Job Longevity

Back when I was a very young woman, most men searched for a job with lifetime potential. Such potential was more important in the beginging than wage or shift or even benefits because if you were with the company long enough, those other things would come in time. The house hunk will soon have thirty nine years with his company. There are quite a few of his co-workers who have a similar number of years with the company.

Many of the men and women who have been laid off in recent weeks are in somewhat the same situation. Young people are a bit more accustomed to the idea of changing employers and having job interviews, but imagine the adjustments an individual must make when their last job interview was thirty-five years ago.

In the new economy, companies not only will seek to hire new employees for a much smaller wage. They'll inevitably be seeking a younger healthier candidate. And without some type of bridging program, we will face a nation of fifty-plus workers with no place to go and no retirement or social security to bridge the gap. In effect, we face a new group of poverty bound seniors.

Young workers are resentful with the older workers because they don't retire, but in the current economy, they cannot afford to retire. Many, many have suffered significant losses to their retirement funds because of recent economic issues. So where exactly are they supposed to go?

I don't know. But it isn't any wonder that most hope and pray that they can hang onto their jobs just a little longer. Just a little longer.

anny