As an industry are we missing the mark by not figuring out how to meet the needs of still working seniors?
A number of months ago I was talking to Allison Goodwin the national director of marketing for Bonaventure Senior Living and she was telling me that at one of their properties they have a number of residents who live in the independent living area of their community and still go to work every day. With that as a back drop, I came across an article at Albuquerque Business
First: Many Americans give up idea of retiring. This got me to wondering if one of the ways for the senior living industry to increase their market penetration would be to look for ways to create a senior living environment that is friendly to seniors who are still working full or part time.
This might even include residents who are working for pay, in the communities they live in. Do you have any thoughts?
Unique opportunity…hands down…no doubt about it!
Meaningful work gives our lives meaning and makes it feel worth living, regardless of whether the work is paid or volunteering.
I believe the senior living communities that support and foster their residents’ ability to continue working will be the ones that have a waiting list of residents. This is not just a unique opportunity for senior living communities it will become a necessity for sustainability.
My insight came during vacation a few weeks ago when I was picking blackberries for my husband’s famous Saturday morning blackberry pancakes. Instead of pampering myself by sleeping in late, I was awake before sunrise, standing in the rain, getting pricked by thorns and battling the occasional spider with a heart stopping, arm flailing screaming session…and this was vacation!
I certainly did not love picking blackberries but I absolutely loved seeing the joy they brought my family.
It’s not playtime that gives our lives meaning. It’s meaningful work that gives our lives joy, purpose and meaning, all of which we should be encouraged to pursue regardless of our age.
The senior living communities that embrace their residents’ innate need to serve others instead of trying to serve their resident’s more pampering activities will be the communities that rise above the competition.
Tamara Pape
A bit delayed entering this conversation, but I agree with Tamara. Meaningful work is a joy and it is a choice to continue that work once is beyond 65. The unfortunate truth is that, according to the 2010 census, there is an increase in the 65 and older cohort which remains in the workforce compared to the 2000 census of 85%. If you look at the increase in the poverty level of the 65 and older cohort from 2000 to 2010, it is 482%. To me this means that this older workforce is working because they have to in order to simply survive.
It would be nice, and in fact is nice, that senior living communities provide some meaningful work for their residents. It would be ideal if that were the case for the millions of elderly who remain in the work force.
We are a wealthy nation with freedoms and a society unmatched by any other nation. We need to face realities and address them in social responsible ways. A 65 year old who has worked all of their life and remains below the poverty level and faces many more years of work (not necessarily meaningful work) just to survive is not the way this great nation should treat the elderly.
I’m a bit late in entering this conversation too but Jeffrey, you beat me to it!
I am a senior who wants to work well into my..sixties – I have 2 sisters, retired before sixty and basically lounge around… after observing them for awhile, decided that’s not how I want to live. That speaks for many of my peers and friends (over fifty-five.)
I’ve read several books on the topic of boomers and how the current senior housing is missing the mark and I’ve spoken with a few of the leaders on the topic too. It seems they are aware of the market (boomers – especially – will want to continue working) but housing executives are too entrenched in their myopic perspectives of “occupancy.”
So, let me ask here—who in the industry are good targets to begin the needed conversation? Would that be the housing developers? Senior housing executives? I’ve approached both and well, not inspired with the answers I get.
Thanks, Steve, for starting this topic stream. People over 55 yearn to know the solution that’s not addressed frequently… or at all!