NZ Boomer Dreams Study - Summary of Findings
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.
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