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Look out,
it’s coming! The Pluto in Leo
generation is blazing new trails again. In just five years,
the nation’s huge crop of baby boomers will start taking early retirement
as they come of age—retirement age, that is! We have followed baby boomer
trends for years, only to realize that where they go, so goes the market,
due to the mass consciousness of this generation.
In
years that follow, demographic experts warn, companies will search in
vain for younger workers to fill positions left vacant by retirees. But
there won’t be enough younger workers because birth rates fell after the
baby boom.
The
best way to avoid that grim scenario, many experts argue, is to reverse
policies that jettison older workers from the corporation, and start to
make better use of these employees. In a report released this year, the
Committee for Economic Development urged employers to find new ways to
recruit, train, retain and use older workers before it’s too late.
Saturn
Gives Us Clues
When
we think of our older citizens, we look to Saturn for clues as to how
the trends within the cycle will unfold. In April, 1996, Saturn entered
Aries, the first astrological sign, and began its new sojourn through
the zodiac. It will complete this 29-year
cycle in 2025. Recently, in May, 2000, just four years
into its cycle, stable Saturn joined up with Jupiter, the planet of growth
and progress, in Taurus, the sign of value and resources, to begin their
own twenty-year cycle.
A twenty-year growth and business cycle within the 29-year Saturn cycle
suggests a long-term trend of raising the value of older citizens.
Motivated
by today’s tight labor market and lack of skilled youth, more companies
are relying on mature workers to get the job done. “This is a matter of
tapping all relevant sources of talent in a tight labor market like we
have now… and doing so based on the demographics of the aging workforce,”
Mellon Bank’s Executive Vice President of Human Resources explains. The
effort means to embrace all individuals who are willing to work, who you
can count on to be there, who are trainable and who will be dedicated
to the organization. Mellon bank has the research data that shows older
workers possess those qualities! They are also planning to hire a total
of 1,000 a year with a new training program.
Businesses
that have a large percentage of annual turnover are seeking older workers
because they remain in the company up to three times longer.
The
Knowledge Keepers
Other
companies are tapping the skills of people age 50 and up. After all, they
are the knowledge keepers! Older people have the experiences and skills,
which now will be updated to better serve them and the community through
their jobs and careers.
Some
of their roles may involve recruiting, mentoring, teaching new consultants,
leading a client group, knowledge management or writing and speaking (Jupiter).
All of these tasks are focused toward self-betterment and raising confidence
in the mature person who is not ready to retire and sit on the front porch
just yet!
Who
Says You Gotta Retire at 60 or 65?
Look
at United States Senator Strom Thurmond, in his 90s, who is the senior
senator from the state of South Carolina and also the senior member of
the United States Senate. Longevity is increasing, and we must honor our
seniors by allowing them the opportunity to live full and satisfying lives.
Deloitte
Consulting will name its first “senior partners” this year in a bid to
retain seasoned executive talent that might retire. Their net worth is
increasing and they could easily retire at 55, but the company doesn’t
want the brain drain. You can’t replace the experience and knowledge these
people have attained. This is an example of pure Jupiter conjunct Saturn
in Taurus expression!
The
Aerospace Corporation is retaining the expertise of retired engineers
by hiring them back as casual, part-time workers. As of this writing,
260 “retiree casuals,” many in their 70s, were putting in from eight to
40 hours a week. After retiring, these engineers come back to work and
receive an hourly paycheck in addition to their pension. U.S. West, with
many employees eligible to retire, hopes age diversity training will boost
retention.
Companies
will need to think about the changes they can make. The population is
aging, and there are fewer and fewer younger people. The time has come
to learn to recruit, train and retain older people. They are our knowledge
keepers.
Notes
The
Pluto in Leo generation is the first wave of the “baby boomers.”
Between 1946 and 1964, the United States experienced an exceptionally
high rate of birth, which we have since come to call the Baby Boom. In
part because of their sheer numbers, the generation born during this period
has had a profound impact on society and the economy throughout all the
stages of their lives. During 1946-1958 Pluto was in the sign of Leo,
and during that time more “boomer” babies were born than from 1958-1964,
when Pluto was in the sign of Virgo. Therefore, Pluto in Leo people will
be the first wave to experience the senior trends.
Twenty-nine
years is the time it takes Saturn to make one complete revolution
in its orbit, or to return to a given point (i.e. Aries) in its orbit,
measured by its recurrent alignment to a particular star. This is often
called the sidereal period of Saturn.
The
Jupiter-Saturn cycle lasts twenty years (the span between their
conjunctions) and correlates with disciplined growth and advancement.
Each new cycle brings us another level of expansion and progress within
boundaries or limits of certain themes or issues, so that over a period
of twenty years we can see tangible results. The fact that the conjunction
took place in Taurus, a sign traditionally associated with resources and
values, suggests an important turning point in the way we will see tangible
and intangible resources and values defined.
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