Baby boomers have been dropping out of the workforce during the "Great Resignation," setting off potential economic issues and emphasizing the lack of good workplaces for older people, Helen Olen, a columnist for The Washington Post, wrote Feb. 18.
An estimate by Goldman Sachs stated that more than half of those who have left their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic "Great Resignation" are older than 55, and an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found baby boomers had higher workforce exits than first indicated.
Ms. Olen wrote that the presence of baby boomers in the workforce helped offset declining immigration and falling birth rates in the wake of the Great Recession.
Their exit from the workforce could cause employers to hike wages while competing for scarce employees, forcing them to also increase their prices and potentially creating an inflationary price-wage spiral. It could also put pressure on the capacity of Social Security, and many assets of those retirees may be worth less than before if the market challenges them, Ms. Olen wrote.
Ms. Olen argued that to prevent older workers from bombing out of the workforce, employers should create environments that are more accessible and appealing to older Americans, allowing for part-time or flexible work to start a semi-retirement.