By George Anderson
Many of the trends that have developed in recent years and have been credited to the influence of Generations X and Y would never have happened without the consent of Baby Boomers.
That is the conclusion of an article on the RainMaker Thinking Web site, which points out Boomers still make up 42 percent of the workforce and sit in leadership positions within most businesses.
To support its thesis on the power of Boomers to set trends, the article offers this evidence: "If most boomers had rejected the 'free agent' norms and values so often associated with Generation X and Generation Y, it would have dried up and blown away. But that's not what happened. It was when the Boomers embraced the new mindset that these trends became unstoppable."
Another soon to be unstoppable trend may involve redefining retirement.
As the RainMaker Thinking article points out, many Boomers intend to continue working even after they retire. "Boomers are embracing a new form of retirement. We fully expect boomers to reinvent retirement as a hodgepodge of part-time, flex-time, telecommuting, consulting, and entrepreneuring."
Moderator's Comment: How will Baby Boomers continue to influence business and social trends? What will this mean for retailers? - George Anderson - Moderator