A record-high 11 million jobs are waiting to be filled across the U.S. This boom in available openings? You can thank the Baby Boomers.

According to Pew Research Center, the rate of retirement in Baby Boomers has accelerated since the start of COVID-19 with almost 29 million boomers retiring in 2020 – An increase of more than 3 million from 2019.

With 75 million Baby Boomers retiring by 2030, The Great Retirement is looking to supersede The Great Resignation as the biggest hiring trend for 2022. Here’s what you need to know:

How will Baby Boomers retiring affect the workforce?

One in four workers in the U.S. is a Baby Boomer, amounting to 41 million total employees. This trend of mass retirement will lead to an even wider workforce gap as companies race to fill positions left by retirees. As these workers also normally hold higher-level management positions due to their extensive working experience, the competition to find replacements will be tough with many businesses turning to recruiters to look for top talent.   

Why are Baby Boomers retiring now?

While Baby Boomers fall in the generation most at-risk for COVID-19, the main driving factor for retirement isn’t health-related. They’re looking for a better quality of life.

Famous for their strong work ethic and dedication (40% have stayed with their employer for more than 20 years), Baby Boomers commit to their jobs more than any other generation. After 40+ years in the workforce and a global pandemic, they’re re-evaluating their work-life balance. With quarantine rules keeping them at home but isolated, many are choosing to trade in their 9-to-5 for more time with friends, family, and to travel.

Those most likely to retire early? Women over the age of 65 are the group with the most retirees while the Hispanic Boomer population saw the biggest increase in retirement rates. Boomers residing in the Northeastern U.S. also saw a large increase in those retiring.

What can be done to prevent a workforce gap?

While Boomers may want to spend their golden years away from the office there is a silver lining to The Great Retirement: There’s a whole new generation (and two others) ready to work. Investing in these workers and supporting their development will be crucial to closing your workforce gap. Here’s how to attract and retain young employees:

1. Offer flexibility in the workplace

Gen X workers and Millennials are often working parents or caregivers to their parents or grandparents. With quarantine rules and distance learning changing often and suddenly, you’ll need to be supportive of employees who are pulling double duty working and taking care of their family during the day. Offering more flexibility to parents by letting them work from home and by measuring their performance on results (not hours worked) will help retain valuable employees who won’t have to choose between family and their job.

2. Close skills gaps with reskilling and upskilling

Younger workers, especially Gen Z, won’t have the decades of experience that retiring Baby Boomers have. Instead of brushing-off young talent for a lack of skills, take the time to train them on the skills they need. If your company doesn’t have a formal training program ask them to enroll in online courses like our Aspire Academy. There are dozens of training courses available at no cost.

3. Mentor, don’t manage

For many young people, a position in your company may be their first professional job out of college. They don’t just need a salary but need guidance on how to progress in their careers. In a recent survey, younger workers reported wanting feedback from their managers more frequently than their older colleagues signifying they need more support to know they are doing their jobs correctly. They also rank mentorship among the three most important aspects of choosing where to work. Setting up a mentorship program will not only attract top young talent but keep them engaged and loyal to your company.

Is your company feeling the effects of The Great Retirement? At Adecco, we pride ourselves on finding and connecting top talent with the right opportunities. Learn more about our staffing solutions and keep reading our blog to discover the other top hiring trends for 2022.

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The COVID-19 pandemic upended work as we know it, and the hybrid model is here to stay – whether employers want it or not. However, it’s an opportunity to reimagine how we think about work. So, as you and your team continue a sporadic return to the office, what ways of working will ensure everyone feels supported, included, and ready to perform at their best? Below, we list five hybrid work opportunities identified in The Adecco Group’s Resetting Normal research and offer our insights into harnessing them.

Better work-life balance for parents

Constant juggling. Crazy hours. Who said remote work was the promised land for working parents? Although 50% of parents said their work-life balance had improved in the pandemic’s wake, parents increasingly prefer to set boundaries between work and family time. Hybrid working gives workers more control over their schedule and shortens their commute time. Flexible work environments are especially highly valued by moms (81%), dads (73%), and those with caring responsibilities (79%) – but parents want to spend more time at the office (51%) than the rest of their colleagues (42%). Cloud-based collaboration tools give working parents the best of both worlds, empowering everyone to work from wherever suits them. Thankfully, driven by the pandemic’s urgency, most firms have already adopted these game-changing tools.

Rethinking the virtual workplace for younger employees

More than half of the nation’s total population are millennials, Gen Z, or younger. But young workers are feeling isolated and are finding it hard to grow their careers without the in-person networking their older colleagues enjoyed. It is vital to find ways to keep younger employees engaged and make sure they have experienced people around to help them grow. As teams and leaders get used to connecting with each other virtually, hybrid workplaces are facilitating relationships between colleagues who are far-flung, multi-generational, and of various seniority levels. Hybrid makes it easier to expand the reach of career-boosting programs like mentorship. ‘Reverse mentoring‘ is on the rise in the hybrid environment, too, helping young workers build vital skills, while giving leaders invaluable insights that help them stay relevant to younger colleagues and customers.

Collaborating and building community in the virtual workplace

From collaborative virtual meetings to virtual polls to whiteboarding: 63% of respondents said their digital and remote working skills improved during the pandemic. Communication and brainstorm increasingly take place on open online platforms, often incorporating real-time translation so colleagues of various language abilities can contribute. Instead of ideas staying stuck jotted on someone’s notepad, they get refined and turned into actionable tasks and scalable solutions. This ‘working out loud,’ approach also makes it harder to hide inaction or mask poor performance. Done right, hybrid working means expanded collaboration for faster innovations and a more open working culture.

Creating an inclusive future of work

Diverse teams drive innovation. Shifting to a hybrid working model is expected to create more opportunities for people with disabilities (75%), working parents (73%), and those from diverse backgrounds (69%). As well as making it easier for existing employees to fully participate, the hybrid workplace allows employers to hire and onboard remote workers from new, untapped talent pools across America and beyond.

At Adecco, we’re experts in helping employers like you navigate all aspects of today’s tricky employment and economic environment. From white papers to case studies to research papers, we have a wealth of insight on the changing world of work. Also: read our tips on managing remote teams, understanding employee absenteeism, energizing employees during tough times, and tackling ghosting coasting.

Learn more about how we can help your business thrive.

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