Sense of Responsibility

Balancing the youthful hedonism and vitality of New Zealand baby boomers is a strongly adult sense of responsibility, with four key dimensions: Self-determination, Meaning, Kaumatuatanga (respected responsible elders), and Social 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.

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%).

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.

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.

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).

Kaumatuatanga (responsible, respected 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.