Not the Retiring Type

This is an extract from the most comprehensive survey of New Zealand Babyboomers ever undertaken. It was conducted in mid 2009 by Sharon Buckland as part of her thesis. There are some very interesting conclusions.

Youthful spirit
New Zealander baby boomers resoundingly agree that a person is not “old” until they are in their eighties. The New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 asked boomers, “how old is ‘old’”? and the mean answer was 81 years. This is slightly more optimistic than US boomers’ perception, which is 79.5 (Smith & Clurman, 2007).

Almost all (98.6%) New Zealand baby boomers agree that people should try to maintain a youthful spirit about life.

Eighty-nine percent agree that age is a state of mind and 88% aren’t worried about getting older. New Zealand boomers disagree (79%) that their best years are behind them and 70% do not see themselves facing any limits whatsoever because of their age. Overwhelmingly (91.6%), they disagree that there is little for people their age to look forward to besides getting older and coping with old age.

Like their American counterparts, New Zealand baby boomers have no intention of retiring in what they perceive to be only their middle-age, but unlike Americans, New Zealand boomers’ views in this area are more emphatic and universal. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of them say they have no intention of having a quiet retirement, compared to just 57.6% of American baby boomers, and 80% of New Zealanders say they have no intention of acting their age, compared to 68% of Americans. Both populations agree equally strongly (89%) that there is no reason for them to feel any less vital and energetic as they get older.

New Zealand boomers have a younger (in spirit) and more vigorous profile than their American counterparts, but are also grounded in a strong sense of social responsibility. More than 90% of them believe they have a part to play in addressing the important social issues facing the country, and almost 89% say they expect to pay their own way in the future. 89% say they have no intention of living beyond their means, but that doesn’t mean they’re prepared to see their means restricted – unlike their American counterparts, New Zealand baby boomers will find ways to get more rather than make do with less.

They remain youthful in profile – flexible, idealistic, individualistic, challenging, searching for answers, special, and above all, boundlessly, resiliently optimistic about the future.



Table 1: New Zealand and American baby boomers' agreement with statements relating to Youthfulness, ranked
Respondents asked to strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement.
Answer Options NZ % top 2 boxes US % top 2 boxes NZ Response Count
People should try to maintain a youthful spirit about life 98.6% 96.6% 765
The possibilities afforded to us by technology are only going to continue to grow 97.6% 96.6% 828
In the future, older people will be much more active and engaged than older people in the past 94.1% 88.7% 769
I know how to use technology to make my life more interesting and more enjoyable 93.1% 90.2% 793
I believe that life is a set of endless opportunities no matter what your age 92.3% 87.3% 804
I like knowing what young people are doing and creating 91.7% 87.7% 772
Disagree: There is little for people my age to look forward to besides getting older and coping with old age 91.6% 85.6% 772
There is no reason why young people and older people can't enjoy the same kinds of things 90.7% 92.2% 806
There is no reason that you have to feel less vital and energetic as you get older 89.1% 89.0% 773
Age is a state of mind 89.0% - 776
Disagree: I worry all the time about getting older 88.2% 84.8% 788
I like to discover new ways to use things and teach them to others 85.9% 86.1% 757
People my age can learn a lot from young people 85.0% 68.5% 768
I enjoy keeping up with new trends and the latest happenings 83.8% 57.2% 761
Disagree: The future belongs to the next generation, my generation won't have much to do with it 83.7% 83.2% 768
Disagree: My best years are behind me 79.3% 74.3% 769
I am always trying to think of something new and different to work toward 75.4% 69.2% 765
Disagree: I always try to act my age 73.0% 60.2% 789
I do not see myself as facing any limits whatsoever because of my age 69.7% 56.9% 824
The best years of Baby Boomers are yet to come 69.4% 60.8% 777
I like to seek out and try once in a lifetime experiences 69.0% 59.6% 790
I never look back, I always look forward 61.9% 43.3% 764
Disagree: Most people will never achieve the Kiwi/American dream 55.9% 46.5% 757
I like being the first to know about new technologies 52.3% 50.3% 772
Our society has become too dependent on technology and doesn't know how to function without it 50.3% 72.3% 767
Aging is inevitable so we just have to get used to slowing down and doing less 45.6% 49.7% 804
Sources: New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009; US Boomer Dreams Study 2006




New Zealand baby boomer values

Survey respondents were shown 25 pairs of statements and asked to choose which one of the two they identified with more closely. The major findings are discussed below and a full table of the 25 polarised value sets is shown in Appendix C.

Integrity
New Zealand baby boomers value integrity over success, but not quite as highly as US boomers. While not moralistic, they have a strong moral compass (82% agree that they have a very clear sense of right and wrong), and most agree that people have a responsibility to leave the world a better place (94% agree).


NZ: Integrity 89.8% over success 10.2%
US: Integrity 94% over success 6%

New Zealand baby boomers bring this integrity into the workplace and nearly three quarters of them (73%) will not work just for money.

Eighty-two percent of New Zealand boomers prefer to spend their money on life-enriching experiences such as travel and adventures, over success status symbols. They are 17% more likely than Americans (65%) to have this attitude/ Material things are not important to 53% of them, who see the Kiwi dream as being more about the way they live their life (74%) than about the things they have.

Individuality
Both populations value their individuality highly.


NZ: Individuality 86% over conformity 14%
US: Individuality 88.7% over conformity 11.3%

Seventy-six percent of New Zealand boomers intend to spend time over the next 5-10 years carving out their own future path, and 81% agree that everybody should be able to do their own thing.


Vitality but not regained youth
New Zealand boomers think they should learn to live with lines rather than having plastic surgery to get rid of the lines, and they are, unsurprisingly, ahead of the US in this view.


NZ: Learning to live with lines 97.8% over getting plastic surgery 2.2%
US: Learning to live with lines 93.7% over getting plastic surgery 6.3%

While they are concerned about trying to stay in shape (80%) and intend to focus more on improving their fitness and health (91%), New Zealand boomers do not wish they actually were younger. Eighty-three percent disagree with the statement, “I want to do everything I possibly can to look 10 or 15 years younger”; 52% disagree it’s important to keep their look current and fashionable; and 67% are not concerned about doing whatever they can to make themselves look attractive.


Shared values
New Zealand boomers tend to prefer to have friends who share their values, rather than choosing friends with different values from them; similar to but slightly more than American boomers. Nearly 54% of New Zealand baby boomers think that most other New Zealanders share their personal values and point of view.

NZ: Having friends with the same values 83.4% over Having friends with different values 16.6%
US: Having friends with the same values 80.3% over Having friends with different values 19.7%


Instinctiveness
All baby boomers trust their own instincts over the opinions of experts, with New Zealand boomers marginally more likely to express this preference when asked to choose. Almost all (97%) New Zealand boomers say they trust their instincts in general, slightly more than in the US (95%). This finding is consistent with the strong moral certainty of New Zealand baby boomers (82% have a very clear sense of right and wrong).


NZ: Following your own instincts 83.2% over Listening to the experts 16.8%
US: Following your own instincts 80.4% over Listening to the experts 19.6%


Change
New Zealand boomers are very comfortable with change, more so than their American counterparts.


NZ: Comfortable with change 83.1% over Not comfortable with change* 16.9%
US: Comfortable with change 76.7 % over Resistant to change 23.3%
* NZ statement reframed to reduce question bias

Fewer than 45% of New Zealand baby boomers agree with the statement, “Once I get something established and working in my life, I don’t like to change it”, whereas two-thirds (66%) of American boomers agree. More than 80% still like to change things about themselves just for the sake of changing, compared to 66% of American boomers; 88% agree that it’s important to continually challenge the established way of doing things (compared to 70%); and more than 90% of New Zealand boomers are happy to simply pick up and start over whenever life closes in on them, compared to 66% of American boomers.

However, while more than 73% of New Zealand boomers disagree that people who accept things are better off than those who try to change them, more than 87% of US baby boomers disagree with the same statement. This disparity may be due to cynicism about whether Americans think they’d be better off than whether they think they should or shouldn’t try to change things.


Optimism about the future
It may be the resilient optimism that New Zealand baby boomers display in such greater proportions than American baby boomers that explains why New Zealanders’ optimism about the future is substantially higher than that expressed by American boomers, despite the American study having been conducted in good economic times (2006) and the New Zealand study being conducted during a recession (2009).


NZ: Looking forward to the future 81.3% over Worried about the future 18.7%
US: Looking forward to the future 59.5% over Worried about the future 40.5%

The US baby boomer profile identified distinct differences between “haves” and “have nots”, with “have nots” being more pessimistic and worried about the future. New Zealand’s more egalitarian society does not see such a wide socio-economic divide; in addition, New Zealand baby boomers have been socially conditioned throughout their lives to expect safety net support from the state. New Zealand baby boomers enjoyed high quality free education, including tertiary; excellent health care; and an expectation of a livable retirement pension amidst a background of economic prosperity. It may be a lifetime of the security of this safety net that has fostered this unshakeable optimism, or it may be endemic in the New Zealand character.

Most (92.3%) New Zealand boomers agree with the statement, “life is a set of endless opportunities no matter what your age”, compared with 87.3% of US boomers.


Information
New Zealand Baby Boomers are hungry for information, almost as hungry as their American cousins. This characteristic is prevalent in baby boomers but not in the generational cohorts before them. It is counter-intuitive to the traditional view that “old people” are overwhelmed by how much information is now available to them, and suggests that baby boomers are prepared to use technology to help them gather the information they need.


NZ: Hungry for information 80.8% over Overwhelmed by information 19.2%
US: Hungry for information 84% over Overwhelmed by information 16%


Internet penetration is 88.6% among New Zealand baby boomers (Candy, 2009); more than 97% of them agree that the possibilities afforded to them by technology are only going to continue to grow and 93% agree they know how to use technology to make their lives more interesting and enjoyable. They are not opting out and winding down; they are determined to stay current.


Curiosity
New Zealand baby boomers are still searching for answers, rather than assuming their now-extensive life experiences have equipped them with all of the knowledge they need to pass down; this trait distinguishes baby boomers, in New Zealand and elsewhere, from their predecessor generations.


NZ: Looking for answers 76.3% over Knowing the answers 23.7%
US: Looking for answers 70.4% over Knowing the answers 29.6%


Adventurousness
New Zealand baby boomers are keen on doing something completely new in preference to settling down to a routine. They are 15% more likely than American boomers to feel this way.


NZ: Doing something completely new 75.2% over Settling down to a routine 24.8%
US: Doing something completely new 60.2% over Settling down to a routine 39.8%

This adventurousness is highly characteristic of New Zealand baby boomers, who do not see any limits put on them whatsoever despite their increasing age (70% agree, compared to just 57% of American baby boomers). They intend to spend their next years doing things they’ve always wanted to do (90%); having new adventures that are exciting and new (88%); and getting more out of life (87%). Travel makes up an important part of their future plans (81%) and will spawn a new age of Boomer OEs.

This adventurous spirit permeates every aspect of the New Zealand baby boomer’s life, from leisure interests, to self-discovery, to the workplace.

Three quarters of them (73%) plan to explore their potential in new and interesting ways; 72% plan to fulfill their lifelong dreams and ambitions; 63% plan to find something totally new to do and the same number plan to unleash their personal potential. 60% plan to test themselves in new ways to prove themselves; half plan to move somewhere new, a third plan to start a new career, 21% will start their own business … in fact, settling down to a routine doesn’t appear to be on the agenda at all. The sense of endless possibilities before them is evidenced in their depth of commitment to a wide range of choices. Three quarters of them are risk-takers (74% disagree with the statement, “I am more concerned than ever about protecting myself and not taking any risks at all”).


Simplicity
All boomers prefer simplifying over packing more in, with Americans more likely to hold this view. New Zealanders in general enjoy a simpler, more relaxed lifestyle in a considerably smaller and less crowded population, so this difference is not surprising.


NZ: Simplifying 72.9% over Packing more in 27.1%
US: Simplifying 82.1% over Packing more in 17.9%


Being more special
New Zealand baby boomers see themselves as special rather than average, and they are twenty percent more likely to feel this way than American boomers.


NZ: Special 72.8% over Average 27.2%
US: Special 57.7% over Average 42.3%

Because the New Zealand population does not display the same economic divide as the American population, and because New Zealand baby boomers have been cushioned from true economic hardship by a lifetime of social welfare safety net, the “presumption of economic security” (Smith & Clurman, 2007) that forged the baby boomer character remains unassailable in the New Zealand population. The nature of New Zealand’s protected and lush environment allows New Zealand baby boomers to personally experience abundance, and therefore continue to see themselves as particularly privileged.


Leadership
All boomers identify with being a leader over being a follower, with New Zealanders displaying a slight cultural tendency towards reticence.


NZ: Leader 71.6% over Follower 28.4%
US: Leader 75.1% over Follower 24.9%

However, the sense of being a leader displays itself in New Zealand baby boomers as fierce individuality, self-responsibility and independence. Three quarters of them believe the route to the Kiwi dream is to forge it themselves and that they can “carve their own path”. Their strong sense of moral certainty (82%) also factors in their leadership character.


Ingenuity
New Zealand boomers vary from US boomers in one major area, which is their unwillingness to make do with less and their willingness to use their Kiwi ingenuity to find ways to get more, which is a cornerstone New Zealand cultural trait that supports a general baby boomer unwillingness to compromise on what they want. The majority of American boomers are prepared to try to make do with less, whereas New Zealand boomers will continue to find ways to get more; there is a 22% gap between the views of the two populations, despite the New Zealand study being conducted during the 2009 recession.


NZ: Finding ways to get more 65.4% over Making do with less 34.6%
US: Making do with less 56.6% over Finding ways to get more 43.4%

New Zealand baby boomers are unwilling to accept things the way they are (73%); they have a high tolerance for continually challenging the established way of doing things (88%) and they consistently opt in large numbers for novelty and change.


Flexibility
New Zealanders would rather adjust to the future than take care of it, more so than Americans, although both populations are equally laid-back.


NZ: Adjust to the future as it unfolds 64.9% over Take care of the future 35.1%
US: Adjust to the future as it unfolds 51.3% over Take care of the future 48.7%

Within that flexibility, however, is a strong sense of self-determination.


Challenge
The willingness to challenge rather than accept authority has been characteristic of boomers throughout their lives and remains a priority even as they age; this trait is slightly more prevalent in New Zealand.


NZ: Challenge authority 64.1% over Accept authority 35.9%
US: Challenge authority 61% over Accept authority 39%

New Zealand baby boomers also agree that it is important for people to continually challenge the established way of doing things (88% agree).

In summary, New Zealand baby boomers value several distinctive character traits that are in varying degrees similar to American baby boomer traits.

 Integrity
 Individuality
 Vitality
 Shared values
 Instinctiveness
 Change
 Optimism about the future
 Information
 Curiosity
 Adventurousness
 Simplicity
 Being more special
 Leadership
 Ingenuity
 Flexibility
 Challenge

A list of the full 25 polarised value sets and the comparative results are available in Appendix C.

Dimensions of character

Huber & Skidmore (2003) identified two distinctive characteristics among UK baby boomers, individualism and liberalism.

Smith & Clurman (2007) identified characteristics of youthfulness (immortality) and morality. The youthfulness characteristic is dominant and includes a number of dimensions, as shown in the figure below.



Figure 5: Smith & Clurman’s Dimensions of Youthfulness,
from “Generation Ageless” (Smith & Clurman, 2007), p. 26.

The significance of this is that the midlife of American baby boomers has a distinctively youthful aspect to it, which will carry over to older age. US baby boomers want to continue to matter and impact on the world. They have no intention of decelerating or fading out of the limelight.

Smith & Clurman’s US Baby Boomer Characteristics
Summarised from “Generation Ageless” (Smith & Clurman, 2007).
Presumption of prosperity
 Unlimited potential & opportunities fueled by economic plenty
 Presumption of economic security, rooted in unbridled economic optimism, unprecedented abundance and wide ranging prosperity
 No need to sacrifice their interests or desires
 No need to accept conformity or limitations
 Unfettered, indulgent, absorbed, celebratory self
 No need to worry about economic survival, so free pursuit of fulfillment, enlightenment and meaning
 Economic problems (1973 oil shock and 1979 “confluence of crises” downturn led to drop in trust in public institutions and authorities) – boomers choice was to downsize expectations and learn to live with less or gear up to be more aggressive about securing what they wanted (boomers chose the latter)
Psychology of Affluence – the New Values
 Greater emphasis on self
 Less structured lifestyles
 More enriching personal environments
 Rule breakers par excellence (the self not being hemmed in)
 Superiority of novelty (all about the new, of which youth was the epitome)
After 1979, emergence of the New Realism
 Single minded focus on not losing
 Aggressive self interest “greed is good”
 Conspicuous consumption – luxury as an everyday experience
 Fundamental belief in a future that affords them the generational luxury of focusing on self-discovery, self-development and self-fulfillment.
 No interest in sacrifice of self
Not accepting limits means not compromising
 Confrontational
 Polarising
 Uncompromising
 Face challenges and limits by changing the kind of self on which they focus
Figure 6: Smith & Clurman’s US Baby Boomer Characteristics


The New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 had somewhat different findings. The study listed 140 attitudinal statements and asked respondents to agree or disagree on a four-point scale; this report’s findings list the percentages of respondents selecting the top two “agree” choices. A full table of the 140 agree/disagree statements is available in Appendix D. To reduce question bias, a number of statements were expressed in the negative; they appear at the bottom of the table in Appendix D but are commonly reversed in this report to provide greater meaning.


In New Zealand, the two distinctive characteristics of baby boomers are vitality and responsibility, with vitality being more prevalent.


Figure 7: Dimensions of Kiwi Vitality


New Zealand baby boomers are less interested in rule-breaking and more likely to assume the rules simply don’t apply to them. They are nearly 18% more likely than their American counterparts to focus their future energies on playing by fewer rules. They care less about fighting to champion social injustice and causes to change the status quo, and more about using their innate Kiwi ingenuity to find new ways to get what they want, letting the status quo change as a result.

They’re more about fitness than vigour, per se. They’re more sporting, more outdoorsy and more likely to be physically vital and they almost universally (91%) plan to stay that way. They are nearly 30% more likely than their American counterparts to work towards being more physically active. They almost universally agree (94%) that in the future older people will be much more active and engaged than their predecessor generation, and they see no reason to feel less vital and energetic as they age (89%).

When they are not out exploring the world, New Zealand baby boomers savour their quiet satisfactions. Not asked in the US study but prevalent in the New Zealand optional responses was a focus on relationships, particularly with partners, and also with family. Personal enrichment is more important in greater depth in the New Zealand character than in the US baby boomer. Learning new skills or hobbies (84%, compared to 71% in the US), reading more books (89%, compared to 76% of American boomers)), enjoying more leisure activities (88%) and making new friends (83%, compared to 67% of American boomers) rate highly in the future plans of New Zealand baby boomers. They will also indulge themselves with more of life’s luxuries more often (72%, compared to 48% of American boomers).

New Zealand baby boomers are strongly driven by the adventure dimension and associate this dimension with novelty. With their almost universally resilient optimism, they see no barriers to them reshaping their lives for their greater satisfaction. They have very little resistance to change (in fact they embrace it) and are both flexible and ingenious. Travel features highly in their plans – many baby boomers “did their OE”, or travelled internationally on extended working holidays, during their youth. The OE experience, once thought endemic in New Zealand, is no longer something young people do (although the ‘gap year’ is emerging), but New Zealand baby boomers plan to reprise it. Eighty-one percent plan to travel the world in the future, compared to just 60% of their American counterparts. Having new adventures that are exciting and fun (88%, compared to 71% of US boomers), getting more out of life (87%, compared to 75% of US boomers) and exploring their potential in new and innovative ways (73%, compared to just 62% of US boomers), all feature prominently in their plans.

Table 5: New Zealand and American baby boomers' agreement with statements relating to VITALITY, ranked
Respondents asked to strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement.
Answer Options NZ % top 2 boxes US % top 2 boxes NZ Response Count
VITALITY
People should try to maintain a youthful spirit about life 98.6% 96.6% 765
I trust my instincts 97.2% 95.2% 757
In the future, older people will be much more active and engaged than older people in the past 94.1% 88.7% 769
I believe that life is a set of endless opportunities no matter what your age 92.3% 87.3% 804
I like knowing what young people are doing and creating 91.7% 87.7% 772
Disagree: There is little for people my age to look forward to besides getting older and coping with old age 91.6% 85.6% 772
There is no reason why young people and older people can't enjoy the same kinds of things 90.7% 92.2% 806
There is no reason that you have to feel less vital and energetic as you get older 89.1% 89.0% 773
Age is a state of mind 89.0% Not asked 776
Young people can learn a lot from my generation 88.8% 92.6% 780
Disagree: I worry all the time about getting older 88.2% 84.8% 788
I like to discover new ways to use things and teach them to others 85.9% 86.1% 757
Personal enrichment is very important to me 85.8% 81.8% 789
People my age can learn a lot from young people 85.0% 68.5% 768
I enjoy keeping up with new trends and the latest happenings 83.8% 57.2% 761
Disagree: The future belongs to the next generation, my generation won't have much to do with it 83.7% 83.2% 768
Even though there are many things I would like to own, I prefer spending my money on experiences that will enrich my life, like travel, holidays, eating out, etc. 82.2% 65.1% 825
Everybody should be able to do his or her own thing 81.0% 64.7% 773
Disagree: My best years are behind me 79.3% 74.3% 769
I don't take myself too seriously, I laugh at myself all the time 79.3% 80.3% 826
I am always trying to think of something new and different to work toward 75.4% 69.2% 765
To achieve the Kiwi dream, you pretty much have to go your own way and do it on your own terms 75.2% 64.5% 775
I am better off now than my parents were at my age 75.1% 65.1% 767
Disagree: The Kiwi/American dream is more about the things I have than the way I live my life 74.2% 77.9% 799
Disagree: I always try to act my age 73.0% 60.2% 789
I do not see myself as facing any limits whatsoever because of my age 69.7% 56.9% 824
The best years of Baby Boomers are yet to come 69.4% 60.8% 777
I like to seek out and try once in a lifetime experiences 69.0% 59.6% 790
What we are lacking in New Zealand today is a compelling vision for the future 68.3% 72.0% 756
I have never felt trapped by a lack of training 68.2% 56.5% 790
The challenges our society faces in the future are formidable and alarming 66.5% 89.6% 773
The good opportunities I saw as a young person were there for me when I got older 64.6% 53.6% 788
New Zealanders should get used to the idea that our wealth is limited and most of us are not likely to become better off than we are now 64.0% 40.3% 816
Disagree: I'm more concerned with myself than with the world 63.4% 77.3% 787
Disagree: All I want out of life is enough to be comfortable; more than that is not worth the effort 62.6% 60.8% 792
I never look back, I always look forward 61.9% 43.3% 764
I like the idea of starting a new career or job if and when I retire 59.3% 58.3% 800
Disagree: Most people will never achieve the Kiwi/American dream 55.9% 46.5% 757
Disagree: Material things like the car I drive and the house I live in are really important to me 53.1% 62.6% 768
Disagree: Aging is inevitable so we just have to get used to slowing down and doing less 45.6% 49.7% 804
Lately, I have had to admit to myself that like it or not I am getting to be an old person 44.5% 38.0% 806
In the future, I intend to focus more on myself and less on others 42.0% 22.7% 772
I am concerned about buying products that express my own style and personality 39.3% 40.5% 794
In the future, I intend to focus less on myself and more on others 38.6% 61.6% 762
Sources: New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009; US Boomer Dreams Study 2006
A full table of the 140 agree/disagree statements is available in Appendix D.


Table 6: New Zealand and American baby boomers' agreement with statements relating to attitude to change, and technology adoption, ranked
Respondents asked to strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement.
Answer Options NZ % top 2 boxes US % top 2 boxes NZ Response Count

Attitude to Change
I trust my instincts 97.2% 95.2% 757
Whenever life closes in on me, I just pick up and start over 90.7% 66.0% 803
It is important for people to continually challenge the established way of doing things 87.8% 70.1% 771
Periodically, it is fun to change things about myself just for the sake of changing 80.4% 65.7% 772
People who accept things are better off than those who try to change them - disagree 73.4% 87.5% 794
Once I get something established and working in my life, I don't like to change it - Disagree 55.4% 33.6% 801
It is important for me to be seen as someone willing to defy convention 51.7% 35.9% 776


Technology Adoption
The possibilities afforded to us by technology are only going to continue to grow 97.6% 96.6% 828
I know how to use technology to make my life more interesting and more enjoyable 93.1% 90.2% 793
I like being the first to know about new technologies 52.3% 50.3% 772
Our society has become too dependent on technology and doesn't know how to function without it 50.3% 72.3% 767
Sources: New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009; US Boomer Dreams Study 2006
A full table of the 140 agree/disagree statements is available in Appendix D.


Individuality and self-reliance are strong national characteristics that are prevalent in the New Zealand baby boomer character. They almost universally (90%) want to spend their time in future doing the things they’ve always wanted to do, but may have deferred due to work and family responsibilities. New Zealand baby boomers are 16% more likely to feel this way than American baby boomers. They are also nearly 20% more likely to want to put themselves first more often – individuality expressed as self-focus.

At the core of what makes New Zealand baby boomers distinct from baby boomers from anywhere else is their Vitality (see Table 2, page 42). They are “fizzier” than American baby boomers, passionate and opinionated, fiercely independent in their individuality. They thirst for the new, see endless new horizons before them and no barriers to pursuing them, and are less willing to allow themselves to be reined in. Being kiwis, they will find a way around any obstruction in their pursuit of self-actualisation and the full and complete experience of their lives.



Balancing the youthful hedonism and vitality of New Zealand baby boomers is a strongly adult sense of responsibility, with four key dimensions.




Figure 8: Dimensions of Kiwi Responsibility



Self-determination
New Zealand baby boomers are fiercely self-determined and independent, and have no intention of stepping back and letting the next generation take charge of their lives (84% disagree that the future belongs to the next generation and that their generation will have little to do with it). They have no intention of “sponging” on the young – 87% of them say they expect to pay their own way all their lives.


Table 8: New Zealand and American baby boomers' agreement with statements relating to self-determination, ranked
Respondents asked to strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement.
Answer Options NZ % top 2 boxes US % top 2 boxes NZ Response Count
Self-determination
I trust my instincts 97.2% 95.2% 757
Health is the driver to being able to do what you like 94.7% Not asked 819
I expect to pay my own way all my life 86.9% Not asked 763
To achieve the Kiwi/American dream, you pretty much have to go your own way and do it on your own terms 75.2% 64.5% 775
I have a plan for my future and I'm on track to achieve it 72.1% Not asked 827
Disagree: I believe that my health over the next 10 years will restrict my abilities and capabilities 64.5% 59.2% 764

Sources: New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009; US Boomer Dreams Study 2006
A full table of the 140 agree/disagree statements is available in Appendix D.


While flexible and comfortable with change, they will take control over their future (81%) in larger numbers than their American counterparts (74%). 72% of them have a plan for their future and are on track to achieve it. 76% say they will carve out their own future path. However, they are unlikely to campaign for all baby boomers to be treated the same way; they believe strongly in an individual’s right to do their own thing (81%, compared to 65% of US boomers), and they still believe that superannuation should be provided (62% agree) and that healthcare should be a universal right, even if they are not confident the system will be able to provide it (30% agree).

They are more likely to take personal responsibility for their financial wellbeing. While New Zealand baby boomers have ambitious plans to enjoy the next few decades, they are prepared to make sure they are financially secure so that they can fund their lifestyle choices (80%). They also plan to ensure they have enough money to get by, (82%, compared with 72% of US baby boomers), and they are taking responsibility for planning their own retirements (72%, compared to 68% in the US).

Recognising that health is the driver to them being able to do what they like (95% agree), they are taking control of improving their fitness and health (91%).


Social responsibility
Like their American cousins, New Zealand baby boomers believe strongly (94%) that “we are all responsible to leave the world a better place when we leave it”. However, the New Zealand sense of social responsibility is more global and altruistic than occurs in the American profile. This is characterised by Smith & Clurman (2007) as the US baby boomer tendency to champion issues and causes that matter to them personally, with every personal concern framed as a moral issue. New Zealand baby boomers are, on the whole, not moralistic, preferring a more laissez-faire, or “to each his own”, approach to moral issues.

Table 9: New Zealand and American baby boomers' agreement with statements relating to responsibility, ranked
Respondents asked to strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement.
Answer Options NZ % top 2 boxes US % top 2 boxes NZ Response Count
RESPONSIBILITY
I trust my instincts 97.2% 95.2% 757
People have a responsibility to leave the world a better place to live 94.1% 94.2% 768
Without passion and zeal by individual people, important social problems won't ever get solved 93.5% 90.2% 825
We are all responsible to leave the world a better place when we leave it 93.4% 93.8% 761
The actions of a single individual can make a big difference in life 92.9% 94.8% 802
I feel the need to not live beyond my means 89.0% 80.3% 803
I like to keep up with politics and public issues 88.1% 92.2% 758
We can solve the social problems we face today if everybody would just do their one small part to help 85.3% 85.3% 774
Businesses have a social responsibility to their employees and to the community 84.7% 88.9% 802
I think it is important for all of us to look for ways in which we can get involved and improve society 83.7% 93.7% 816
The future belongs to the next generation, my generation won't have much to do with it - Disagree 83.7% 83.2% 768
I am very passionate about the causes I care about 82.2% 94.8% 776
In every situation, I have a very clear sense of the right and the wrong thing to do 82.0% 80.6% 807
People should be entitled to the best medical care as a social right 79.0% 69.3% 780
I feel a responsibility to help others out and support the common good 79.0% 89.9% 787
Many of the best things about life today were pioneered and made possible by the actions and contributions of the Baby Boomer generation 78.7% 68.2% 827
If I'm doing something I love it doesn't matter if I get paid for it 77.3% not asked 777
People should be entitled to a secure retirement as a social right 74.2% 64.3% 819
Disagree: Many of the social problems facing us today are rooted in the mistakes or failures of baby boomers 72.2% 51.4% 755
I feel that I have achieved the right balance of time in my life for all the things that are important to me 67.3% 58.2% 768
Unless the media embraces a social problem, it will never get the money and attention it needs to get solved 66.2% 63.6% 760
After my children have left home, I will have more time and energy in the years ahead to do something important 61.4% 47.7% 753
Economic well-being in this country is unfairly distributed 58.1% 61.3% 763
Our charities, faith-based organisations and families should be playing a greater role in creating stronger communities and to help people in need 57.4% 84.1% 756
The best way to get social problems solved is to work through non-governmental organisations that have dedicated budgets and a single purpose 55.1% 61.4% 801
I feel that my personal values and point of view are shared by most New Zealanders today 53.8% 59.0% 797
I feel the need for something more meaningful to work toward in my life 48.6% 59.5% 806
I often feel that something is missing from my life 39.6% 46.8% 765
Sources: New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009; US Boomer Dreams Study 2006
A full table of the 140 agree/disagree statements is available in Appendix D.


New Zealand baby boomers almost universally champion the obligation of responsibility over the assertion of personal rights (90%, compared with 60% of US baby boomers).

As a result, New Zealand baby boomers are much less likely to get involved in politics (just 18% compared to 63% of American boomers) or social causes that matter to them personally (57% compared to 66% of American boomers). They are more likely to be interested in environmental issues (60% compared to 50% in the US); and in working to make the community a better place (70%, compared to 64% of Americans); and giving more time (56%) or money (42%) to charity.

Eighty-five percent believe businesses have a social responsibility to their employees and to the community, and they are likely to impose this view on business even more in the future, backed by the weight of their considerable purchasing power.

New Zealand is a more egalitarian and secular society than the USA. There is well-established New Zealand research in the areas of social equity, women’s rights and religion, so these areas were largely excluded from the New Zealand study. Those questions that were retained confirm known existing views. For example, just 14% of New Zealanders plan to focus their time in the future on sharing their religious beliefs with others, or agree that they look to religion as a source of comfort, compared to nearly half (46% and 52% respectively) of Americans. The prevailing perception of New Zealand as already egalitarian is reflected in measurements of interest in working to fix the inequities of society (just a third of New Zealanders, compared to half of all Americans; and championing human rights in society (just 32% of New Zealanders, compared to 45% of Americans).

Meaning
Work provides meaning for New Zealand baby boomers, which is a major reason for them electing to remain in the workforce past 65. They will not yield their capacity to achieve meaning through work.

More than 80% agree that work is an important part of who they are; 83% say it is important to their self-esteem. But “work” does not necessarily mean the same as “job”. Baby boomers see purposeful endeavour as “work” and a “job” as a set of tasks.

Almost all New Zealand baby boomers (95%) agree that they have been able to make a meaningful contribution in their job, higher than their American colleagues at 91%. Most of them (85%) expect to get pleasure from their work and nearly 60% disagree that the only reason they work is for the money, while three-quarters are unwilling to work at a boring job even if the pay is good. This generational expectation that their jobs will provide meaning separates the baby boomer cohort from predecessor cohorts, which were more inclined to view a job as an economic necessity and a duty.

Despite universally agreeing they have made a meaningful contribution to work, only two-thirds of New Zealand baby boomers agree that they have been as successful as desired, and 40% feel something is still missing from their life, suggesting a gap in personal fulfillment that may well lead to an increased search for meaning.

Three-quarters of New Zealand baby boomers agree that if they are doing something they love, it doesn’t matter whether they get paid for it, while nearly two-thirds (66%) agree that they don’t have to have a job to feel good about themselves. This suggests they can separate the two and do not necessarily need to be tied to the workplace to meet their “meaning” needs. This is good news for the voluntary sector, which can tap into the New Zealand baby boomer thirst for purposeful endeavour, even without the money to pay them. Provided community organisations can deliver the opportunities to learn, grow and enhance the need baby boomers have to continue to matter, they will attract a large pool of talented and experienced volunteers.

The search for meaning will drive half of New Zealand baby boomers to seek to redefine the purpose of their lives, and in the search, perhaps work on solving their perceived problem that New Zealand is lacking a compelling vision of the future (68% agree).

In the future, New Zealand baby boomers plan to spend their time and energy on getting more out of life (82%, compared to 72% of US boomers); exploring their potential (73%, compared to 62% of US boomers); and exploring the world and within themselves to find and enhance their sense of meaning.

A deep sense of meaning and purpose adds to the New Zealand baby boomer desire for personal enrichment, prevalent in the Vitality character dimension.

Kaumatuatanga – respected, responsible elders
The Maori concept of kaumatuatanga establishes a respected place for older people, affording them status, with an expectation that they will add to the standing, or mana, of the community or society they represent. This is a distinctly adult world view, involving a responsibility to nurture and protect younger adults and children, recognise and foster youth potential, help to resolve community disputes, as well as carry the culture and maintain the traditions and integrity of society (Durie, 2001).

New Zealand baby boomers have a strong sense of tradition and values, grounded in a deeply held belief in what is right and wrong.

They report that they are sick and tired of hearing people disrespect New Zealand values (63% agree); they respect the past (70% agree it is important to learn from the past and to do things in a proven way); and they feel a responsibility to help others out and support the common good (80%).

New Zealand baby boomers make good mentors. Two-thirds of them intend to become involved in mentoring and helping young people; nearly all (89%) believe young people can learn a lot from their generation and, most promisingly, that they can learn a lot from young people (85% agree). They use their ingenuity to discover new ways to use things and enjoy teaching them to others. They are intensely interested in what young people are doing and creating (92% agree) and, youthful in spirit themselves, easily identify with the young (more than 90% agree that there is no reason why young people and older people can’t enjoy the same things).

Nearly 81% of New Zealand baby boomers who have children intend to help them financially.

Almost all New Zealand baby boomers disagree that the future belongs to the next generation and that they won’t have much to do with it (84% disagree). They are preparing for a future in which older people will be much more active and engaged than older people in the past (94% agree).

At the core of what defines the depth of the New Zealand baby boomer character is responsibility. New Zealand baby boomers have a strong moral compass, without being burdened by a moralistic attitude that would see their values imposed on others. They differ from their counterparts in other parts of the world with their broader social view over self-interest and it is this more altruistic (iwi, hapu, whanau, self), inter-generational view that resonates with the Maori concept of kaumatuatanga.

Table 10: New Zealand and American baby boomers' agreement with statements relating to Kaumatuatanga (the place of respected, responsible elders), ranked
Respondents asked to strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement.
Answer Options NZ % top 2 boxes US % top 2 boxes NZ Response Count
I trust my instincts 97.2% 95.2% 757
People have a responsibility to leave the world a better place to live 94.1% 94.2% 768
Without passion and zeal by individual people, important social problems won't ever get solved 93.5% 90.2% 825
We are all responsible to leave the world a better place when we leave it 93.4% 93.8% 761
The actions of a single individual can make a big difference in life 92.9% 94.8% 802
There is too much concern with rights and not enough with responsibilities 89.7% 59.7% 825
We can solve the social problems we face today if everybody would just do their one small part to help 85.3% 85.3% 774
I think it is important for all of us to look for ways in which we can get involved and improve society 83.7% 93.7% 816
Disagree: The future belongs to the next generation, my generation won't have much to do with it 83.7% 83.2% 768
In every situation, I have a very clear sense of the right and the wrong thing to do 82.0% 80.6% 807
I feel a responsibility to help others out and support the common good 79.0% 89.9% 787
If I'm doing something I love it doesn't matter if I get paid for it 77.3% Not asked 777
Disagree: The Kiwi/American dream is more about the things I have than the way I live my life 74.2% 77.9% 799
It is important to learn from the past and to do things in a proven way 69.9% 83.0% 755
What we are lacking in New Zealand today is a compelling vision for the future 68.3% 72.0% 756
I feel a growing need to share important occasions with others 63.3% 67.0% 818
Our charities, faith-based organisations and families should be playing a greater role in creating stronger communities and to help people in need 57.4% 84.1% 756
I have a strong connection with the community where I live 55.5% 59.4% 818
I feel the need for something more meaningful to work toward in my life 48.8% 59.5% 806
Sources: New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009; US Boomer Dreams Study 2006
A table of all of the 140 agree/disagree statements is available in Appendix D. To reduce question bias, a number of statements were expressed in the negative; they appear at the bottom of the table in Appendix D but are commonly reversed in this report to provide greater meaning.


The next 5-10 years – what’s important

In the New Zealand Boomer Dreams 2009 Study, New Zealand baby boomers were asked to use a seven-point scale to show how likely they were to focus their energies and invest their time over the next five to ten years, based on 65 different life choices. They were also given an option to choose other life focus preferences, but there were no significant issues missed off the original list, beyond a desire to focus on their relationship with their partner.

The preservation of their vitality ranked very highly with New Zealand baby boomers, whose top-ranking choice was improving their fitness and health (91%). This choice was introduced in the New Zealand study and was not asked in the US study, following focus group comments that they saw good health as the key to being able to enjoy everything else life had to offer.

New Zealand boomers’ top ten list of indulgences is:

Improving your fitness and health 91%**
Doing things you’ve always wanted to do 90%*
Reading more books 89%*
Having new adventures that are exciting and fun 88%*
Enjoying more leisure activities 88%**
Getting more out of life 87%*
Learning a new skill or hobby 84%*
Making new friends 83%*
Having enough money to get by 82%
Travelling and seeing the world 81%
Taking more control over your future 81%*

* appears on both top ten lists
** not asked in US study

In contrast, the top ranking life focus choices for American baby boomers were:

Spending more time with family 77%
Reading more books 76%
Getting more out of life 75%
Taking more control over your future 74%
Doing things you've always wanted to do 73%
Having enough money to get by 72%
Learning a new skill or hobby 71%
Having new adventures that are exciting and fun 71%
Planning your retirement 68%
Making new friends 67%
Saving for/spending money on your grandchildren 67%

The proportions of New Zealand baby boomers ranking the same choices was 14% higher across the Top 10 range.

A list of all future focus choices and compared responses is available in Appendix E.

New Zealand baby boomers and work

Work provides meaning for New Zealand baby boomers. They universally (95%) feel they have been able to make a meaningful contribution in their job; 83% say work is important to their self-esteem and that it keeps them young (83%). For the vast majority of New Zealand baby boomers, work is an important part of who they are (80%). But they expect to have more than a job. Unlike their predecessor cohorts, they expect to get pleasure, satisfaction and fulfillment from their work (85% agree), and they want to continue to have opportunities to grow, learn and develop (78% agree).

They differentiate between meaningful work (which they value) and jobs. Two-thirds say they don’t need to have a job to feel good about themselves, yet they universally enjoy meaningful work. Three-quarters of New Zealand baby boomers say they would not be willing to work at a boring job even if the money were good, compared to 63% of US baby boomers.

Whether they work for others or for themselves, two-thirds of New Zealand baby boomers will focus their energies and invest their time in the next 5-10 years on excelling at their job.

The core vitality of New Zealand baby boomers will continue to make them valuable, productive contributors in the workplace – if employers can keep them there. 30% plan to start a new career; 38% say they will be running their own business, 21% will start one. 60% say they like the idea of starting a new career or job if and when they retire. Huber & Skidmore (2003), seeing similar trends overseas, described this as the “elderpreneur” phenomenon.

New Zealand baby boomers, after all, see endless opportunities before them and have very low resistance to change. They are risk takers and they back themselves (97% trust their own instincts). They are currently at the height of their productivity; retain youthful, vigorous approach to work, and exhibit a great capacity to continue to learn.

Table 11: New Zealand and American baby boomers' agreement with statements reflecting attitudes that matter in the workplace, ranked
Respondents asked to strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with each statement.
Answer Options NZ % top 2 boxes US % top 2 boxes Response Count
Attitudes that count in the workplace
I trust my instincts 97.2% 95.2% 757
I have been able to make a meaningful contribution in my job 95.2% 90.8% 763
Disagree: At this stage of my life I should not have to learn new skills 89.7% - 768
Young people can learn a lot from my generation 88.8% 92.6% 780
I keep an eye out for new things to try or to learn 87.9% 87.3% 818
It is important for people to continually challenge the established way of doing things 87.8% 70.1% 771
I like to discover new ways to use things and teach them to others 85.9% 86.1% 757
People my age can learn a lot from young people 85.0% 68.5% 768
Disagree: I don't expect to get much pleasure from my work; work is just what you do to earn a living 84.7% 76.8% 823
Businesses have a social responsibility to their employees and to the community 84.7% 88.9% 802
Work is important to my self-esteem 83.0% - 766
Working keeps you young 82.5% - 812
In every situation, I have a very clear sense of the right and the wrong thing to do 82.0% 80.6% 807
My work is an important part of who I am 80.2% - 763
I would rather have too much to do and risk being stressed than too little and be bored 79.6% 65.3% 818
I am continuing to grow in my work 78.3% - 788
If I'm doing something I love it doesn't matter if I get paid for it 77.3% - 777
Disagree: Even when there is a new and better way to do things, I prefer to stick with what I know as long as it's working for me 76.2% 63.5% 803
I am always trying to think of something new and different to work toward 75.4% 69.2% 765
Disagree: I'd be willing to work at a boring job as long as the pay is good 73.3% 62.8% 791
It is important to learn from the past and to do things in a proven way 69.9% 83.0% 755
I have never felt trapped by a lack of training 68.2% 56.5% 790
My job has left me enough free time to pursue my outside interests 67.6% 62.3% 788
I feel that I have achieved the right balance of time in my life for all the things that are important to me 67.3% 58.2% 768
My job has offered me security 66.3% 57.4% 787
I have been able to be as successful as I desired 65.8% 49.7% 765
I don't need to have a job to feel good about myself 65.7% - 758
Hard work always pays off 65.2% 65.0% 791
I am sick and tired of hearing people disrespect New Zealand values 63.4% 69.0% 756
If I just work hard enough, I eventually will achieve what I want 62.8% 62.8% 812
Disagree: All I want out of life is enough to be comfortable; more than that is not worth the effort 62.6% 60.8% 792
I like the idea of starting a new career or job if and when I retire 59.3% 58.3% 800
Disagree: The only reason I continue to work is because I need the money 58.9% - 764
I have begun to slow down and do things at a less hurried pace 53.1% 68.7% 817
I feel the need for something more meaningful to work toward in my life 48.8% 59.5% 806
Once I get something established and working in my life, I don't like to change it 44.6% 66.4% 801
Sources: New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009; US Boomer Dreams Study 2006


They are not slowing down. Eighty percent of New Zealand baby boomers say they would rather have too much to do and risk being stressed than too little and be bored; just half agree they have begun to slow down somewhat and two-thirds disagree with the statement, “All I want out of life is enough to be comfortable, more than that is not worth the effort”. They believe that hard work yields results (65%).

They do exhibit some characteristics commonly associated with more experienced workers, however. They have a strong moral core (82% have a clear sense of right and wrong) and support respect for New Zealand values (63%). Two-thirds agree their jobs have offered them security.

New Zealand Baby Boomers are hungry for information. They almost universally thirst to learn new skills (90%) and try to keep an eye out for new things to try and learn (88%).

They may not have been born into the computer age, but their willingness to adopt and enjoy new technology is universal – 98% agree with the statement, “the possibilities afforded us by technology are only going to continue to grow”. More significantly, 93% agree that they know how to use it to make their lives more interesting and enjoyable. This characteristic is prevalent in baby boomers but not in the generational cohorts before them. It is counter-intuitive to the traditional view that “old people” are overwhelmed by how much information is now available to them, and suggests that baby boomers are prepared to use technology to help them gather the information they need. Half of all New Zealand baby boomers say they like being the first to know about new technologies (a characteristic of innovators and early adopters) and they are, in general, 20% less likely than their American counterparts to lament that society has become too dependent on technology.

New Zealand baby boomers are well educated and experienced. Their vitality and adventurousness mean that they are constantly discovering new and better ways to do things and they are willing to teach them to others (86% agree).

They are good at teaching others and not so arrogant as to assume they have all the answers. They acknowledge the importance of learning from the past and doing things in a proven way (70% agree), but bring their characteristic sense of challenge into play against established and entrenched ways of doing things (88% say it’s important to continually challenge established ways of doing things). Three-quarters of New Zealand baby boomers say they are not interested in sticking to the “tried and true” if there is a new and better way of doing things.

As well as agreeing in large numbers that younger people have a lot to learn from their generation (89%, 4% less than US baby boomers), they also feel they have a lot to learn from younger people (85% agree, compared to just 68% of US baby boomers). They don’t see any reason why young people and older people can’t enjoy the same things (91% agree) and 92% say they like knowing what young people are doing and creating. This augers well for integration in the workplace and for succession planning.

New Zealand baby boomers have high expectations of employers too; 85% feel that businesses have a social responsibility to their employees and the community.

Ideal Work Environment
In 2007 the Association of American Retired People (AARP) (Groeneman, 2008) conducted research into what the ideal workplace should look like for Americans aged 45 to 74 who were currently working or looking for work.

While the AARP’s study surveyed workers in the decade older than baby boomers as well as baby boomers themselves, and the New Zealand study included non-workers (but only of baby boomer age), comparisons can still be made between the American and New Zealand populations.

Notably, the top four most essential or important workplace benefits are the same in both populations, with “a chance to use your skills and talents” ranked as the single most important thing by almost 98% of New Zealand baby boomers and 91% of American workers. New Zealand workplaces that tap into this overwhelming need among baby boomers to utilise their skills and talents will both retain such workers and benefit from the loyalty and appreciation they are likely to receive as a result of responding to the need.

A friendly work environment, the chance to do something worthwhile and the need to feel respected by co-workers also rank consistently highly among New Zealanders and American older workers, with 92-98% of respondents valuing them. These findings are not unexpected when the characteristic need of baby boomers to pursue meaning and relevance are considered.

The need to feel respected by the boss ranked as “essential” for 52% of New Zealand respondents and “essential” or “important” for 91.3% of them, compared to 75% of American respondents. While its overall New Zealand ranking was an fifth, it was the second most essential workplace aspect for many respondents, making it important to most baby boomers but an essential deal-breaker for some. This finding may provide guidance for New Zealand employers struggling with “brain drain” coming from the top; it may also provide some insight into a growing tendency among some New Zealand baby boomers to leave their employers and start their own businesses.

Breeding a culture of respect from managers and between co-workers could be one of the most important challenges facing the workplace over the next 20-40 years.

Table 12: Ideal workplace

Respondents asked: If you could choose your ideal working environment, how important or unimportant would the following things be?

Answer Options % Essential or Important New Zealand %Essential AARP US NZ Response Count
Chance to use your skills and talents 97.6% 91.0% 839
A friendly work environment 97.6% 88.0% 840
Feeling respected by your co-workers 92.7% 80.0% 839
The chance to do something worthwhile 92.6% 86.0% 839
Feeling respected by your boss 91.3% 75.0% 837
The opportunity to learn something new 89.1% 75.0% 836
Flexible hours 87.9% 74.0% 842
Chance to pursue something you've always wanted to do 86.4% 68.0% 840
Chance to pass on your knowledge to others 84.8% not asked 841
Competitive pay 82.0% 76.0% 837
A short commute 77.3% 70.0% 836
Work allowing you to help others 74.9% 77.0% 838
On-the-job training 71.8% 56.0% 838
Opportunity for part-time work 69.3% 38.0% 836
Opportunity for extended unpaid time off 60.3% not asked 837
Ability to work from home 58.6% 34.0% 840
Company pension benefits 51.6% 69.0% 835
Company paid healthcare insurance 50.1% 74.0% 832
Extra paid holidays 50.1% 79.0% 836
Sex, ethnic and racial diversity 48.6% 48.0% 838
Sources: New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 and AARP Staying Ahead of the Curve Survey 2007 (Groeneman, 2008)

Notes:
The AARP study surveyed 1,500 45-74 year olds in the US in 2007; the New Zealand study surveyed 1,162 45-64 year olds in NZ in 2009.
Some questions were altered slightly to align with NZ employment conditions; two extra choices were included in the NZ study (arising out of local focus group input) and the US 401(k) choice was omitted from the NZ study.
All choices were randomised to reduce recency and latency bias.
The AARP survey question, “which of the following things, if any, are absolutely essential parts of your ideal job?”, varied from the New Zealand survey question, “If you could choose your ideal working environment, how important or unimportant would the following things be?”. The reason for this is that New Zealanders may be culturally reluctant to choose the classification “absolutely essential”, so a four-point scale rank was introduced and the top two included in the results.


Concerns

Contrary to popular advice, New Zealand baby boomers do not intend to spend the next five to ten years worrying whether they will have enough money to get by.

While 80% aspire to be financially secure at a level that will fund their desired lifestyle, the focus of their energies over the next decade will be on maintaining their vitality. And New Zealand baby boomers overwhelmingly see health as their key to that vitality.

Health is the number one issue that worries New Zealand baby boomers
The number one issue for New Zealand baby boomers going forward is the preservation of their health and vitality. It is the single biggest issue that worries more than two thirds of New Zealand baby boomers. This finding supports earlier research by the EEO Trust (McGregor, 2006) that found half (49%) of retired respondents to its survey cited health as the most important factor that had caused their retirement. More than 91% of New Zealand baby boomers are likely to make health their priority over the next 5-10 years and almost 80% say they are concerned about trying to stay in shape. They universally (95%) agree that health is the driver to being able to do what they want and that in the future, older people will be much more active and engaged than older people in the past (94%). Baby boomers do not see any reason why they should have to feel less vital and energetic as they get older (89%).

Getting sick and frail, losing their mental sharpness, losing their ability to live independently and being short of energy and vitality are the things they worry about most.

Yet nearly 70% of them do not feel confident the New Zealand health and social welfare system will be able to support them as they age.

Apart from wanting to have enough money to get by on (61%), financial concerns do not rank highly for more than half of New Zealand baby boomers. This is with the exception of a high ranking for the concern, “external factors you can’t plan for eroding your savings” (65% of New Zealand baby boomers are concerned), which is a direct response to the effects of the 2009 financial crisis on finance company savings.


Table 13 Concerns of New Zealand baby boomers
Getting sick and frail 69%
Not being mentally sharp 67%
Being able to live independently 66%
External factors you can't plan for eroding your savings 65%
Being short of energy and vitality 64%
Having enough money to get by on 61%
No longer being able to live life to the fullest 60%
Being in charge of your affairs 59%
Having sufficient health-care insurance coverage 51%
Being treated as an old person 47%
Being stuck doing the same old things every day 43%
Being bored with your life 42%
Not being current on what's going on 40%
Not being taken seriously 40%
Living somewhere that is not vibrant and exciting 40%
Having enough to do and keep busy 39%
Not being able to live in your current home 38%
Being relegated to the sidelines 37%
Not having the opportunity to be in charge of something 29%
Finding a community of other people to be with 28%
Being taken advantage of in some scam 28%
Not being involved in social causes 20%

Source: New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009, n = 754
“How concerned are you about each of the following?” 7 point scale.


American baby boomers also worry about their health, but their concerns are tempered by their greater worry (at 70%, the greatest worry reported in either list) of how they are going to pay for it. New Zealand baby boomers’ concerns remain cushioned by the social welfare system, despite their lack of confidence in it.

A full table of what worries baby boomers is shown in Appendix F.


Chapter 5: Discussion
Answering the research questions
Are New Zealand baby boomers the same as baby boomers overseas? Can American (in particular) research be used as a proxy in the absence of New Zealand research?

They are not. New Zealand baby boomers are similar to their American counterparts in some ways, but differ significantly in some key areas. The differences are sufficient to conclude that it is ill-advised and misleading to use American research as a proxy in New Zealand, even at the broad brushstroke social research level of the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study.

New Zealand and American baby boomers share a number of the same traits, but not quite to the same degree, and the values that back up these traits are different.

Table 14: Baby boomer values and traits, ranked
New Zealand traits ranking
(in order of % respondents identifying with) US traits ranking
(in order of % respondents identifying with)
Learning to live with lines Integrity
Integrity Learning to live with lines
Individuality Individuality
Friends with the same values as you Hungry for information
Following your own instincts Simplifying
Comfortable with change Following your own instincts
Looking forward to the future Friends with the same values as you
Hungry for information Comfortable with change
Looking for answers Leader
Doing something completely new Getting a knee replacement
Simplifying Idealistic
Special Looking for answers
Leader Paring down
Finding ways to get more Standing out
Adjusting to the future as it unfolds Challenge authority
Challenge authority Doing something completely new
Idealistic Looking forward to the future
Paring down Content with what you have
Content with what you have Special
Creative satisfaction Creative satisfaction
Getting a knee replacement Laid back
Time with your friends Adjusting to the future as it unfolds
Laid back Following your heart
Standing out Time with your friends
Following your heart Finding ways to get more
Source: NZ Boomer Dreams Study 2009: US Boomer Dreams Study 2006.
A list of the full 25 polarised value sets and the comparative results are available in Appendix C.



Table 15: Variations in New Zealand and American baby boomer values

Variances in NZ and US baby boomer values NZ all% US all % Variation
Finding ways to get more 65.4% 43.4% 22.0%
Looking forward to the future 81.3% 59.5% 21.8%
Special 72.8% 57.7% 15.1%
Doing something completely new 75.2% 60.2% 15.0%
Adjusting to the future as it unfolds 64.9% 51.3% 13.6%
Comfortable with change 83.1% 76.7% 6.4%
Looking for answers 76.3% 70.4% 5.9%
Time with your friends 53.4% 47.9% 5.5%
Learning to live with lines 97.8% 93.7% 4.1%
Challenge authority 64.1% 61.0% 3.1%
Friends with the same values as you 83.4% 80.3% 3.1%
Following your own instincts 83.2% 80.4% 2.8%
Laid back 53.3% 51.5% 1.8%
Creative satisfaction 54.5% 55.1% -0.6%
Content with what you have 57.0% 58.8% -1.8%
Following your heart 49.2% 51.0% -1.8%
Individuality 86.0% 88.7% -2.7%
Hungry for information 80.8% 84.0% -3.2%
Leader 71.6% 75.1% -3.5%
Integrity 89.8% 94.0% -4.2%
Paring down 60.8% 65.7% -4.9%
Standing out 52.6% 61.3% -8.7%
Simplifying 72.9% 82.1% -9.2%
Idealistic 62.0% 71.5% -9.5%
Getting a knee replacement 54.3% 72.6% -18.3%

New Zealanders are more passionate about their lifestyle choices, with their top ten focus choices being preferred by more than 80% of respondents, compared to the US top ten which were preferred by 67 to 77% of their respondents. New Zealand baby boomers tend to exhibit a more youthful and vigorous profile than their American counterparts, with more focus on outgoing adventurousness and less on fighting for social causes.

In the mid-range of differences (where there is 5-20% variance between the preferences of the two populations), New Zealand boomers invariably opt for adventurous lifestyle choices over social cause choices.

New Zealand baby boomers are more than 20% more likely to play sport, enjoy life’s luxuries and travel the world than American boomers. They are over 20% less likely to get involved in politics, share their religious beliefs with others or spend more time or money on grandchildren.

Huber & Skidmore (2003) identified two distinctive characteristics among UK baby boomers, individualism and liberalism.

Smith & Clurman (2007) identified similar characteristics of youthfulness (immortality) and morality, with the youthfulness characteristic dominant.

New Zealand baby boomers exhibit a similar youthful character aspect, also dominant, but not in the same way as the American profile. What makes New Zealand baby boomers distinct from baby boomers from anywhere else is their Vitality. They are “fizzier” than both American and British baby boomers, passionate and opinionated, fiercely independent in their individuality. They are less likely to break the rules and more likely to simply assume the rules don’t apply to them; fitness is an important dimension of their vital character, and they pursue novelty as part of a wider quest for adventure, rather than as a separate dimension. The self-focused aspects of personal enrichment enhance their vitality, and the rugged individuality that is part of the broader New Zealand character is interpreted within the baby boomer life experience.



Smith & Clurman’s Dimensions of Youthfulness New Zealand Dimensions of Vitality
from “Generation Ageless”
(Smith & Clurman, 2007), p. 26

American and New Zealand baby boomers
dimensions of self-interested aspect of character compared

Figure 9: American and New Zealand baby boomer dimensions of self-interested aspect of character, compared

Smith & Clurman’s second baby boomer character aspect of morality is not present in the New Zealand population in the way that it is in the USA.

New Zealand is an egalitarian, secular society with broad liberal views and a live-and-let-live pragmatism about moral issues. That said, New Zealand baby boomers have a strong sense of right and wrong, and of their responsibility to take care of themselves, their families and their wider community. They are less “comfortably righteous” in their sense of purpose than their American counterparts, but they do search for meaning.

Balancing the youthful hedonism and vitality of New Zealand baby boomers is a strongly adult sense of responsibility, rather than morality. It has four key dimensions, some of which are similar to American characteristics, but sufficiently different to distinguish a separate and independent New Zealand baby boomer character.



New Zealand baby boomers
Dimensions of Responsibility

Having established that the New Zealand baby boomer character is different from the American character and different again (although little comparative data is available) from British baby boomers, the question arises as to whether that matters and the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 finds that it does; New Zealand baby boomers respond to their surroundings, dream different dreams and worry about different things – indeed, they worry less about different things - than baby boomers elsewhere.

Aside from a current high level of concern about finance company collapses eroding their savings, New Zealand baby boomers’ top concern is health. This information is comparable to the findings of the Health, Work and Retirement Study (Allpass, 2008).

While American baby boomers also worry about their health, more than 70% of them worry more about how they’re going to pay for it (health insurance). This difference is almost certainly due to the differences in state-funded healthcare in the two countries and raises questions about the relationship between the self-reliance New Zealand baby boomers feel, and the sense of security they gain from having a state safety net of core social services. There may be a relationship between the willingness of New Zealand baby boomers to take risks and be adventuresome and ingenious, and their peculiarly resilient optimism; and the security of knowing that safety net is there. Removing it by creating barriers to eligibility (such as means testing or raising the age of entitlement) could have unintended adverse consequences; steps should be taken to explore this apparent correlation prior to such actions being considered.

Overall, what worries New Zealand baby boomers and what worries American baby boomers differ somewhat. While an analysis of the variations in concern-responses between the two populations shows a large outlier for “Not being current on what’s going on”, with New Zealand baby boomers 31% more likely to rate this as a worry, it is still only thirteenth on the list for New Zealanders, concerning just 40% of them. In all other respects, the comparison shows the New Zealand baby boomers worry more than American baby boomers, but not significantly overall.

Table 17: Variations in what worries New Zealand and American baby boomers
Key
1 Not being current on what's going on 12 Being relegated to the sidelines
2 Living somewhere that is not vibrant and exciting 13 Not having the opportunity to be in charge of something
3 Being stuck doing the same old things every day 14 Getting sick and frail
4 Being treated as an old person 15 Not being taken seriously
5 Being in charge of your affairs 16 Finding a community of other people to be with
6 No longer being able to live life to the fullest 17 External factors you can't plan for eroding your savings
7 Being bored with your life 18 Being taken advantage of in some scam
8 Having enough to do and keep busy 19 Not being able to live in your current home
9 Being short of energy and vitality 20 Having enough money to get by on
10 Not being mentally sharp 21 Not being involved in social causes
11 Being able to live independently 22 Having sufficient health-care insurance coverage



Understanding the baby boomer character is key to interpreting their behaviour and predicting what they might do next; one thing is already known and that is that whatever they do, it will not be what they generation before them has done. One of the key findings of the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 is that it will also not be the same as American baby boomers.

New Zealand baby boomers are vital, energetic, up with the play and highly engaged with life. They have experience, confidence, and boundless optimism that is resilient even in the face of adversity. They have no intention of acting their age and no intention of settling down to a quiet retirement. They enjoy the good things in life – in fact, they want to enjoy more of them – and they are prepared to put in the work to pay for them. Their high level of engagement extends socially and they are likely to be involved in all areas of both the paid and unpaid economies; it will be impossible to legislate them into defined behaviours or areas of the community, because of their individualism and conviction that the rules simply don’t apply to them. With great ingenuity, they will find a way around any barrier in their pursuit of adventure and meaning. They will shoulder their responsibilities, to themselves, within their families, and in the broader social context.

“Will New Zealand baby boomers retire gracefully at 65 to do charitable works?”

No, they will not, and yes, they will. They will, in very large numbers, not retire. But they will do charitable works.

They won’t retire because they don’t feel old, they are full of youthful spirit and not at all ready to remove themselves from the mainstream, from mattering and from making a difference, or from enjoying the fruits of their labours.

It is not part of the New Zealand baby boomer character to give up and do nothing for 30-40 years. The vitality that is an essential part of their character drives them to greater adventurousness, fitness, and personal enlightenment. They are prepared to take responsibility for themselves and their families, and assume roles or responsibility in the wider community, paid or unpaid.

Meaningful work matters to them, and New Zealand baby boomers find meaning and purpose in their jobs, which they will not yield. However, they will use their ingenuity to find ways around the rules and conventions of the traditional workplace to get the balance of work, adventure, personal enrichment and fitness they want. In numbers as large as the baby boomer cohort possesses, what begins as ingenious ways around the rules will quickly become accepted workplace convention.

They are self-determined and will seek opportunities to learn new things within the workplace and in the community, and a new wave of “elderpreneurs” will emerge; indeed it is arguable that this phenomenon has already begun to emerge.

The core vitality of New Zealand baby boomers will continue to make them valuable, productive contributors in the workplace – if employers can keep them there. 30% plan to start a new career; 38% say they will be running their own business, 21% will start one.

New Zealand baby boomers, after all, see endless opportunities before them and have very low resistance to change. They are risk takers and they back themselves. They are currently at the height of their productivity, retain youthful, vigorous approach to work, and exhibit a great capacity to continue to learn; unless the workplace engages and continues to challenge them, they will move on to new career adventures.

Whether they work for others or for themselves, two-thirds of New Zealand baby boomers will focus their energies and invest their time in the next 5-10 years on excelling at their job and at passing on their skills to others. Their desire to engage in meaningful work for many more years as well as pursue their other life adventures and responsibilities will balance well with the need to retain their expertise in the workplace while still making room for the generations behind them to progress. The lack of barriers New Zealand baby boomers see between themselves and younger people will enable them to integrate and share their skills.

The sense among New Zealand baby boomers that they distinguish meaningful work from the workplace will inform the wave of research currently underway in New Zealand (Allpass, 2008; McPherson, 2008), which is revealing what new workplace trends are beginning to emerge and asking questions about why they are emerging. They are emerging because baby boomers are starting to find ingenious ways around the current conventions of the workplace; with the force of a million baby boomers behind it, this trend will explode into the mainstream over the next 10-20 years.

New Zealand baby boomers are hungry for new experiences, adventures, and learning. This characteristic is prevalent in baby boomers but not in the generational cohorts before them. It is counter-intuitive to the traditional view that “old people” are overwhelmed by how much information is now available to them, and suggests that baby boomers are prepared to use technology to help them gather the information they need. The challenge to business is to throw off their historically-based preconceptions of how they believe baby boomers should behave as workers, because baby boomers will not act their age; neither will older baby boomers exhibit the conservatism of their American counterparts, making proxy assumptions unreliable.

The global wave of baby boomers is likely to see a push for different benefits in the work environment.

Jobs to attract baby boomers will offer less stress, lots of social connection, more flexible working hours and conditions, and a chance to learn – these things are more highly valued than money. New Zealand baby boomers, like their American counterparts, are looking for jobs with a mission that offers them opportunities to continue to grow.

Implications for social policy planning

New Zealand baby boomers are not retiring. They are fizzing with renewed vigour, working hard to fund their lifestyle choices, keeping themselves fit and planning for an active later life, rather than an infirm, sedentary one. They universally do not want the retirement their parents had and they see no reason why they should accept it. Nor do they intend to.

They are planning to start or run businesses, keep working where they are, keep up with technology and use it to work smarter; and they are in large numbers going to move to get more out of life and make the world a better place to live, for all New Zealanders. Public policy needs to be flexible and open-minded in order to foster this vital ingenuity and harness the resulting productivity benefit (which can be used to fund the social safety net baby boomers see as their right and responsibility). Maintaining rule-driven bureaucracies will only foster rule-avoidance.

Unlike their American counterparts, who worry about health but are not actively planning a solution, New Zealand baby boomers are taking control of their health prospects and are less likely to become the health burden projected by traditional economic models and that are currently being tracked in the Health, Work and Retirement Study (Allpass, 2008). New Zealand baby boomers see maintaining their health and fitness as an essential driver enabling them to fulfill all of their plans for a vibrant and affluent future. There is an opportunity to develop health policy that empowers and incentivises them to keep themselves fit so they can stay productive and pursue their dreams.

The voluntary sector is significant and likely to rise in significance over the next 40 years. Baby boomers are prepared to do their part in this sector with both time and money, but a large influx of support may overwhelm the sector at the beginning and it may require some structural assistance to assimilate baby boomer contributors.

There is no point in making public policy rules about how members of this generation should behave once they turn 65, or of continuing to fiddle with economic indicators within the constraints of the traditional economic model. This is akin to placing a ladder against the wrong wall –energy can be expended on scaling the wall, but achieve nothing because the real change is going on elsewhere.

The inflexibility of the elderly dependency ratio to cope with new definitions of work for those over 65 makes it defunct. Changing the age of entitlement to 67 or another number is likewise not going to make a difference.

New Zealand baby boomers are notorious for shrugging off rules – because they view rules as simply not applying to them – and finding an ingenious way around to get what they want. Economists and social planners can calculate projected retirement rates, social burden ratios and rest home bed requirements as much as they like, but it would be a mistake to start building rest homes just yet, because New Zealand baby boomers have no intention of filling them.

They will tell policy planners what they want, if they are asked, provided the contextual framework for seeking their feedback is based on them and not the generation before them. After all, all baby boomers see themselves as special, and New Zealand baby boomers see themselves as more special than most.

Not only do New Zealand baby boomers have no intention of becoming a drain on the workforce, but they will continue to add their prodigious productivity to the nation’s coffers. Not only will they not leave a hole in the workforce, they will focus on enhancing their skills to fills the gaps created by changes of work style. Baby boomers are a highly productive generation, well educated, experienced and ingenious; harnessing and channelling their productivity and thirst for intellectual, emotional and physical adventure presents a far greater challenge for social policy planners than counting the pension pennies they may not need.

The challenge for public policy development is how best to structure a framework that will allow New Zealand baby boomers to be self-sufficient and self-responsible, while remembering that, as with all attitudinal research that talks about majorities, there will still be people who want a traditional retirement lifestyle, even if not as many as feared.


“If they do not, then what?”
What are New Zealand baby boomers’ future intentions relating to voluntary participation in community activities and social causes?

Three-quarters of New Zealand baby boomers agree that if they are doing something they love, it doesn’t matter whether they get paid for it, while nearly two-thirds agree that they don’t have to have a job to feel good about themselves. This suggests they distinguish between the two and do not necessarily need to be tied to the workplace to meet their “meaning” needs. This is good news for the voluntary sector, which can tap into the New Zealand baby boomer thirst for purposeful endeavour, even without the money to pay them. Provided community organisations can deliver the opportunities to learn, grow and enhance the need baby boomers have to continue to matter, they will attract a large pool of talented and experienced volunteers.

Implications for the voluntary sector
Conventional wisdom suggests that if baby boomers do not retire in the traditional sense, they will have less time available to contribute to volunteering.

Maire Dwyer (2006) theorised that increased labour force participation by middle-aged women might reduce the supply of volunteers, due to more baby boomer women participating in the workforce than their predecessors, but that a greater capacity of “larger, healthier and better educated young-olds” might boost the skills and energy of the volunteer populations. The findings of the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 support that view.

The strong sense of responsibility felt by New Zealand baby boomers and their attitudes to vitality and work life balance mean that they will have time and energy that they are willing to contribute, and perhaps more significantly, high levels of expertise.

New Zealand baby boomers almost universally champion the obligation of responsibility over the assertion of personal rights. As a result, they are much less likely to get involved in politics or social causes that matter to them personally, and more likely to be interested in environmental issues (60%); in working to make the community a better place (70%); and giving more time (56%) or money (42%) to charity.

The next 40 years will present challenges and opportunities for the voluntary sector. They can expect an influx of committed baby boomer volunteers, but they should expect those volunteers to be as demanding, challenging and disruptive to the established way of doing things as this study has revealed in the New Zealand baby boomer character.

Dwyer (2006) posits that there will also be increased demand for volunteers to organise activities geared to the healthier, better educated baby boomers in search of leisure adventures. The findings of the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 support that view and suggest it will be other baby boomers who will fill these roles.

The good news is that while disruption is uncomfortable, it will breathe fresh life and new vigour into the voluntary sector.

This is the age when kaumatuatanga (the role and place of the respected, responsible elder generation) will come to the fore. Visionary service sector leaders can start planning to harness the potential of this new generation of volunteer workers, mentors and leaders.

The other significant implication for the voluntary sector is the need to recognise the fiercely independent and self-reliant streak in New Zealand baby boomers. Accustomed to forging their own path and taking responsibility for themselves all of their lives, they are less likely than their predecessor generation to ask for help when they need it, or accept help when it is offered. Social services providing assistance to the aged will need to develop strategies to connect with the ageing character of this ageless generation when they finally have to accept that life is no longer a set of endless opportunities, at least for them (and currently 92% of them are not prepared to entertain that notion).

Rather than planning for the provision of services to the elderly from 65 to 85, services in the voluntary sector for the aged should plan for their clients to come to them later and perhaps for shorter periods of time, premised on the idea that New Zealand baby boomers will keep themselves healthy for as long as possible, followed by a more rapid decline, rather than a lengthy period of inactivity and a long decline into old age.


Boomers, their children and grandchildren

Thirty-eight percent of NZ baby boomers surveyed were empty-nesters (couples whose children had left home) and 36% had children still living at home.

Of the 36% who said they had children at home, almost 60% (59.4%) of those households were comprised of older children (15 and over).

As a result of younger baby boomers delaying parenthood and an increase in divorce and second families, 3.6% of the children of New Zealand baby boomers are still pre-school age and 37% of boomers’ children are still at primary or secondary school.

Boomers’ babies continue to live in traditional households (88.9%) and can look forward to the ongoing financial support of their parents (80.8%, compared with 52.7% of US boomers).

Unlike the US, where 80% of boomer parents report they would like to focus more of their time and energy on their grandchildren, New Zealand baby boomer parents are no more likely than average boomers to want to be more involved than they currently are. It is not clear whether New Zealand boomers (45.6% less likely than US boomer parents to plan to spend more time with grandchildren) feel they already do spend sufficient time, whether New Zealand boomer grandparents are less involved than their American counterparts, or whether New Zealand baby boomer families have not yet progressed to grandparentage to the same levels as in the US. Younger New Zealand boomers are 6.2% more likely than their elders to have future plans for their grandchildren, but given the number of them with children still at home, having grandchildren may be a future aspiration rather than a current reality. In contrast, the aspiration to spend more time with family (children and grandchildren not differentiated) rated 5.9% higher among New Zealand boomer respondents than their American counterparts. This suggests the New Zealand baby boomer population isn’t finished with its children yet, and has yet to move on to grandchildren.

There is no conclusive evidence from the study to explain the disparity between US and New Zealand boomer grandparents’ devotion to future family generations, but the implications for business may mean an expected burgeoning of intergenerational entertainment industries (matinee theatre outings, shared holidays, indulgent toy purchasing) may not be replicated here. Businesses working in this area may find value in exploring this aspect of New Zealand boomer dreams in more depth.



Chapter 6: Conclusions

New Zealand baby boomers have a distinct Antipodean character that differentiates them from other baby boomer populations, particular the American population. This finding is important because of the tendency of New Zealand planners to use plentiful American research as a proxy for New Zealand, given the dearth of social research available locally. The two populations are similar; they were after all forged in the same climate of sustained economic plenty and experienced largely the same social milestones. However, the New Zealand character is inherently different from the American character, and these differences have caused New Zealand baby boomers to react to their environment in different ways.

New Zealand baby boomers are notably “fizzier” and more physically vital and emotionally energetic than American baby boomers. They have a more outwardly focused social conscience and are less likely to pursue personal social causes to the same extent as their American counterparts. They also exhibit a greater degree of resilient optimism that has not been dented even by the 2009 economic recession that has hit their age group particularly hard.

The use of American research as proxy may explain why some policy planners, employers and recruiters (McPherson, 2008) have less favourable attitudes to New Zealand baby boomers. The American profile is more conservative, older in its attitudes, with segments that are relatively more entrenched in traditional models of pre-retirement than the New Zealand profile. The New Zealand profile is younger, more vibrant, more adventurous and searching – more like younger New Zealanders than older ones.

However both populations have much in common. Neither has any intention of retiring; both are gearing up to reinvent their lives and the concept of work (of which “job” is just a part), to their greater satisfaction. Both are on a never-ending search for meaning and self-actualisation; both want to enjoy every moment of the rest of their lives to the fullest, on their own terms; and both want to leave the world a better place when they die. But New Zealand baby boomers will do all of those things more proactively and with greater ingenuity.

The key finding of the US Boomer Dreams Study 2006 was that American baby boomers are in no mood to slow down - they want to stay involved, continue to indulge themselves and pursue their passions. They intend to remain at the centre of economic productivity and they don’t see the relevance of traditional concepts of retirement – after all, the rules don’t apply to them today any more than they ever did.

The New Zealand baby boomer study found a unique New Zealand character, but with the same intentions.

The implications for business, Government and the voluntary sector are significant. The New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 is an attitudinal marker study. Further and more pinpointed research is required to fully understand the shape and nature of the changes New Zealand baby boomers will create around them; the challenge will be, as it has always been with baby boomers, to minimise the disruption caused by their wake.

The “golden years” ideal of retirement required that older people be willing to step back and let the next generation take charge, and the next generation be able to generate enough income to pay the cost of their elders’ retirement. The conclusion of this study is that the older people in question refuse to view themselves as “old”, are entirely unwilling to step back, are not prepared to let the next generation take charge and are not relying on the next generation to generate the income required to keep their elders in the style of elder-leisure they demand. They have no intention of “sponging” on the young and expect to pay their own way all their lives.

The New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 addressed all of the research questions.

“Will New Zealand baby boomers retire gracefully at 65 to do charitable works?”
The hypothesis of this study was that, in large but not necessarily universal numbers, they will not, and the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 has provided evidence to support this hypothesis. New Zealand baby boomers will not retire gracefully; they are not the retiring sort.

The traditional economic contextual framework that assumes baby boomers will behave largely like the generation before them and according to a historical view of retired people is inaccurate, inadequate and unhelpful. The New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 supports the view that the traditional economic model is far from the reality baby boomers intend for themselves.

Since the principal hypothesis (will they retire?) is found to be valid, a further question has arisen: “If they do not, then what?”

The hypothesis of this study was that New Zealand baby boomers would change the traditional work-life balance to enable them to “have it all” – fulfilling, meaningful work, continued affluence and leisure time to pursue their interests in family, travel and lifestyle preferences. This hypothesis is well supported by the research findings.

The second part of the principal hypothesis - will they do charitable works? – raised the question:
What are New Zealand baby boomers’ future intentions relating to voluntary participation in community activities and social causes?
New Zealand baby boomers are responsible and they will do charitable works. They do want to leave the world a better place. The answer to this question is of interest to New Zealand’s large (and expected to grow) voluntary sector, with implications for staffing, talent pool, costs and potential users of services in this sector. Changes in this sector pose consequent changes to the Government’s social planning and the provision of core social services.

This study answers the proxy question, “Are New Zealand baby boomers the same as baby boomers overseas, particularly in the USA (where research data is plentiful)?”

The hypothesis of this study was that New Zealand baby boomers are aligned with US boomers in their shared experiences of the formative events that united baby boomers as a generational cohort, such as a common sustained period of unbridled economic growth leading to the development of a culture of affluence. However, it was posited that there may well be cultural differences that separate the different populations. This was found to be the case, and should influence how much and in what ways we can continue to use overseas research as a proxy for predicting New Zealand baby boomer behaviour. This hypothesis was tested through the use of a comparative study; the New Zealand Boomer Dreams Study 2009 being substantially comparable to the US Boomer Dreams Study 2006.

The summary finding is that New Zealand baby boomers are not the same as their American counterparts. They are similar in many respects, but they should be viewed independently or risk disadvantaging them and planning for the wrong outcomes.

Can American (in particular) research be used as a proxy in the absence of New Zealand research?

No, it should not. Failure to date to develop local attitudinal research in this area demonstrates either intellectual laziness or bureaucratic complacency and, in either case, a lack of foresight. The baby boomers have had a marked impact on New Zealand society across every life stage they have been through, yet planners have consistently failed to plan for the disruption their passing causes; if we do not want to end up in prefabricated rest homes and dying in prefabricated cemeteries, we need to predict with greater insight what boomers will do next.

 

Copyright © 2009 by Sharon Buckland
All rights reserved