Over-50

Aging Workers: New (and even more stressful) Version of Sandwich Generation

This is the new version of the "Sandwich Generation." And the stress, financial and emotional, is palpable. 

Aging workers, who have their own challenges in a digitalized, downsizing labor market, are increasingly embracing responsibility for children who are already adult and their own older parents.

Axios reports that about 47% of that demographic is in that pickle.

COVID-19, of course, keeps making that worse.

The question some of us have is this: Why can't more of the middle-aged just say "no" to accepting so much being put on their plate? Is there such an entity as "too responsible?"

Years ago, after our parents had died relatively young, those on my personal network and I had a frank conversation: Would we have been accountable for them had they evolved into helplessness?

The responses were mixed.

Those with horrific childhoods indicated that they probably wouldn't have been overly active in their parents' long term card.

Those with more of Hallmark-like background said they would pitch in but not sacrifice their own lives.

All were realistic about how much overly committing to parental caregiving would "cost" them in every aspect of their own lives. 

Reflection: COVID-19 pushes this issue to the tipping point. A line has been drawn in the sand and we have to ask: Are we our adult children's and needy parent's keeper? 

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Retirement Relocation Interrupted - AZ, TX, SC Had100% Increase in COVID-19 Cases in 1 Month

The moving van probably won't be stopping by many of the high cost or weather-challenged locations. At least not for those choosing or being forced into retirement.

Those designated lower-cost/more-pleasant-weather states such as Arizona, Texas, and South Carolina have had a 100% increase in COVID-19 cases during the past month, reports Daily Mail. The elderly are at higher risk of dying if they become infected. You know that, of course.

In a sense, the options for the Next have become Retirement Relocation Interrupted. Even traveling, never mind a full-scale move, has become a life-and-death gamble. 

The candid admit COVID-19 is not manageable, not yet. That means it's up in the air when relocation for retirees and the semiretired is possible. 

How should the "stranded" cope?

Here are 4 tips:

• Create joy in your current circumstances. You don't have to have a memory of this pandemic as an unhappy time. There are plenty of people around eager to join you in optimism. Find them. Regroup from the doom and gloom crowd. 
• If the high cost of living where you are is eating into your monthly budget and financial reserves, get work. Any type. There are plenty of full-time, part-time, and contract options. They range from stocking shelves in Target to being a security guard in Goodwill. Here, free to click open, is my guide on landing, holding, and moving on to better work, no matter what Download Outwitting ageism. When I was reconfiguring my communications and coaching boutiques to telecommuting I took on three part-time jobs. Those also helped me to learn new technologies "on the company."
• Embrace minimalism. A lawyer who had been forced out of real estate into early retirement made it his business to adopt radical frugality. That has enabled him to pursue interests he put off since law school. They include music. Eventually he could turn that into a profit center.
• Develop new interests. Yes, you can start up a new kind of life at any time, anywhere. Actually, you could develop new credentials for earning income. There can be online certification for expertise in digital marketing or providing counseling to substance abusers. You can also start a an enterprise that's transportable.

COVID-19 may put your relocation on-hold. But it shouldn't do that to your life. These years are not coming back.

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Incidentally, We Members of the Mickey Mouse Club Didn't Care About Who Walt Disney Really Was

M-i-c-k-e-y M-o-u-s-e. 

Poof. The iconic Disney logo can be eliminated from popular culture.

Deadline reports there is growing scrutiny of Disney's founder Walt Disney.

He was an obviously flawed human being. In fact, on speeches I had created on leadership for chief executive officers I leveraged his attitudes about his workforce as negatives. For example, he couldn't understand why employees would want higher compensation. After all, went his thinking, weren't they fortunate to be part of his team. In addition, he was in no way the kind of verbally polished leader of today. The undertow of his messaging signaled prejudice.

But that was then. A different time. Entrepreneurs, be they Disney or Henry Ford, could operate by their own rules. 

Today, Bob Iger, by so many current metrics, scores high on leadership. His memoir "The Ride of a Lifetime" captures his ethos of deep caring, especially of all the humans in the loop. They range from employees to consumers. 

On Glassdoor, the overall rating for working at Disney is "4" out of a possible "5."

After retiring from the job of chief executive officer, Iger parachuted back in when the business of Disney became troubled. 

Actually, as I argue in this article, Disney seems stuck. But that's a strategic matter, not a cultural one. Iger has a big job ahead of him.

That, unfortunately, will likely include the struggle to preserve the Disney logo. The founder's flaws have tainted the essence of what Mickey Mouse meant to generations. Part of that was the extreme power of creativity. 

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COVID-19: Blindsided by Forced Retirement

There is a confluences of forces.

One is that the aging, always targeted for the ax, are finding themselves shown the door more often during COVID-19. That's just the way it is. The route could be accepting a package, being on the list for a reduction in force, harassed into resigning, or a stealth layoff, that is being terminated for supposedly performance reasons. 

The other is the fear of returning to a communal work situation in which the risk of COVID-19 is high. 

The result, observes Alicia Munnell in MarketWatch, has been a significant increase in early retirements, that is, leaving a career or long-term work situation sooner than intended.

According to the findings on the Current Population Survey, in April 2020 - only one month into COVID-19 - there had been a 7% uptick in the number of those who had been employed and suddenly fell into the retirement category. For those between 55 and 64, the percentage was less but still significant enough to get on the radar.

Overall, the feeling about this development is: blindsided.

Because of the shock, there could be a rush into pessimism.

At the top of the list is assuming that the only way to continue to make ends meet is to apply for Social Security early. Usually, that's at age 62. Long term, that means a reduction in the monthly benefit.

The reality is that being knocked out of the career box doesn't mean the end of the ability to earn income from work per se. There is always work. Here, free to download, is my bible on that Download Outwitting ageism.

That stopgap can be the bridge to a new career path. For example, an in-house lawyer, who had been a communications client, had been forced into early retirement. He spotted an ad about being a residential leasing manager. Eventually he became licensed as a real estate agent. He made the contacts to sell at the high end. 

Another bit of pessimism is the mindset that relocation to where the cost of living is lower comes with shame. Those who thrive, despite the reversal of fortune, frame that as the unique opportunity to start over again. Also, many, to their surprise, discover it is a relief to leave their former life, embedded with careerism, behind.

There is also the predictable syndrome of regret - that is, replaying the past. It consists of the If-Onlys. When I lectured at the New York State Bar Association to displaced lawyers over-50, most were replaying their earlier decisions. The pattern was the magical thinking that if they hadn't done X, Y, that is, their termination, wouldn't have happened. Sure, it's important to learn from what could have been ineffective behavior.

However, nothing will change the past. What has helped some of my coaching clients in shaking off that preoccupation with the past is studying forms of Buddhism. Several schools recommend not perceiving the past - or any entity - as good or bad. It just is.

There are plenty of resources out there to navigate this new kind of rite of passage: early retirement.

Since the 1970s, for instance, "What Color Is Your Parachute?" has been a game-changer for those who need to market themselves to land work. Its tenet is that the person who is hired or gets the account is not necessarily the most qualified. Most often the winners are those who are best at presenting themselves in the labor market.

The search for income from work is a game. That game keeps mutating. Currently, my clients who are hired use the direct approach. In all their marketing materials, ranging from the cover letter/resume to the interview, they state and back up with data what they can accomplish for that employer or prospect for their business. Essentially, the pitch is: Here is what I can do for you.

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Relocations & Retirement - Leaving the Car Behind in The Old Life

Public transportation such as subways is perceived as risky in the time of COVID-19.

New cars are expensive. The 2021 Chevy Trailblazer runs about $19,000. According to Nerd Wallet, the payments and all the rest could set you back more than $700 a month.

Maintaining an aging vehicle is also expensive. In addition, there is the constant dread of what could go wrong. 

Meanwhile, employment uncertainty has not be worse since The Great Depression.

Visions of the Repo Man dance in too many heads.

ProPublica also documented that the majority of the over-50 will be forced out of jobs. And only one-tenth of them will land jobs which involve comparable compensation. The timing might be right to surrender to the reality that the career is over. Instead, the focus can be on picking up work in order to bring in income for semiretirement or retirement. The decision usually means lowering the overall cost of living through relocation. Trade in Long Island Sound on the Gold Coast of Connecticut for the Atlantic Ocean in Mobile, Alabama or Gulfport, Mississippi.

So, The Wall Street Journal reports that what is catching on is what might be called "the alternate mode of transportation." That includes mopeds (electric and gas), bicycles (electric and gas), tricycles (one gear and multiple gear), and electric scooters.

The alternate mode of transportation is solo and personal, indicates WSJ.

I would add that it's cheap. The latter matters more and more. What the current surge in virus cases can do to employment can be horrific. Worse could be the impact if there is a second wave. Sure, policy makers are chatting up Universal Basic Income (UBI). But, essentially that's peanuts.

To wean myself from the pricey habit of four wheels, I donated my 2010 Chevy to Kars4Kids. 

Next I purchased a trike (adult bicycle) for $400. It was one gear and got me about nine miles from my residence and back. The exercise yielded results. Stress became more manageable and my middle-aged stomach bulge receded. 

When I decided I wanted to venture beyond nine miles I purchased a 50 cc (doesn't require a special motorcycle license in Ohio) moped for $800, plus tax and fees.

Once I mastered two wheels again (in graduate school I had had a Honda 90) I put the trike up for sale on app Nextdoor. Membership on that app is free and so are for-sale notices.

Because alternate transportation is in, the tricycle went in about 15 hours, for $300. I had used it for six months. So the cost for me per month had been about $15. Cheap. In addition, there had been the five bucks I had paid a neighbor to patch a flat. Theft had been covered by my renters insurance which costs about $150. But the deductible is $500. Not very helpful, is that. 

Maintaining the moped is a bit more expensive.

Gas here in Toledo, OH is over two bucks a gallon. I use about eight gallons a week.

Insurance, including for theft, is about $150 annually. The deductible in $250.

The analogue of what Jiffy Lube does for cars runs about  70 bucks every 1,500 miles.

Also, as with cars, road service is necessary. I bought a special policy for motorcycles from AAA. I have already used it twice. Mopeds break down, just like cars. So far the repairs were covered under the warranty.

Yes, there have been theft and vandalism. The first week the mirrors were stolen. Replacing them had cost 20 bucks. In the residential complex I have since moved from, a miscreant cut into the plastic. I covered that with duct tape. Of course, it will negatively impact resale value. Mopeds are not invulnerable to the darkness in mankind. 

The anecdotal evidence is abundant that Main Street is interested in alternate transportation. With both the trike and the moped, daily at least five people stop me to ask about purchase price, maintenance costs, and personal safety. A growing issue with the moped is: gas or electric. I explain the inconvenience of electric if one doesn't reside in a progressive location such as a college town. 

Given how much I like Everything Moped, I am considering relocating to a part of the U.S. where alternate transportation has caught on and where it could be used year-round (that is, no harsh winter). Shipping a moped is expensive. I will likely sell it on Nextdoor and buy a two-wheeler with more power. That could be a 125 cc. 

With telecommuting for my business and a minimalist lifestyle I got it that a car is an unnecessary fixed cost and an emotional burden. Regarding the latter, I had been in sustained angst about how much repairs would run. 

In addition, there is Uber. Those rides cost less than half what traditional taxi service does.

Renting a car, if one price-shops, can be affordable. When I relocate I will do that for about a week while I get all my ducks in a row, as the saying goes. 

Also, alternate transportation is green.

The car is probably not dead. But the need for it is being questioned. Alternate transportation is an option those without children and retirees could find a gift that keeps giving - in cost-savings, fun, and a sense of freedom from the past.

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For Ok, Boomers - COVID-19 Makes It Ok to Admit Feeling Blessed Not Having Children

A nation with few babies, that is, human ones.

According to the 2020 survey by the Guttmacher Institute, 45% of females 18 through 34 have concerns about conceiving during COVID-19. The angst includes both becoming infected with the virus when pregnant and the current financial uncertainty. 

The recent surge of the virus probably will escalate that angst. And, a second wave, which had been more severe than the first during the Spanish Flu, could trigger a baby bust. 

The Wall Street Journal viewed this as an important issue to feature. 

The implications are huge for businesses, professionals such as teachers, and government as with the Social Security Administration. 

All those industries associated with babies could contract. Think diapers and strollers.

Whole professions could be glutted with oversupply. How many pediatricians will be needed? As many know, a growing number of medical doctors had to close down their own practices because of a lack of actual business since COVID-19 kicked in. 

And there won't be enough in the workforce to shore up Social Security.

Already, severe ambivalence about reproduction is mainstream.

A Generation Zer practically apologized for his wife's pregnancy. He made clear that, because of extended-family resources, he could afford the child. His wife is due to deliver late in July. 

It's now socially acceptable for us Ok, Boomers who are childless to admit we found our decision was a blessing. There is no family constellation which I had envied over the years. And, believe me, holiday blues were a small price to pay for bypassing creating a human family. For 15 years, I had been in the front lines of animal rescue.

If COVID-19 hangs on long enough, there could be a national psychic shift about producing a human family.

During the shutdown many got to experience the extreme joy of having four-legged children. As I continually put it, my four-legged son LOV won't be matriculating at college, then moving on to graduate or professional schools. Also, he didn't have a difficult adolescence. 

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Career Interrupted - Shift Mindset to Earning a Living

Even before COVID-19, ProPublica documented two brutal realities.

One was that if you are 50 or older, the odds were not on your side that you would hold onto that good career job. You would be forced out. That could take the form of being presented with an early-retirement package, being laid off, or getting the ax through a termination with cause. 

And, two, there was only a 10% chance you would earn comparable compensation in your next job.

COVID-19, of course, has darkened that employment situation. 

Currently, 2.4 million between age 55 and 64 are out of work, primarily because of COVID-19. Among those 65 or older, beginning in March when the pandemic took over, the jobless rate surged from 3.7% to 15.6%.

Clearly, there is a phenomenon taking shape on a large scale: Career Interrupted. Losing a job, whatever way that occurs, could mean the end to that career for the aging.

However, that doesn't have to mean the end of being able to earn decent or even abundant income from work per se. AARP documents that twice as many of those 65 or older are working currently than had been in 1985. Their earning power can be good.

The ways they are bringing in income may not be through what had been their long-term career path. 

A replacement that is gaining traction, confirms the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, is entrepreneurship. During their former careers, the aging had developed the skills and confidence to operate their own business. That could be a franchise in which the structure is there. Or it could be an enterprise from scratch.

Also, there is the exploding-in-growth field of contract assignments. Those laid-off over-60 in-house lawyers can register for contract document review work. The compensation will not be peanuts. But it won't match the full-time former salary, plus benefits.

Another option is training, including online, to be certified in a line of work that is new to the professional. That could be an Google AdWord expert or a counselor for substance abusers.

What might be a surprise to some seniors is that in states such as Arizona which are aging-friendly it's possible to pick up full-time employment, which includes benefits. The examples range from call centers to sales. There are versions which are totally work-at-home.

Given the volatility of the labor market, it might not just be the aging who have to make the mindset shift from careerism to simply earning a living. I recommend to Gen Z and their parents that's how they assess educational majors, minors, internships, and part-time jobs.

The issue is: What combination will equip members of Gen Z to start and continue to make a good living?

Careers come and careers go. Just ask journalists. In the 2017 book "Disrupted," former reporter Dan Lyons tells his story of extreme hustle, after he was knocked out of the media box. 

Across generations, the scary reality is putting together what can ensure, at least for a while, financial survival. A useful guide is the book "What Color Is Your Parachute?" Each year an updated edition comes out. Public libraries stock multiple copies. And Amazon sells them used as well as new.

The timeframe has mutated into just-in-time for making a buck.

John Walters, who's in the creative niches, advised those in the difficult field of the arts to position and package work as a kind of hitchhiking. Stick out the thumb. The wait might be tedious. But eventually someone stops and says, "Hop in." For a while, yeah, it's okay. A good living is being earned. Walters' book is "Make Trouble." That attitude seems to apply to most lines of work, not just the creative arts. 

In my late 50s, I was an early adopter of blogging. A public relations agency said, "Hop in." I earned outstanding compensation for four year. Then, it was back on the road with my thumb out. Since then, that's been the ritual, over and over again.

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The Most Difficult Conversation: Aging Talking Real About Aging With Other Aging People

"I am getting older. I am not old."

That's what a 75-year-old said to me when I finally get real in talking about aging. He was in my support group for those over-50.

First I had brought up another issue. That was the struggle to see my four-legged son LOV through what will be his last months. In early June he had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure.

Then I dropped the bomb: For years and years I have been unable to get my head around the reality that I was no longer middle aged or even very young old. What was obvious to the world but not to me was that I was now in the senior citizen nitch.

Never before had I reached out about aging. Not in the kind of way that invited real conversation. You bet, talking about aging with other aging people is a very difficult conversation. 

The other group members got that I was being real. So they were real in their sharing about their own aging. 

The experience was the most liberating I had had since August 1981. That's when I admitted and accepted that I was an alcoholic. A million-ton boulder was lifted off my shoulders.

"I never had a childhood." 

That's what a man in his late 60s said. He shared that he was the oldest of seven siblings. You know the rest. Recently a therapist brought it to his consciousness that he had missed out on being young and carefree. Now, instead of a bucket list, he was focusing on how to learn to have fun. 

"I can't change that I'm this old." 

A 50-something who had recently been laid off managed to get that out. Wasn't easy. He knew that age bias was hindering his job hunt. I had a sense this was the first time he had accepted that reality. My hunch is now that he did his job search would be more effective.

Then they turned the floor back to me. The most difficult share was this: I was eaten alive with envy when I spotted on LinkedIn all the amazing things my colleagues in their late 30s were accomplishing. As we age the world of youth continues to gallop along, doesn't it.

No, I won't need to talk about aging again, at least not any time soon. I did my talk.

How did I manage to do that?

The pain of holding in all that conflict was growing. My sense of self was shrinking. And what I did accomplish in my professional life I derided.

So, I had to find other aging human beings to talk straight with. And that I did.

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The Future of Work: Pay to Play Could Become Standard (especially for over-50)

On its website, Rooftop Slushie describes itself as platform in which job searchers can anonymously ask questions about careers and seasoned professionals, who have been vetted, answer them.

One of the categories on the website does indicate that the latter can earn money doing this. Well, since career experts and executive coaches bill all the time for such help, the transaction seems benign.

However, Business Insider picks up on the possible undercurrent of lousy ethics. The media outlet portrays the platform as really about "selling" job referrals for $20 to $50 each. Those interested in applying for a job at the tech giants, especially Facebook and Google, present themselves anonymously to those employed at those corporations. The professional vets them, if appropriate makes a referral, and then makes a few bucks on the side.

Business Insider observes that some experts in the job-hunt niche have ethical concerns about this kind of transaction. 

In addition, some might wonder why do employees in major tech corporations, who likely earn better than average compensation, engage in this process? Doesn't that raise a red flag about how much clout they have in their sector? 

On the other hand, there are myriad digital sites oriented toward seeking work that are essentially pay to play.

One is LinkedIn ProFinder. That platform operates like this. Freelancers, including those searching for public relations assignments, sign up for the version of Premium which offers access to ProFinder. The cost is $59.99 a month, with a discount for an annual subscription. Cancellation with full refund is possible for 60 days. Note that it's the freelancer, not those hiring, who ponies up the fee. This is very different from the executive search business. 

After signing up, what LinkedIn assesses as appropriate opportunities appear in the LinkedIn inbox. During that month, the freelancer can provide a proposal for 10. The prospect may or may not respond. Along with the ability to submit proposals the subscriber has other benefits such as contacting 15 LinkedIn members whose profile is behind the Premium wall. 

Another pay-to-play platform is Upwork. It also charges the freelance the fee. For billings under $500, that will be 20% of the revenue. But that goes down to 5% for a lifetime when billings reach $10,000.

The problem with Upwork is that it's a global platform. In bidding for assignments, the U.S. ghostwriter could be competing with a communications expert in India who is willing to accept considerably less. 

Ethics?

For those who are ambitious to land a good job in a brandname corporation and for those who need freelance work to keep a roof over their heads, the issue of ethics may seem irrelevant. To those analyzing that dynamic it could be assessed as exploitation.

Meanwhile, as The New York Times detailed, the second wave of COVID-19 layoffs hit white collar workers hard. Many have been unable to land comparable jobs or even freelance assignments. Their professional lives are in limbo. Given that the worst might not have kicked off in COVID-19, they may be in limbo for years. To them pay to play might not seem reprehensible. 

Actually, pay to play could be the salvation of the over-50. ProPublica research hammered that they are likely to be forced out of those good jobs. Also, if they are hired for another job, the odds are that only one in 10 of them will earn comparable income. 

A useful guide for the hunt for work is "What Color Is Your Parachute?" It points out that those who are hired are not necessarily the best at what they do. Their edge is that they become the best at marketing themselves. Each year a new version is published. Multiple copies are available at the public library. Amazon sells used ones. 

No surprise, more media outlets are chatting up Universal Basic Income (UBI). One way of describing that concept is this: Those opting out of work receive a monthly strings-fee stipend. They can apply those funds to paying the rent and/or financing their art. 

The Future of Work may be less and less work available. Pay to play may become standard, configured to pass ethical and legal muster.

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How Did We Get Here? - Mostly, Painfully

These times mirror those of the Counterculture. During revolutions many hold as sacred the belief that they are held to a higher code of law, not the conventional one. 

So, it is no surprise, as Law.com reports, that Colinford Mattis has plenty of supporters. They spoke up during the conference call which was how his arraignment had been conducted. He took a plea of not guilty to 7 counts.

Laypeople who aren't sophisticated in legal matters know that he is accused of being in the loop of a Molotov Cocktail being thrown during a George Floyd protest.

In addition, there had been an open letter from the New York Law University on June 17th in support of him. Mattis is a 2016 alumnus of that law school. 

However, the compassion for his alleged form of response to a system he might have perceived as racist (he is a man of color) is not universal. On social networks I have received push-back. I shared my understanding of how such anger could build up and then burst through safety valves. 

The wrench in the works of supporting Mattis is this: Civil disobedience is supposed to be non-violent.

Back in the Counterculture, we had joined hands, marched, and sang "We Shall Overcome" during the human rights movements of the early 1970. We didn't condone those who had thrown rocks through the windows of the Ann Arbor, Michigan banks surrounding the University of Michigan campus. We tutored our parents in what we considered was right thinking. We dragged our younger siblings along to D.C. on protest trains.

Nobody has to condone Mattis' alleged act of violence. But attention must be paid to what a man of color might have endured jumping through the hoops he had. Those range from matriculating in the Ivy League to being an associate at an elite law firm.

A female from an immigrant ghetto in Jersey City, New Jersey during the vestiges of the Frank Hague Machine, I felt like a novelty in a circus. It was palpable, at least to me. I experienced being watched as I struggled to navigate doctoral studies at the U of M, first year at Harvard Law, and being an executive ghostwriter/speechwriter for the Fortune 100. Therapists told me that I was very angry.

I call that phenomenon The Curse of Opportunity.

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