Boomers & All Generations Should Let Go of Past Mindsets

 Boomers may be generations that can’t let go now, but some of the same characteristics may come to define Gen X, millennials and even Gen Z. Yes, friends, someday you too will be old! What that means is that younger people could stand to be little more understanding of their older counterparts and take away some lessons from it, too. The same goes for all boomers, that work life balance thing the kids enjoy these days is actually pretty great.

It’s great that people are living longer, healthier lives and staying active for longer. Ageism is real and efforts to fight it are a positive development. At the same time, the way baby boomers are holding on to the past can feel a bit extra. It fosters a sense of frustration among younger generations looking to carve out their own spaces in boardrooms, legislative bodies, daily lives and homes. Baby boomers have a reputation for being a selfish, only believe in what they already know, materialistic generation and in their golden years, that’s translating to a generation that won’t change or let go.

GENERATIONS

Before getting too down on the boomers, however, it’s also important to recognize that this is where some countries are also heading. When the country’s population is aging and no matter the generation, time marches on them. In 30 years, we’ll likely be hearing, OK, millennials!

GENERATION'S YEARS

One of the main reasons baby boomers are sticking around is the simple fact that they’re living for a long time. Some country’s life expectancy was 68 in 1950; it’s now 79 or more. Longer life spans have led to people across all age groups living their lives more slowly, they’re getting married later, having children later and buying homes later and, of course, having a healthy choice of eating and keeping fit better. This chronological extension happens for older people, too, who may retire later and stay in their homes longer.

Although, it’s good to appreciate their contributions strong will for any changes that was absolutely required for society to live together in peace. It’s not just longevity that’s a factor. Retirement has become more precarious as workplaces have shifted away from traditional pensions and some older people have no choice but to continue working. Social Security also incentivizes people to put off hanging up the professional towel because benefits are lower if you retire and start collecting a little early and higher if you collect later. Outside the financial incentives, many boomers just prefer to keep working, they think it keeps them healthy and their identities are deeply intertwined with work & mates. After all, boomers were the generation that practically invented the hustle culture.

DYNAMIC LEADERS OF PEACE & ENTERTAINMENT GENS

In some culture, they’re just so tied up with their jobs & mates that it’s just unclear to people what else they would do.

Many boomer business owners are holding onto their operations well past typical retirement age and they’re sticking around in CEO suites, too. While CEOs themselves often take the blame for their companies’ age problems, as a result, lots of the issues emanates from their bosses & the board of directors. Boards are made up of the same age or older people and so it’s this ongoing psychosis, especially at the board level, a pretty cushy lifestyle, so why would they give that up?

A lack of succession planning will eventually come back to bite businesses, unfortunately, time comes for us all, at which point, up and coming leaders will have to scramble or companies will have to rely on less than conventional setups like the rising tide of company CEOs. One millennial and one Gen X were selected to replace outgoing boomer chief. What even is that?

Many of world’s most prominent political leaders are in their 60s, 70s and even more than 80s, including Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi,  Paul Biya, Mahmoud Abbas, Salman bin Abdul-Aziz al Saud, Harald V, Ali Khamenei, Sergio Mattarella, Elizabeth II, Robert Mugabe...

It’s not outright bad for a politician to be older, but there are drawbacks. Older people clinging onto political & any business power may also be out of step with new technologies, cultural shifts or ways of thinking. Succession is also a problem. As much as progressives would like for boomers to be immortal, they will not and they’d best look for a big seat to continue their God given right until they fall or falter.

Boomers are just more political. They’re more interested in politics & past ways of supremacy. They hold more political offices. Public perceptions of age in politics have also shifted. American actor, Ronald Reagan, was 69 when he was first elected in 1980 and at the time, that was considered very old.

This day and age, Donald Trump and others are elected at what might seem old age of the retirement pack. The incumbency advantage is stronger in some country’s political system as opposed to, say, a parliamentary system, where a party may be better able to elevate new leadership on its own. Instead, long serving members hang on to their seats in no small part due to knowledge & familiarity. The benefactor class is also dominated by older, wealthier people. It’s rare to have a strong youth bias here.

But perhaps the most fraught intergenerational issue of the day is the one that hits closest to home, literally. Many boomers have been resistant to selling their homes and downsizing for a variety of reasons, they’re still confident they can stay in their family homes. Health wise they’ve invested a lot of money and time in their abodes and they don’t want to take on a new, higher interest mortgage. But even when they are moving, they’re not really moving down the housing ladder, they’re moving laterally.

Families, political parties, businesses, teams, organizations, they all need to devise ways for the young people to succeed the aging boomers mutually.

Boomers are the biggest share of homebuyers today. They move to be closer to friends and family and to enjoy their retirement, but they’re not seeking out smaller places they’re not used to. They suggest that they’re moving for downsizing, but looking at the data, they don’t by much. That means they’re competing with younger homebuyers, but have a significant financial advantage too. Half of homebuyers in their 70s do pay cash, as do 40% of people in their 60s. By comparison, 5% of millennials and 15% of Gen Xers pay cash. If they are financing, they are financing a smaller share of that purchase than other buyers because of bogus guidelines by financiers.

Some level of generational conflict is a fact of humanity. The olds feeling like the youngsters don’t know what they’re doing and the young people feeling like the olds are out of touch, which is an eternal battle. A 20 something may envy a 70 something for their accumulated wealth, while that 70 something wishes they had the 20 something’s energy. And they’ve just got to figure out how to get along and move forward peacefully, without creating another never-ending war of the Middle East.

THE SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH GENERATIONS

Families, political parties, businesses, teams and organizations, all need to devise ways for the young to succeed the old peacefully. This is a constant conflict throughout history and it requires some orderly resolution of the opposed interests of the young when they want or desire the resources and power that their senior boomers are reluctant to relinquish.

There are elements that are unique to the modern moment. In entertainment, part of the reason it doesn’t feel like there are as many young, huge stars are the decline of monoculture. The internet and modern media have us so chaotic that we rarely consume the same things, making it harder for new young actors to supplant their older, already established peers.

Part of the reason boomers have been able to accumulate so much wealth is that they’ve had generally favorable economic conditions throughout their lifetimes and were able to save up a lot of money and buy a lot of stuff. Despite their collective financial comfort, living longer means they might want to work longer to make sure they don’t run out of money in retirement.

Nevertheless, baby boomers staying in the mix longer should be seen as a good thing and an indicator of where the country’s headed. As the population is aging, the median age is expected to surpass previous age years by 2040.

It’s great to see more of an emphasis on older people in a positive light, because all of the ageism is really out of touch with where some countries are now and where it’s headed demographically.