Reprinted from our newsletter: by Fred Brock from the New York Times, as presented in The Charlotte Observer on May 5, 2000.

Beverly Goldberg has a warning for corporate America: Change your attitude toward older workers or face the consequences.

Goldberg, author of "Age Works" (The Free Press, $25), notes that in 10 years, vast numbers of the baby-boom generation will begin reaching the traditional retirement age of 65. But, she says, few companies have noticed that there will not be enough younger workers to replace them. By comparison, today's tight labor market could look benign.

Even if the economy turned sour, the labor shortage would ease only temporarily, says Goldberg, who is also a management consultant and vice president of the Century Foundation, a New York public policy research institute formerly known as the Twentieth Century Fund.

"The most problematic possibility is a continued strong economy that collides with the retirement of the baby boomers," she writes. "That scenario would mean an economic catastrophe."

As early as 2005, when some boomers begin retiring early, a sharp increase in the number of workers over 55 will be needed to maintain the percentage of the population that is employed, she says.

A lot of companies will have to scramble to retain or hire older workers or retirees, many of whom are sitting atop fat 401(k) accounts. Money alone may not lure them. An adjustment in corporate attitudes may be necessary.

That is not good news for companies that have engaged in even the most subtle age bias. It is also a problem for big corporations that through mergers, downsizing, and restructurings - have sowed anger, fear, and disillusionment among their workers, especially their older ones.

In her book, Goldberg calls the current workplace a "world of anxiety and distrust."

"Whenever I talk to older workers in big corporations, the one thing I most often hear is how they just can't wait to retire," Goldberg said in an interview. "They have had it.

Not that they want to quit working, but that they want to do something on their own terms, or work the hours that suit them."

One company that is heeding such warnings is the McDonald's Corp. Its image as an employer of teenagers is changing through its efforts to recruit more older workers.

"We're still going to see a mix of ages working in our restaurants," said Barry Mehrmann, director of McDonald's Human Resources Design Center in Oak Brook, Ill. "But from a strategy point of view, we are clearly looking at older workers and the things we can do to attract them."

McDonald's is looking specifically to increase the share of older workers in its company-owned restaurants. Right now, about 7 percent, or three workers per restaurant, are 60 or older. The company attracts older workers by offering flexible schedules and, for those on Social Security, help in tracking earnings to avoid losing benefits. It also offers management opportunities.

Older workers are often good role models, Mehrmann said. "Their retention fate is very high," he explained.

Goldberg said more companies needed to follow the McDonald's example.

'Many companies fail to train older workers, because they think they're going to leave." She said. "They really don't consider them a part of the team or essential to the work that's being done. They see them as sort of hanging around, which is a big mistake."

Just wait a few years, when these companies try to retain or rehire older workers, she added. "These workers are going to say, 'Never mind.' They're going to go off and do something else in retirement - start their own business, pursue hobbies or go back to school and get a degree."

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