'The Unretired' mark new demographic shift in workplace

Just as managers finally figure out how to challenge and reward Generation X and Millennial employees, a new demographic segment in the workplace is emerging – Generation U, or the Unretired.

• A senior professional with deep experience: These workers have learned so many lessons in navigating the office environment that they can be valuable mentors.
• A collaborator OR one who likes being left alone: Some have found retirement lonely and are looking to be part of a team; others are very accustomed to being given freedom to do their work without being managed closely.
• Good communicators: Generation U workers are likely to model professional and diplomatic people skills.
• Inspired and Enthusiastic: A Pew Research Center study also found that older workers are happier than their junior colleagues, with 54 percent of workers ages 65 and older said they were "completely satisfied" with their job, compared with 29 percent of 16- to 64-year-olds. The researchers found that the main reason they work "is that they want to."

As Lynn Taylor, workplace expert and author, described it in a Psychology Today blog, "someone returning to the office with a career full of experience, can more easily leave the enjoyment of work life in, and a lot of the pettiness out. With age, comes wisdom that allows one to see the forest for the trees. Imagine that."