Boomer and Gen’X Workers at Risk: Evidence from the Work, Family and Health Network Study

• In Event: 349 - Section on Aging and the Life Course Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 05. Inequality and Insecurity

Abstract

Career and retirement paths are in considerable flux in light of uncertainties brought about by a turbulent global economy and the dismantling of the social contract between employers and employees, with resulting job insecurities a key risk factor for both mental and physical health. How are these macro-level dislocations playing out in work environments to shape the emotional well-being of today’s managers and non-supervisory employees? Are members of the Boomer cohort (born 1946-1964) particularly at risk in organizational climates of uncertainty, given that they moved through most of their careers assuming that their jobs were secure? Most studies of job insecurity draw on survey data from large nationally representative samples. Although these data sets are essential for capturing national trends, workers in national samples are employed in a variety of organizations, occupations, and environments across the country, making it impossible to drill down to the particular experiences of those working for a single employer sharing a common culture of insecurity. Accordingly, this paper draws on data from a longitudinal, multilevel study of employees and managers in a single organization to describe the effects of an impending merger and perceived job insecurity in terms of changes in the emotional well-being of two different age-cohorts: older Boomers (born 1946-1964) and younger Gen X’ers (born 1965-1980).

Authors

• Jack Lam, University of Minnesota

• Shi-Rong Lee, University of Minnesota

• Orfeu Buxton, Harvard University