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Dealing with the Impact of an Aging Workforce

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Dealing with the Impact of an Aging Workforce
Dealing with the Impact of an Aging Workforce In 1946, America received its first round of baby boomers that continued for the course of 18 years in which more than seventy-nine million babies were born. With that being said, most of the first round of baby boomers are turning 66 this year while the last flood of baby boomers will turn 48 (About.com.Geography ). With this becoming a reality for many employers it is no wonder that management faces many new challenges. However, this challenge is around to stay. Many employers are faced with the first wave of baby boomers to have faced retirement last year and many more to come in the following years. This is alarming because in order to receive full retirement benefits you must be 65, however, you may start receiving benefits at the age of 62. In 1983, the government passed a law making the retirement age gradually higher until those born after 1959 will need to be 67 to receive full retirement benefits (Social Security Online). The havoc this creates for management is the fact that it with the retirement age increasing it means that employers must find way to keep the aging workforce satisfied. With this comes many challenges including learning how to manage an aging workforce, training the elder employees to ever changing rules and regulations, and training the new employees that are taking over positions. Managing the aging workforce can be difficult for companies because what is driving the new employees to come in the door is not what is keeping the old ones from leaving. Many of the new employees want to build a career, while the elder employees have already accomplished this goal in their life. However, the driving force behind both of them is to be able to provide an income to meet life’s needs. An employer trying to keep both younger and older employees satisfied can look to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. Maslow covers five areas of basic needs that can be applied to the workplace. These basic needs are


Cited: About.com.Geography . 27 March 2009. 1 April 2012. Eschtruth, Andrew, Steven Sass and Jean-Pierre Aubry. "Report of the Aging Taskforce." 8 February 2008. Center for Research. 2 April 2012. Maslows Theory of Motivation. 7 May 2010. 1 April 2012. Reeves, Scott. "Forbes.com." 29 September 2005. Business Basics. 2 April 2012. Social Security Online. 5 January 2012. 1 April 2012.
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