COVER STORY

Janet Tucker, a career counselor in Exeter. Jackie Ricciardi photo

Since they have been old enough to take a stand, members of the baby boomer generation have been more than willing to express their opinion, work toward change and reflect on what they want for themselves.

So it should not come as much of a surprise that as many boomers are hitting middle age, they are wondering if their jobs are still satisfying and serving a purpose for the greater community. Some employers on the Seacoast and across the country are preparing for this transition. Yet others seem to be ignoring the fact that many of their tenured employers will not be working forever, a fact career counselors and developers say they must start considering or pay for it later.

Six years ago, the American Association of Retired Persons, or AARP, an organization aimed at helping those 50 years and older, introduced the Best Employers for Workers Over 50 Program. Each year, it recognizes those businesses the editors feel value employees in the baby boomer generation.

It is essential businesses consider the "mature worker" because "by 2014, nearly one-third of the total U.S. work force (32 percent) will be age 50 or older, up from 27 percent in 2005. As the proportion of younger workers continues to decline, attracting and retaining the mature, experienced worker will become increasingly critical for employers who seek to retain a competitive edge in today's marketplace," according to information from the AARP.

Across the Seacoast, baby boomers have been visiting with professionals like Janet Tucker, a career counselor for all ages in Exeter. Many she meets are between the age of 50 and 65 and not ready either mentally or financially to retire. They express a desire to try something different, work fewer hours or just an overall restlessness in their current positions.

"Employers need to be thinking about creative ways to keep their older employees connected or they are going to be short employees," Tucker said. "They are going to wake up and discover they've lost a lot of good people and they don't have the population coming behind them to make good replacements. It's a numbers thing."

Before the generation booms out of the workplace, Tucker said employers should consider allowing the current full-time employers to take on part-time roles or work as contractors, which could be a win-win for both the employee and the employer. Employers might also want to consider using the more mature employees as mentors to younger workers who have not yet gained the "expertise or wisdom" in the work place, she said.

"The response from the business community should be awareness," Tucker said. "There is a restlessness in this generation and maybe employers should take a more personal view of management to know what's going on for these talented people and what they need to do to keep them or what they need to do in planning. ... If you know you're going to lose a good person, start ahead of time to see who is going to take that person's place."

Blue Kilowatt President Jeanine O'Donnell finds great reward in working as a career coach for individuals looking for more satisfaction from their work. Amy Root-Donle

J.T. O'Donnell, a career development specialist with J.T. O'Donnell Career Insights in North Hampton, said the baby boom generation should also feel invested in the fact that boomers' knowledge may be lost if it is not transferred to new workers.

"If you want to see what you've created survive, then you've got to do this," O'Donnell said.

O'Donnell's mother, Kat Tanner, is a perfect example of a baby boomer who has decided to continue working into her retirement age, but found a way to create a rewarding position. Tanner worked as a nurse for quite some time before becoming a nurse manager. Tanner said she accepted the management position when she was younger because it was a way to move up the ladder.

Yet as the years went by, Tanner realized she missed working one-on-one with patients. So rather than retiring, Tanner went "back to the basics" and is working as a nurse at The Ridge at RiverWoods in Exeter.

"Management was a lot of responsibility and I found it challenging," Tanner said. "I began to realize there are other opportunities out there for me and I can still be content."

Tanner's decision was one that worked for her, yet it did leave a management position open, just as many boomers will when they decide to retire or change positions to suit their needs.

Some businesses in Portsmouth and those that support them have already begun addressing this issue.

Ginny Griffith, business development manager for the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber has already begun researching which businesses might face the most shortages in order to be proactive and find ways to fill those gaps.

"We're raising awareness to it so we can start advocating for businesses," Griffith said. "We need to find out what industries are going to be affected so we can start identifying those gaps in school systems to get kids interested at the earlier level."

Companies like Liberty Mutual and Lonza Biologics have been in touch with the chamber over the issue and have started to prepare, Griffith said.

Ginny Griffith, Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce's business development manager. Amy Root-Donle

Eileen Habelow, Randstad's regional vice president for New England New York, said her company, a temporary and contract staffing organization, has spent years preparing for boomers to retire.

"We have new people coming out of college (who will have to replace) a staffing agent that has been around for 20 to 30 years," Habelow said.

While some skills are more easily transferable, it was the customer relationships Randstad has been the most concerned about. With that in mind, Randstad has changed their hiring policy to be sure all employees will be willing and eager to work as a team, sharing databases and clients so that when one person leaves there will be a seamless transition.

O'Donnell said having the generations work together is essential because some boomers have been resistant to helping the younger generations.

Boomers have been working for years toward meeting deadlines and making a profit and therefore hardly any time has been spent mentoring. Now they are surprised when they are preparing to retire and "are hearing crickets and not seeing anyone who can take their place," O'Donnell said. "They've been too busy trying to meet bottom line."

After decades of hard work, many boomers have said to O'Donnell they are too busy to teach or they just do not understand the generations behind them.

O'Donnell has been working with multiple companies to help generations of workers find a common ground and move toward a vibrant future for all.

While the many generations in the work place may find themselves clashing at times, they also have some similarities. It is not just baby boomers who self-reflect on their careers and reconsider other options. For all those people desiring change or in the midst of transition, they often do not go it alone. People like Tucker and O'Donnell are available for both the employee and the employer.

Services

There is no "average" or "typical" person who uses counseling services. Many enter the door because they are looking for a change. Others have lost their job or decided not to relocate or take a new position offered.

When someone does decide to use the service, no matter the reason, counseling turns into inquiry and then intently listening to the answers. The talk with the client about the last position they held. The stories around how a person chose a certain profession are always interesting and different, counselors say. Some may have selected a path because their parent or loved one suggested it; others may have determined their career decades ago, when they were a freshmen in college.

Counselors want to look at the skills and interests a client has today and help them make a more educated, well-thought out decision about their future.

Judith Palais, a clinical social worker and therapist as well as career counselor, said she works with clients to determine where they can be successful. Her role is to help point people in the right direction, but she as well as Tucker and O'Donnell utilize their own network when working with people who are looking for a new career.

O'Donnell said she has met many different people who are professionally successful but miserable in their personal life.

"I was my own first client so I have a tight connection to this," O'Donnell said. "I decided to give myself career makeover because although I was successful, I wanted to find career satisfaction."

In her search for a new path, O'Donnell said she discovered she had so much to offer different professions but there was no one to turn to help her understand the jobs that were out there or how to determine what she would enjoy.

"There was no logical process," she said, adding that realization helped her to find her current path.

Now O'Donnell meets with clients to do just what she had been searching for years ago and providing employers with the workers, not matter the age.