We interviewed 62 older Minnesotans who lost white-collar jobs later in life. Nearly 75% refused to move, and 3 big problems kept them locked in place

Keeping a white-collar job or getting a new one may now depend on workers’ willingness to uproot their lives and hit the road. While Gen Z workers are more open to these moves, our research found geographic mobility for those over 50 can be hindered by life stage specific obstacles. Given a rapidly aging workforce and employers’ ongoing need to attract and retain talented workers, understanding these challenges is especially important for human resources managers.

In our new book, American Idle: Late-Career Job Loss in a Neoliberal Era, we interviewed more than 60 older Minnesotans who lost their white-collar jobs later in life, initially interviewing them in the five years following the Great Recession and then again a decade later. We were surprised to learn that nearly three-quarters of those interviewed refused to look for work out of state. Their comments revealed three common barriers to relocation.

Family ties

First, there are the all-important family ties; as Atlas discovered, this is the top reason why relocation offers are refused. We found older workers anchored in place by a broad range of familial commitments, including to adult children and grandchildren, as well as to aging siblings and parents.

There was also the issue of spouses and partners who were embedded in their own careers and understandably reluctant to leave after becoming the sole breadwinner. Sometimes they simply had their own preferences about where they would (and would not) live. These constraints, we learned, are non-negotiable. 

The locked-up housing market

Second, Atlas reports that a sizable number of relocation offers were rejected due to high mortgage interest rates and a tight housing market. Economic conditions were a similarly important consideration for our interviewees who lost their jobs in and around the 2008 Great Recession. The collapsing housing market accompanying this crash significantly reduced the value of our interviewees’ nest eggs at a time when they were already financially taxed.

Moreover, after spending decades residing in the same place, our interviewees were emotionally invested in their homes and deeply attached to their communities. Such connections are known to enhance personal well-being, an important consideration for anyone contemplating a relocation. 

The lost promises of the boomer generation

A third factor is surprisingly overlooked, both in the Atlas survey and by our fellow scholars. Generationally, our interviewees are baby boomers who entered the workforce in an era when continued employment was often guaranteed for loyal white-collar employees. Their late-career job loss instilled an understanding that relocation cannot safeguard against the layoffs that today’s white-collar workers routinely encounter. Age and experience, then, afforded our interviewees the wisdom to understand the personal and financial sacrifices of relocating at their late career stage. With relatively few years to recoup any potential losses, moving was simply too risky a gamble.

Yet, there is hope on the horizon. Atlas found a small but growing number of companies now offer nonstandard relocation incentives that include mortgage assistance, guaranteed home buyout options, and reimbursements for when the sale price falls below a property’s appraised value. Along with these financial supports, some companies also provide guaranteed employment for a specific duration to those who accept a relocation offer. These incentives go a long way toward making relocation less onerous for older workers but there is room for improvement. For instance, career assistance programs to support trailing spouses would almost certainly be welcomed. Additionally, employers could highlight community amenities, social activities, and support services that are both attractive to and essential for older workers and their families. 

When companies ignore generationally-based relocation constraints, they do so at the risk of missing out on a group who brings experience and expertise as well as the strong work ethic and a sense of duty demanded by employers from an earlier era. Moreover, older workers augment a multi-generational workforce, the advantages of which are increasingly apparent and coveted by organizational leaders. Given worker shortages and other current labor market challenges, recruiting managers should place their bet, and their support, on older workers. 

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