Still Working Full Time? Get Ready to Be Fired
01/13/2020
In modern-day America, nothing seems to be as tenuous as a Boomer's full-time job. The federal ADEA (Age Discrimination in Employment Act), intended to protect Boomers from employment-related age discrimination, has been found to be largely unenforceable when it comes to layoffs or firings, even if they appear to be motivated by the employee's age. Consider it one more empty government "guarantee" to protect citizens.
Writing for Knowledge@Wharton, Jeff Pundyk, former publisher of The McKinsey Quarterly, claims: "Mid- and late-career management is being hollowed out by consolidation, technology, the gig economy and globalization, leaving experienced workers unprepared to navigate the new world of work. ...Too often when experienced workers who have developed the skills to rise within an organization find themselves displaced or stuck among a shrinking cohort, their skills, expectations, and experience fail them. And the older they are, the greater the risk — and the tougher it can be to find something new."
Unfortunately, this may sound like very familiar territory to accomplished employed Boomers, who are the most vulnerable to the whims of corporate management when it comes time to jettison highly compensated employees. Pundyk writes "Those who can adapt will both shore up their value within their organization and be better prepared should they find themselves on the outs." He offers some excellent advice for Boomers in his article:
- Adopt an "untitled mindset."
- Develop a portfolio of projects.
- Save for the worst case.
- Embrace ambiguity.
- Always be learning.
- Know your story, and
- Tell it.
Read Pundyk's insightful article for further details on each of these strategies.
Pundyk's conclusion: "Having a job no longer solves for stability. It can provide some sense of security for as long as it lasts, but don’t mistake short-term security for long-term stability. With the right mindset, however, stability can come from you, not from your employer."
Excellent observations worth pondering.
HappilyRewired.com is a Top 75 Baby Boomer Blog.
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I like this but why do you not mention the opportunity of and encore career in business ownership . We see this every day in my world of Franchising. Control your exit strategy through business ownership. If you want to talk about that I would love to share what I have seen. Joe White
Posted by: Joe White | 01/13/2020 at 10:54 AM