During the 60’s, the Boomers warned each other, “Don’t trust anybody over 30.” Gen X and Gen Y’s version may well be “Don’t trust anybody over 60.”
Why, you ask? The Great Recession of 2008 set back more than a few Boomers’ retirement accounts. Covid didn’t help either. While the financial markets have recovered much of 2020 losses, more than a few people, Boomers among them, lost their jobs. The end result is that many Boomers who planned to retire at 65 will want (need) to extend their work lives to make retirement possible.
This presents a real challenge for the career aspirations of Gen Y and Z. Pre-Covid, companies focused on acquiring talent, but keeping that talent requires an expectation on the part of younger workers that advancement opportunities will materialize on a timely basis. If Boomers’ late checkout blocks advancement, and/or your company doesn’t grow sufficiently to provide opportunities for them, Gen Y and X will look elsewhere. Check out this article from the Kellogg School of Management summarizing recent research where this is already happening : “Young Workers Lose Out When Their Coworkers Delay Retirement.”