate the institutional memory that 40 or 50 years of service can provide.
It’s hard to predict how this will all shake out, but there’s no doubt there will be many declarations that “it’s not the way we used to do it.” And that’s okay. Younger generations of management along with AI may prove to be the path toward products and services that are better than what we were able to produce. If that comes to pass, we will all be better off.
Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.
