Millions of workers aged 55 to 70 lost their jobs, and most of them lost their jobs forever. On the surface you might think that these advanced-age workers were in their retirement years anyway, so what is the big deal? The fact is these older workers cannot survive on Social Security or the combination of retirement benefits they receive monthly to live on. So, they need to work well into their retirement years into their eighties and nineties, if they can.
Granted, these are high functioning older Americans that are not only able to fully function in the job marketplace, but they are driven by a force that makes them want to participate and contribute by working and serving the community when their peers have opted out of working altogether.
Returning to work post-pandemic is not looking good for many of the seniors because there is likely to be so many more youthful workers flooding the job market that there will be little or no room for the older workers.
Many of them are already waking up to the realization that the prospects for employment in the future is bleak, so they are looking for other alternative and finding opportunities in entrepreneurialism. They are among the record-breaking numbers of unemployed in America who are starting new businesses to replace their lost income-earning ability since the pandemic.
As necessity is the mother of invention, so has entrepreneurialism become the answer to joblessness.
Each of us has a unique set of skills or natural ability that can be easily turned into a business. And older Americans, while they may not be thought of as technologically inclined as a younger workforce, they bring something far more valuable to the marketplace.
Though not all Americans are aging gracefully. Not feeling as though one has a reason to live, living under stressful circumstances, being angry, or worrying about things tend to add to complications during the aging process and these concerns shorten life expectancy.
Often, because of their age and experience, older people bring a perspective that is unique and rare, something that could be regarded as “wisdom.”
Some cultures consider their elders to be highly regarded in terms of their experience and wisdom if they have earned it by living a good life. These older members of society are honored and invited to participate in leadership or support roles, and they are consulted with prior to making decisions that may have an impact on the greater community.
Cultures that hold the wisdom of their elders in high regard include Native Americans, Greeks, Indians, Koreans, Romans, and Chinese. Though the present-day Chinese reverence for their elders is waning due to the westernization of China in general.
Our elders have so much to offer, and the lack of jobs in America today encourages them to embrace their strength and wisdom to reach out and serve the greater community at a higher level than just trading effort for a dollar in a work-for-wages scenario.
Many of these new advanced-aged entrepreneurs are profiting handsomely and being wildly rewarded both financially, and feeling as though they are adding value to their communities, increasing their desire to give back, and to even make the world a better place.
They have a new, revived sense of purpose in their later years.
It is this driving sense of purpose that is extending their high-quality years of life.