Gen Z and baby boomers: a dream team?

"O.k., boomers!" is often heard derisively from Generation Z and the millennials. That sounds more like a conflict than a dream team. So how and where do the young and the old fit together? Where many people don't expect it: At work. We explain why, and what this means for companies.

It is well known that baby boomers are gradually retiring. But what is new is that more and more of them want to continue working. Why? There are many reasons, but the main one is: Staying professionally active, passing on knowledge, having a purpose, feeling needed, earning something extra.

But hardly any of the older people who are willing to work are looking for a new full-time job. Why should they? Enjoying a bit of retirement, spending time with friends, doing sports, traveling - that's what it's all about. And thanks to the (still) generous Swiss pension, most senior citizens are more concerned with the cause than the money when looking for a job.

So it should be a part-time position. The spectrum is wide, ranging from 10 percent to 80 percent, from regularly every week or as a full-time project for three months. An ad interim management position or a stand-in position if required. A few hours to prepare the annual accounts for an SME or on a commission basis in telesales. On site or from home, preferably with free time management so that the work does not clash with leisure plans. And in such a way that you can have an exchange with nice colleagues in the office as well as the peace and quiet of your own desk in the home office.

If you take a closer look at the desired job models, there are surprisingly many similarities with what Gen Z also wants: work from anywhere, at self-determined times, and please not full-time. In other words, a maximally flexible, hybrid and modular working model, as demanded by the advocates of "New Work". Generation Z has better things to do than subordinate their lives entirely to the dictates of work. It's about work-life balance and the fight against climate change, about purpose and personal freedom.

Companies need to adapt

The tried-and-tested, outdated full-time model that the majority of companies live by and propagate is therefore being nibbled at from two sides: from below by the younger generation and from above by the older generation. It is probably only a matter of time before the world of work has to change and declare the modular working models of New Work the new standard. A brave new world of work in which everyone can arrange their own times, workloads and locations to suit them best.

Companies are under pressure to act. There is already a shortage of staff everywhere, fueled by the demographic change of an ageing society and the current post-pandemic economic frenzy around the world. The labor market in Switzerland and abroad is virtually empty, in almost all sectors and at all levels. There is hardly a recruiter who is not complaining about simply not being able to find suitable employees. In such a situation, it seems only logical to adapt to the changing needs of regular employees and to work with other groups (retirees).

Intergenerational teams

One full-time position becomes three part-time positions - in job sharing models or simply with different tasks. This will become just as important in the future as outsourcing work to freelancers (keyword: gig economy) and short-term assignments for substitutes and temporary workers. Employees who are not "stuck" in a 100% full-time position and are only available with a long lead time are particularly valuable here. It is quite clear that all of this is a challenge for the organization of work in companies. But "business as usual" simply won't work.

But such a reorganization has even more advantages for companies. It has been scientifically proven that when young and old move closer together and cross-generational teams become the norm, the output of the teams also improves. The more diverse the teams, the better the results. And in times when D&I initiatives are becoming increasingly important, excluding the elderly is definitely "out".

The future belongs to the elderly!

Despite all the youth mania, the future belongs to the elderly. And it's high time we took the 60+ generation seriously. Why? One explanation.

The population is ageing. This is nothing new. But now that 55-year-olds already make up the highest proportion of the population in Switzerland and more and more baby boomers are retiring by the dozen, quite a few companies are finally starting to take the previously overlooked, ridiculed and sidelined group of senior citizens a little more seriously.

This increased focus is primarily driven by self-interest, above all by the unprecedented staff shortage in summer 2022. In addition to the well-known demographic trend, the economy is currently experiencing a massive post-pandemic reopening - and with it the massive search for staff that was cut during coronavirus. However, the labor markets are virtually empty and not enough applicants can be recruited from abroad either. As a result, companies are suddenly looking at older people in Germany as potential employees. According to the NZZ, there is a lack of suitable applicants, especially for management positions here.

The young old still have big plans

"Finally!", many a senior citizen will think. Because in view of increasing life expectancy and the high standard of living in Switzerland, young old people are fitter, more mobile, more active and more digital than ever before. We often hear that 60 is the new 40. Because they are a long way from a peaceful old age, a rollator and a nursing home. "I get bored just sitting at home," says Remo U., 65, an accountant from Zurich who has been retired for six months. And he is not alone in this. 60 to 75-year-olds in particular want to continue to have a job, pass on their experience and do something good for themselves. Because - and this has been scientifically proven - those who continue their education as they get older, who are curious and mentally fit, stay healthier and can therefore contribute more to the job market.

Even if our society still lives in a veritable youth mania, age is by no means a disadvantage for professional success. In fact, the opposite is true, according to numerous studies (for example in the HBR). After all, knowledge and experience, the main drivers of job performance, increase with age, even up to over 80. No wonder the whole world looks with respect at Warren Buffet, the now 92-year-old star investor from the USA, or that only two of the 46 US presidents were under 50 at the end of their term of office. Konrad Adenauer, Germany's first Chancellor and a defining figure of an entire era, was 87 when he stepped down.

There is also no age limit when it comes to learning new things. The NZZ recently reported that 70-year-olds are more open than 20-year-olds, based on a study by the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute (here). And who would have thought it, the older the start-up founders are, the more successful they are.

Companies need to adapt

So what is stopping companies in Switzerland from working more with older people? There are definitely enough motivated applicants; the online job platform seniors@work alone has over 10,000 candidates in its database. However, companies' structures are often not yet designed to employ people who are looking for something other than a traditional full-time position. But this is exactly what retirees are pushing for - part-time in any form, ideally in hybrid working models with home office and free time management. But they are not alone in this. Generation Z and the millennials also prefer this new way of working - keyword "New Work". So the change is probably only a matter of time.

Pensioners are also customers

However, senior citizens are becoming increasingly relevant to the economy not only as employees, but also as a group of buyers. This is because with increasing life expectancy, (still) good pensions and future additional wages at retirement age, the affluent clientele of the over-60s is becoming ever larger.

Targeted offers for older people can still be significantly expanded, especially as "senior citizens" are a very large segment, spanning around 30 years. Their interests and needs are correspondingly diverse. And products and services alone are not enough. Rather, older customers could also be looked after by people of a similar age - whether in sales, consulting or telephone support.

In the end, we have come full circle: neither on the employee side nor on the buyer side will we be able to avoid the old in the future!