Dear SafetyXChange Members:

Americans are staying healthier than ever before. That means they're working longer not just in terms of hours but years. In other words, they're choosing to remain in the workforce far past what was considered retirement age. Most of these employees are, of course, Baby Boomers. The Boomers represent a vast reservoir of skill, experience and adaptability. But to borrow a line from a car commercial, the Baby Boomer is not your father's employee.

The Boomer as Career Reinventor

One of the salient characteristics of the Boomers is rejection of the traditional concept that a life devoted to leisure and recreation begins at 65. Closely related to this is the tendency of Boomers to reinvent themselves. At some point in their career, many Boomers shift gears and pursue an entirely different line of work.

What kinds of things are the Boomers looking for?

Part Time or Consulting Roles: Many Boomers don't mind staying at their current companies but they don't want to work the same long hours they did when they were younger. Companies that are willing to provide flexible work arrangements to accommodate these desires will gain a big advantage in retaining their most experienced and knowledgeable employees as part-timers and consultants.

Entrepeneurial Opportunities: Boomers are often tempted to strike out on their own. After years of following someone else's direction and vision, they're eager to do their own thing. The time has come, they figure, to translate the experience and financial resources they've accumulated over the years into personal profits.

Different Industries: Most people dream of doing something completely different. But Boomers are more aggressive about chasing the dream. Stated differently, they are less prone than previous generations to let concerns about practicality and the need to maintain current lifestyles keep them from going into a new field late in their professional lives.

Conclusion

Although people like to talk about Baby Boomers, the new style of employee transcends generation. What we're experiencing is nothing less than a sea change in working attitudes and practices. The old ideal of working in one field and for one company until retirement at age 65 isn't completely gone; but it has to share the stage with competing notions. Although this is scary, it also represents a great opportunity not only for safety professionals and other employees but for the companies that employ them.

Wishing you career success,
Lauryn Franzoni
ExecuNet, www.execunet.com

QUOTE OR MISQUOTE?

By Glenn Demby

Did you know that many of the world's best known quotes were never actually uttered. Here are 12 famous quotes from history, literature and film. Some of them are accurate and some of them are either fabrications or misquotes of what the speaker actually said. If you think it's accurate, mark it "T"; if you think it's inaccurate, mark it "F." And, for extra credit, identify the speaker:

1. "Play it again, Sam!"
2. "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."
3. "I coulda' been a contender."
4. "Alas poor Yorick! I knew him well."
5. "Elementary, my dear Watson."
6. "Mr. Gorbachev. Tear down this wall!"
7. "Beam me up, Scottie."
8. "Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.'"
9. "You dirty rat!"
10. "Money is the root of all evil."
11. "No, it wasn't the airplanes, it was beauty killed the beast."
12. "Come up and see me some time."

ANSWERS

1. F. Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) never quite said this in the film, Casablanca. Although Rick did insist that Sam play As Time Goes By, his actual line was "Play it!"
2. T. This famous line was an actual part of FDR's inaugural address in March 1933.
3. T. Yes, Marlon Brando did in fact use these words during his Oscar winning performance in On the Waterfront when riding in the back of the car with his brother, Rod Steiger.
4. F. Hamlet said something like this when the gravedigger unearths the skull of Yorick, the court jester, in Act 4 of Hamlet. But his actual words were: "Alas poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio."
5. F. This most famous of Sherlock Holmes lines is a sham. The quote never appears in any of Conan Doyle's works.
6. T. Ronald Reagan used these exact words when he visited the Berlin Wall.
7. F. This one may shock you. Captain Kirk, according to Star Trek scholars, never said this during any episode. The closest he came was an occasional "Beam us up, Mr. Scott."
8. T. These were the actual words to the English people that Winston Churchill delivered in a radio address in 1940 just before the Battle of Britain.
9. F. James Cagney never used these words in any of his films.
10. F. What The Bible actually says: "For the love of money is the root of all evil." (King  James Version).
11. T. This is the last line of King Kong and it's an accurate quote.
12. F. Mae West's signature line is a fabrication. At least she never said it in any of her movies.

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