OK Boomer…the flip side of the coin
An important global challenge today is the strain on social security systems and public pension funds due to the unpreparedness of governments to adequately address the increasing age of their populations. With the Baby Boomer generation being born in between the years 1946 -1964 and Generation X between 1965 and 1980, millions of people are now older and falling out of the active workforce.
These age groups were larger than the age groups coming after. With an increased life expectancy and increased care possibilities they are also able to live longer than previous generations. With the Baby Boomer generation disappearing and the Millennial generation increasing, the disparity is slowly being evened-out. It is still an ongoing problem and the current generations will not be able to retire at 65 as their parents and grandparents did. Discussions are taking place about not only increasing the pension age but also lowering the amounts given out as public pension. As it looks right now the following generations will not be able to enjoy their pension to the same standard as previous ones.
Adding to that there is currently a lot of negativity that is being projected by the younger generations towards the so-called “Boomers” for having polluted the environment, holding back social-justice and not promoting equality. The so-called “OK boomer “catchphrase. This in turn had led to backlash from the Baby Boomer generation in the form of accusing the younger generation of promoting “Cancel culture”, not having traditional values and being entitled.
One can say that there is almost open hostilities between the generations.
To get away from this bickering I want to highlight one topic that is not much mentioned.
What about the loss of knowledge?
It is not just that the number of workers becoming fewer and the social contributions lesser, that can in part be mended with measures such as increased immigration and new technologies in AI and robotics. But what about the sheer fact that all these people who are leaving the workforce are taking with them their most important assets:
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
I know that some of you reading this piece are looking forward to retirement and cannot wait to never have to go work again and never have to deal with someone else’s problem. But I also know that a lot of you would not mind having a side gig that you can do part time to keep your mind busy and to stay in touch with society. I also know that a lot of you still have skills, contacts and knowledge that would be invaluable to someone just starting out or looking to further their career. Maybe your current employer has not realized the value that you still hold but that does mean that everyone is so short sighted. But you can actually help someone else to bring the impact that you brought in your career by supporting them in learning how to “walk the talk”…maybe even in your shoes.
After video interviewing over 100 inspiring mentors, I can tell you that the solution might be in your hand as we speak. As a proud co-founder of Manatee-Mentor, I invite you to consider being a remote mentor and help us bridge the gap of knowledge. You can in fact, #payitforward by trying out our mobile digital app for mentoring, which is helping to break barriers such as distance, convenience, affordability and even prejudice.
Here is where we match mentors with mentees using AI and reward mentors for their time. If you are retired and feel that you still want to contribute and get involved, all it takes for you is to sign up to be a mentor and start using the app. You can even get your own mentor — by trying a reverse mentoring with one of your mentees and learning something totally unexpected from a youngster.
At this moment we are still in a Beta mode, but future versions of the app will enable you to monetize your engagement if you so wish. As for now we can only ask you to sign up as a volunteer mentor and help people with their choices.
Thank you for reading,
Claes Backman, COO-Manatee Mentor.
P.S Please tag and nominate someone who you think would be an excellent mentor in the comments below.
