Covid’s squeeze on Boomers is coming for us all

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My 85-year-old father quietly left his job as a cashier at Walmart as the pandemic took hold in the U.S. He is reluctant to admit his decision was over fears for his health, but I didn’t hear him considering the idea before everyone became experts in the spray radiuses of airborne droplets or before it was clear that older people were at greater risk of dying from COVID-19 than younger ones. 

My dad chose to leave, but not everyone has a choice. Coronavirus is upending employment and the way we live with no definitive answers in sight about how badly or for how long. Millions are unemployed and experiencing pain and uncertainty in unique ways. But for older workers exiting the workforce voluntarily or involuntarily, there is the added stress of considering that they may not return. 

According to the CDC, “eight out of ten COVID-19-related deaths reported in the United States have been among adults aged 65 years and older.” With harrowing numbers like those, it’s understandable that older workers may not feel comfortable returning to work; and that’s if they are asked back at all, as companies try to do more with less. 

What does such an unnatural career ending mean for someone who is either emotionally or financially unable to stop working? Elizabeth White, author of “55, Underemployed, and Faking Normal: Your Guide to a Better Life,” joined me on LinkedIn News’ live show Business Unusual to talk about it. 

As White and I spoke, we heard from many viewers who are facing this dilemma right now: 

Have endured 3 recessions and can't retire in the near future due to multiple job losses, including now.

I’m 67 living in Ontario. My executive position was eliminated and I was not ready for this to happen.

I'm 60 and, in May, my employer eliminated my position. I've sent my resume to a couple dozen places. I've only gotten two interviews, no offers.

I am there too...at 60 it seems impossible to get back into the workforce.

White has the kind of resume you might think would be immune to joblessness. She is a Harvard MBA with another master’s degree from Johns Hopkins who worked for years at the World Bank. But when she wrapped two major consulting gigs in her mid-fifties, her phone stopped ringing. What she thought was a dry spell stretched into months. White went from flying business class to taking the bus. 

For those who find themselves in a similar situation, White stresses the need to consider making drastic financial cuts much sooner than you think you need to and to mentally prepare yourself to take the kind of work you might have passed off to an assistant before. “You’re not going to love any of it,” she shared with me in conversation before the show. She challenged people to reframe these kinds of responses to the setbacks as a strategy for survival and to not view them as failures. “Survive this first...you have to pay bills.” 

But zooming out from individual strategies, White warns that this is not an issue solely for Boomers:

“We’re not talking about lazy losers. Your bootstrap ingenuity is not going to address disappearing pensions; flat, falling wages; and the rising costs of healthcare. These are big systemic issues…. What happens to Boomers will happen to GenXers and Millennials, too.”

According to White, “the Band Aid has been pulled off.” No one is immune. As Business Unusual viewer Teresa Speight shared with us during the show, “this generation of Boomers will be setting the example of survival.”

You can watch the full interview here:

More from great authors on LinkedIn 

• Airbnb’s former Chief Ethics Officer Rob Chesnut posts a steady stream of opinions on which companies are failing on thorny ethical issues and which are winning. He highlights a model for ethical behavior each week. Career Karma CEO Ruben Harris was a recent pick for his Reskill America campaign that gets hardware into the hands of those who need it. “Owning a laptop ?? should be like owning a pair of shoes ??,” Harris said on LinkedIn. Chesnut is the author of "Intentional Integrity: How Smart Companies Can Lead An Ethical Revolution."
• Wall Street Journal reporter Ryan Dezember shares an excerpt from "Underwater: How Our American Dream of Homeownership Became a Nightmare."

• In an article on LinkedIn, co-owner of marketing agency UpHouse Kiirsten May says if you’ve heard any of the statements in the graphic she shared below, you may be a witness to the small moments that pile up and stifle creativity and innovation in an organization. The lesson is drawn from her book "The Proximity Paradox." 

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