Reply to What Happens when all the Adults Retire at Work?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Have had the same thought at my government agency.

I am fairly senior and eligible for full retirement.  I have been mentoring people for years in my specialized area.  It is not particularly technical, but to be good at it takes a number of years of experience.  I am a go to person for many Gen X and millenials, not just for my area but for others as well because I have a wealth of experience I am willing to share.

My issue is that people above me seem to want to promote intensely careerist individuals who are essentially dilettantes in this area rather than the numerous experienced people who actually believe in the mission and value the institution's reputation over clawing to the top.

I don't understand this bent toward advancing the high school bullies and mean girls (invariably Gen Xers) over the more experienced Gen X and millenial adults except for a profound lack of insight at the top.  I am holding out on retirement in the hopes I can steer things in a better direction.

As it is I feel like the boy with his finger in the dike and spend a huge amount of time covering up and smoothing over the mis-steps of the careerists. My normal work week has been 60 hours a week for a very long time, but this was not exhausting until patching things over became my main activity.

I am not optimistic this can be turned around and will leave if I see one too many insults to the reputation of the agency that I have gladly served for so many years.[/quote]

At my agency the only advancement opportunities are into management, and a lot of our valued contributors either can't or don't want to manage people. So yes, they are being leapfrogged by younger people with broad but shallow experience who want to manage.

Based purely on your post, I'd encourage you to retire. You are not going to change how they advance people, and it's unclear why you want to cover for these "careerists" you dislike.  The agency will be fine if you leave -- or not, which is its own satisfaction -- and you'll free up a spot for somebody else to grow into. Lack of room to promote promising young people is my biggest retention challenge as a manager.  [/quote]

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