US Government Expects Large Number of Baby Boomers To Leave the Workforce

By Claire Schooley

A government report published September 3, 2009 (and reviewed in a Washington Post article titled “Federal Government Needs Massive Hiring Binge”) reports on a detailed study of US Government positions that will become open requisitionss as Baby Boomers retire over the next four years. This concern about large numbers of government retirees is not new but this study makes some stark predictions that are eye-catching.

Top 10 Areas of Government Hiring in Next Four Years

Source: Partnership for Public Service

Retirement-age Baby Boomers are not like other generations. They fought and changed societal norms, government policies and business practices in the 1960s. Wherever then go and whatever they do, Baby Boomers leave a large wake in their path, and retirement and aging issues are no exceptions. As a result, the U.S. Government (and other governments as well in Europe and industrialized Asia) has to be ready for different approaches to retirement from this generation. Of course, some Baby Boomers will not retire because of financial concerns, the need for good health care coverage, or a heartfelt desire to continue to contribute doing work they like. Others will ask for part time or seasonal work as they gradually ease into retirement or even start that business that they’ve dreamed about. Still others will request more flexibility in work hours including working from home a day or two a week. But eventually Baby Boomers will retire and the Government must plan for:

• Creation of mentor relationships between Baby Boomers and Millennials—born between 1980 and 2000– (and possibly Gen x) workers so institutional and tacit knowledge is not lost.
• A redefinition of jobs as employees retire. Business processes– including new uses of technology–may redefine job roles so one-to-one replacement of retirees by new workers is not the norm.
• Succession planning so that a pool of employees is prepared to step into the retirees’ roles. Succession planning and career development functionality within talent management suites can assist with this task. The Washington Post article also states that the US Government may start hiring in areas like health care, security, and legal. Most likely Millennials will make up a large percentage of these new hires. This means the Government must think about the Millennial characteristics in order to recruit and then retain them as workers. Millennials want to see:
• Career growth opportunities that allow flexibility from the beginning (not flexibility they earn after years of employment). Examples include mentoring programs, secondment, opportunities to live abroad, etc.
• Learning and career development opportunities to increase existing knowledge and help with advancement, like training programs, certification opportunities, etc.
• Team collaboration supported as a way of doing work effectively and efficiently, including strong collaboration, video conferencing and Web 2.0 tools that support interaction between far flung team members.
• Up-to-date technology to speed up the work process; some of today’s applications seem hopelessly out of date to Millennials. Even with an unsettled economy and the high unemployment rate, the Government will find itself competing with the private sector to discover those workers with the special talents they need. To address those needs, today’s employers, and especially the government, need to be very familiar with the two largest generations in the workforce, the Baby Boomers (78 million) and the Millennials (76 million) and their vastly different characteristics, work desires, and expectations. To ignore these differences spells trouble in the changing workforce.