Old pros are leading the charge for flexible schedules
MIAMI -- The conventional wisdom is that working moms are leading the push to make employers more flexible. But studies are showing it is another demographic altogether -- older workers.
Baby boomers are making different kinds of plans late in their careers than people from earlier generations -- rather than retiring, many are seeking ``retirement jobs." These jobs allow them to earn money but have some flexibility in time, place, or duties. This trend shows boomers expect to rely more on their own ability to support their retirement. The question is, will employers accommodate them?
So far, only 30 percent of employers offer older workers opportunities to work fewer hours, a new survey by the international bank
But experts say that will change as businesses suffer from labor shortages and need workers with experience.
Some companies are creating job shares, pairing older workers with young moms. Others are restructuring jobs and adapting their pension policies to allow older workers to stay on part time or as consultants.
In Miami, Baptist Health South Florida responded to a nursing shortage by sending out about 45 invitations a few months ago. The letter bore a request: Return to your former jobs -- even in a scaled-back capacity.
``In healthcare, experience is valued. We don't want to lose out on all that knowledge," said Sheila Fyfe, a Baptist Health South Florida communications specialist.
Elizabeth Romero, a nurse at Baptist Hospital, will retire next month, sort of. She wants leisure time to visit with her son in Nicaragua. But when she returns to Miami, she ``wants to feel useful." So Romero worked out an arrangement where she will fill in as needed for nurses in her former department, radiation and oncology, who are out sick or on vacation.
Law firms, too, are beginning to understand the effects of an aging population. Many have changed their shareholder agreements, extending the mandatory retirement age to 70 or waiving it . Some, such as Miami's Shutts & Bowen, encourage older lawyers to remain as of counsel, a flexible arrangement that allows them to work on a few cases from home or the office.
Plenty of lawyers are looking for jobs, says Bowman Brown, chairman of Shutts & Bowen's executive committee. ``But there is a shortage of people who are experienced and have a depth of knowledge in a specialized area."
Still, the majority of US employers don't view this as an issue that affects them. A recently released 2006 global survey on the future of retirement by HSBC shows a contrast between the value US employers place on older workers and their willingness to give them the retirement jobs they want.
More than 93 percent of employers feel older workers are as productive as younger ones and 99 percent feel they are as reliable. But only 49 percent are willing to give them the reduced schedules they want, the survey shows. And, 51 percent believe the aging workforce is not an urgent issue.
``The employment prospects for workers over 60 are not as good as they should be," says Geoff Brooks, senior vice president for retirement services of
Brooks says older workers may need to negotiate arrangements indivividually , much like younger workers who seek flexibility. To get the retirement jobs they want, he says, older workers may have to cut deals to help employers keep costs down, such as trading their high hourly rates for flexibility.
Brooks's London-based bank has formed a global-aging task force to develop ways to retain the bank's older workers in countries where laws allow it. In the UK, HSBC offers older workers the opportunity to work in its advisory business half days from home .
``The pay and reward structure is not like a traditional salary," he says.
Meanwhile, there's another option for older workers who want to work because they need or want to earn money -- self-employment. For 10 years, the 55-64 age group has been most likely to start a business, according to a study released in May by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which promotes entrepreneurship.
Romero, the nurse, says she has friends who have taken both paths to phase into retirement. ``We want to slow down," she says, ``but we don't want to twiddle our thumbs."
