For years, headlines about the “Great Resignation” dominated the news, painting a picture of Americans gleefully abandoning the office for good. Professionals of all ages, from mid-career workers to twenty-somethings, quit their jobs to freelance, travel, start businesses, or simply take a break. At the same time, many who stayed behind packed up and relocated to sunnier locations, transforming their living rooms into permanent offices.
But now, a shift is underway. Many of those who left during the pandemic are quietly making their way back sparking what’s being called the Great Re-engagement. The narrative of a mass resignation is giving way to a more complex reality, filled with economic necessity, a longing for connection, and an evolving vision of what work can be.
The statistics behind the hype tell a different story: only 1.2 percent of people aged 55 to 64 and just 2.2 percent of those 25 to 54 actually left their jobs during the height of the Great Resignation. In fact, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 2.6 million people returned to the workforce between February 2020 and October 2021. Maybe the Great Resignation wasn’t as great or as final as it seemed.
Some returnees are driven by economic pressure. For those who built up savings by staying home, cutting expenses, or deferring loans, the costs of returning to “normal” travel, rising rent, inflation, student debt are hitting hard. Others discovered that working remotely or stepping away from a traditional job wasn’t what they truly wanted. Joe Curto, a 28-year-old digital sales executive, left New York for Charleston to work remotely, only to move back two years later, craving in-person collaboration. Senior media executive Jayne Jamison retired early, but after two years, she missed the stimulation and camaraderie of work and was ready for a flexible, remote-friendly comeback. “The last two years have taught me many things, including that I am wired to work,” Jamison says.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported over 11 million open jobs in the U.S. a job-seeker’s market that gives employees more bargaining power than ever before. As a result, people of all ages, especially Boomers, are seizing new opportunities and reimagining the final decades of their careers.
This is the start of a new movement: The Great Re-engagement. Social scientists and labor experts predict that this wave of returning workers will permanently change how we view jobs and retirement, but many overlook the growing influence of older professionals. Boomers are poised to redefine what work looks like for the next generation.
Recent interviews in the Wall Street Journal show more people in their 50s returning to work, either for financial reasons or to escape boredom and loneliness. The share of retirees coming back is at its highest since 2020, with three percent of all retirees re-entering the workforce.
Looking ahead, the labor force is about to get older and more diverse. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of people aged 75 and over in the workforce will rise by 96 percent over the next decade, while those 16 to 24 will decline by 7.5 percent. By 2030, all Boomers will be at least 65, making up nearly ten percent of the labor market. Longer lifespans and shifting attitudes mean the traditional 40-year work life is giving way to the reality of 60-year careers, as highlighted by Stanford University’s “The New Map of Life” report.
Yet many companies are slow to adapt. Outdated rules like mandatory retirement ages remain, especially in law and accounting, despite a 1967 federal law banning age discrimination. A 2019 study found only eight percent of corporations include age in their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies. The result? Progressive managers and older employees are pushing back, demanding that companies embrace the value of experienced talent.
In the future, more employees will want to transition into new roles or flexible schedules, pursue intergenerational projects, or mentor younger colleagues. Some may even launch new careers in their 60s and 70s. Boomers will be at the forefront of these changes, pioneering a longer, more productive working life that could benefit Millennials and Gen Zers down the road.
The Great Re-engagement isn’t just about people returning to work it’s about reinventing what work means for everyone, especially those over 60. And as Boomers lead this new era, the workplace of tomorrow will look very different from the one they first entered decades ago.
