NEGOTIATING YOUR CHOICES AT WORK
What choice do you have? After decades of work you deserve to have an influence on what your last years in paid work looks like. "What do you want to do" is the question that progressive and smart companies are asking their baby boomer employees. Your choices are:
So if your employer is on the front foot and is talking about phased retirement it will need to meet the business case. To support the argument for phased retirement you can provide ammunition such as your tacit or deep knowledge. You can assess your experience over decades and provide examples of where your undocumented nouse has helped save the company money, time, safety record, reputation and morale. This is how you can convince the company that keeping you on makes good business sense. You will also need to identify the work you could do during the last year or years. Is it mentoring new or existing employees, is it finally reviewing that important set of procedures that you never had time for. If you want a phased retirement and your company is not even talking about it then this approach will help you negotiate your choice. Hello Andrew,
My phased retirement position has now been classified at the same level as my present position which is excellent. It has been agreed I will take up the phased retirement position in March, this is to allow time for replacement section head positions to be filled. I am looking forward to commencing phased retirement. Thank you for your advice and assistance. (Email from a senior employee with specialised knowledge from a company I had been working with.) |
What to do?
There are several things you can do. First thing is to get a new notebook and use this every time you think of things you know that others don't. Start with your knowledge of the components of the business you are in. Then think of the critical processes, crucial timings and must do events with the business. Think about how your knowledge helps mitigate any risks associated with meeting the following business drivers.
Use this information to negotiate with your manager to create a new role that suits your choice of exiting the paid workforce. I am able to help you with this process by providing you with the tools and templates or alternatively I can coach you through it. Contact me to discuss what approach suits you the best. If you do want to leave completely then fantastic! I hope you enjoy a long life of leisure! |