Note: This article appeared in our summer newsletter.

We were intrigued by information contained in several recent articles we found regarding traditional vacations. It seems that workers are leaving more and more unused vacation on the table each year. A recent survey found that 45% of workers in 2006 did just that, while 36% said they had too much work to take vacation! It is believed that 40% of we Americans put in more than 50 hours at work each week.

Wow, too much work to take vacation. While this information did not site specific age groups we know that the largest number of workers today are Baby Boomers. It is an interesting phenomena that we have always worked long hours because we have been in such a competitive environment given there are 77 million of us, but at what cost?

Apparently more and more people are taking long weekends instead of vacation turning Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday into 4-day mini-vacations. No doubt employers love this as it is much less disruptive to the work place to have someone gone for a couple of work days than a week or two at a time. This resistance to taking vacations is the equivalent of giving back over $21 billion dollars to our employers!

The question we would ask is this in the best interest of the employee or the organization? One study indicated that vacation (defined as at least 1 continuous week off from work) reduced the risk of heart attacks in men by as much as 50% and by as much as 30% in women. If we do not get away from work for longer periods of time to recharge our batteries are we doing a disservice to ourselves? Americans are taking less time off now then in the 1920’s. Europeans mandate a minimum of 4 to 5 weeks of vacation per year on the premise that a better-rested workforce is a more productive workforce.

If you have an opinion on this one way or the other please feel free to comment here, we would love to hear from you!

We are very excited to be collaborating with CPS Human Resources Services in offering our Workforce/Succession Planning Program!

This is a program that Karen and I developed and CPS has decided is worthy of integrating into their curriculum offerings. By collaborating with CPS we are greatly expanding our marketing efforts by taking advantage of the excellent relationship that CPS has established the public sector agencies. Obviously we are VERY excited undertaking this collaboration and look forward to a mutually successful future.

More information can be obtained regarding this exciting new effort by visiting the CPS website.

Karen Arnold was recently featured in an e-zine article on Succession Planning! The article appeared in “hcPro” a healthcare compliance company that has extensive information on the web and caters specifically to the healthcare community. After establishing some quick facts concerning the healthcare industry (like 40% of the nursing workforce will be older than 50 by 2010).

The article then goes on to outline a six-step plan for successful succession planning, which is where Karen’s expertise comes into play. FutureDecisions not only works with Baby Boomers anticipating retirement but also public and private agencies that are in need of workforce/succession planning expertise.

To view the article follow this link: hcpro. If you want to view the entire article you need to subscribe to hcPro or purchase the article.

Wow, this is great. The Sacramento Business Journal interviewed Karen and I and put an article about FutureDecisions in their October 20th edition. We are honored to have been featured and grateful to Kathy Robertson of the Sacramento Business Journal who authored the article. The article covers our Renivent Yourself Workshop for Baby Boomers and others and our workforce/succession planning services.
To read the article please click on this link and enjoy!

We spend a lot of time with folks discussing the need to start planning now for a workforce shortage that is, not only imminent, but in reality is already here. Before providing more details about this phenomenon, let me share what one person we recently spoke with said about this matter. After talking for about 20 minutes or so he hit the nail on the head when he said, “This is a crisis whose time has come”. Indeed it has come; consider some of these numbers.
Over the next 15 years there will be a 24% gap between the number of available workers and the number of employees retiring. In other words, for every 4 people who retire there will only be 3 available to take their place! A number you may have heard before, but worth repeating-77 million Americans will retire over the next 7 to 10 years! On top of this there is the fact that many of those that would replace us, the Gen X’ers, have no desire to do so! We Baby Boomers are not role models of what the Gen X generation wants for their lives. They are not interested in working 50+ hours per week and then being laid off by some large impersonal organization. Gen X’ers read the recent article regarding Radio Shack firing several hundred employees via email and ask why they would want the same? Good question.
So what does this mean for employers and all those folks that are retiring? One thing that it means is that employers need former employees more than ever. Good news for retiring employees and maybe even good news for employers. After all, there is going to be a severe drain placed on employers as experienced employees retire, demographics will dictate this happening. However, those retiring employees will not want to just go off into the sunset for the most part. Many will want to continue working although perhaps not in the same job they previously held. An AARP study found that over 70% of people who retire want to do some type of work. It may not be in exactly the same field from which they retired, but retirees want to do something else. Many will have another 30 or more productive years ahead of them after they retire.
So, what to make of all this information? If you are preparing to retire and are planning the next phase of your life, then you have a whole wide world of opportunities open to you. The important thing is to plan for that time now, just as you have planned your financial future, you will want to plan your personal future as well. If you are an employer then you will want to be open to bringing back retirees to the workforce and you will need to be flexible to accommodate their needs and desires. They are no longer beholden to their employer and you are going to have to treat them accordingly. Ironically, in this respect, retirees are much like the GenX’ers- they are not going to want to work themselves into the ground. Time with their family, leisure time and balance are going to be the watchwords that will dictate this new generation of employees.