The Washington Post - USA (2022-03-27)

G2 EZ EE THEWASHINGTONPOST.SUNDAY,MARCH 27 , 2022

dothemallatonetime,andI

nevertravel morethan15 miles,”

saidHiguera, aretiredphysician

assistantwholivesnearSanDi-

egoinNationalCity.

Higuera, whowashomelessat

thebeginningof thepandemic,

reliesongovernmentsubsidiesto

coverhisrent.Hereceivesless

than$1,000amonthinSocial

Security, whichheusesto cover

hisotherexpenses.

“I’vealways beenkindof fru-

gal,butnowit’s reallyimportant

thatIam,”Higuerasaid. “My

monthlycheckhasunfortunately

beenswallowedupby inflation.”

Inflationcanalsoeatintosen-

iors’budgetsinhiddenways.Old-

er shoppers,forexample,areless

likelyto purchaseonline,where

pricestendto bemorecompeti-

tive.Onlinepricesareup3.6per-

centfromayearago, accordingto

Adobe’s digitalpriceindex, com-

paredwitha7.9 percentjumpin

theoverallconsumerpriceindex

in thesameperiod.

“Olderpeoplearelesslikelyto

beontheInternet, andtheones

whoaretendto be thehighest-in-

comeseniors,”saidAustanGools-

bee,aneconomicsprofessorat

theUniversityofChicago. “There

is anunfortunatestratification

andcontributionto inequalityin

thatway:Ifyou’realower-income

seniorwhodoesn’t ever shopon-

line,as inflationgoes up,youjust

have to eatit.”

AlstonIngram,aretiredreal

estateagent in Guthrie, Okla.,

recentlychangedcarandhome

insuranceproviders to compa-

niesthatgavehimlowerprices.

Hedownsizedfrompickuptrucks

andsport-utilityvehiclestomore

fuel-efficient cars.And hehas

startedshoppingaroundforgro-

ceries after his local Walmart

raisedthepriceof eggs from$1.05

adozento $1.72,and canned

Campbell’s tomato soup from

$1.58to $1.72.

“Myhobbyis notgolf or fishing

or anythinglikethat; it’s finding

thebestdeal,”the 71-year-old

said.“Pricesarerisingso fastthat

Idon’t reallywanttobuyany-

thinganymore.”

Jo Sunderlage, aretiredparale-

galin theSeattle suburbs,recent-

ly downsizedto asmallertown-

houseanddustedoffhercook-

booksfromthe 1970 ssoshe could

startmakinggranolaandcasse-

roles tosave money. Nowthat

she’s livingsolelyonSocialSecu-

rity, the71-year-oldsays she’s had

to cutbackonmanyoftheluxu-

riessheonceenjoyed,liketripsto

France and golfing with girl-

friends.

“Somanypeoplehavethevi-

sionthatyouretireandlivethe

goodlife,”Sunderlagesaid.“But

notso,becauseI’mnot madeof

money. Whenyouliveonafixed

income,youreallyhave to think

aboutmoneybecause, bottom

line, everything boils down to

that.”

immersionofnonverbal human

communication,andthey don’t

workaswellfornewhires who

lackestablishedworkplace

connections.

Periodic,plannedin-person

gatherings(undercoronavirus-

safeconditions)canhelprevive

or kick-startconnections that

solidify overtimethrough

follow-upconversations,

collaborationsandone-on-one

meetups—muchthesameway

pre-pandemicnetworking

eventsandconventionsdid.

In manycases,theproblems

citedwithremotework—

“presenteeism,”inequality,

disengagement,lackof

visibility—existedwiththein-

personmodel.Remotework,

properlyimplemented,is

increasinglyanessential

featureof theworkplace.We

justneedto learnto useit

properly.

[email protected]

existedin thepre-pandemic

office.Workerswhowerebeing

talkedover in meetings,

subjectedto microaggressions,

or havingtheir timeand

concentrationhijackedby

passersbywerealreadyata

functionaldisadvantage. Hybrid

andremoteworkcanhelp

minimizethosedisruptions,and

virtualinteractionscanhelpput

workers onmore equalfooting.

AsSchulteputsit:“Everyone’s

headis thesamesizein avirtual

window.”

Remoteworkersbecome

disconnectedfromtheir

colleagues

Digitalcommunication

channelscancompensatefor

muchof theday-to-dayhallway

andwater-coolerchatter,and

theyare accessible to everyone

regardless of location,status,

mobilityorotherobstacles.But

they can’tprovidethefull4D

Editor:SuzanneGoldenberg•Art Director:CecePascual•PhotoEditor:HaleyHamblin•E-mail:[email protected]•Telephone:202-334-9800•Mail:The WashingtonPost,SundayBusiness, 1301 KSt. NW,

Washington,D.C. 20071•Advertising:Noelle Wainwright,202-334-7610,[email protected]

BUSINESS

Dilbert ScottAdams

Hybridworkplacescreatea

multitieredrewardstructure

wherein-personworkers

receivemoreopportunities

thanremoteworkers

Notifyoudon’t letthem.It’s

truethatpromotions and

opportunities areoftenheavily

influencedby proximitybias

andfamiliaritybias, relyingon

subjectivemeasureslike

“visibility” and“cultural fit.”But

that’spassive,lazymanagement.

Goodmanagement means

quantifyingexpectations,

measuringoutputratherthan

input,andgettingto know

workers wellenoughto match

themwithappropriate projects

andgoalsregardlessofhow

oftenyouseetheirfaces.

Multi-tierstructuresalready

homeworkers putin more

hours thantheydid at theoffice

would suggest otherwise.

It’s notthatpeopledon’t want

to workhard.It’sthattheydon’t

wanttoworkharder thanis

necessarytoget thejobdone.

Gettingupearlyfor workhasa

purposeif you’re speakingwith

peoplein adifferenttimezone

or if that’swhenyou’re at your

sharpest. Buthavingflexible

hours servesapurpose, too:

minimizingfatigueand

scheduleconflicts.

Ta ckingunnecessary

constructsandexpectations

ontoajobthat donothingto

enhance performance

(commute,earlystarttime,

neckties,high-heeledshoes,

agenda-lessweeklymeetings)is

whatsapsengagement.

normal”way of work thatis

effective andequitable.

Insteadof focusingon

employeeinputs—facetime

andattendance—Schultesays

managersneedto be trainedto

focus onperformanceoutputsto

measureperformance.Aswe’re

learningfromdiscussionsof

shorter workweeks,timespent

ontheclockis notnecessarily

themostaccurateindicatorof

productivity. “Thisis apivotal

momentforbusinessexecutives,

organizationalleaders, and

managersto reimaginework,”

says Schulte.

In-personworkiscrucialfor

facilitatingrandom

encountersthatleadto

innovation

It mayseemthatinspiration,

likelightning,strikes

unpredictably. Butthereare

ways to createfavorable

conditionsforinspiration

besides physicallyherding

everyoneintoonelocationfor

days onendandhopingfor

sparks.

Defined, intentional

brainstormingsessions witha

structuredagendacreatespace

to focus andbuild onideasthat

mightotherwiseflareout.Open

chattimebeforeor aftervirtual

meetings offerseveryone

informalaccessto leaders.

Internal communication

channelsanddiscussionboards

likeSlack canstandinasvirtual

hallwaysandwatercoolers.This

opens thefloorto everyonewho

hasideas —not just thosewith

theloudestvoicesorthe

chutzpahto buttonholeleaders

in passingto pitchtheirideas.

Trulycommittedworkers

willwanttoreturntothe

office.Thosewhodon’tare

lessengagedordon’t wantto

workhard.

Multiplestudies showingat-

Iusedtofit my
lifearoundmy
job.NowI’m
accustomedto
fittingmyjob
intomylife.
Twoyearsof
workingremotely
hascausedthat
shift,andIdon’t
knowifI’meven
ableto go back to
thewayIjuggledwork andlife
before.IguaranteeI’mnotthe
onlypersonfeelingthatway.
AccordingtothePew
Research Center,only
23 percentof workers in jobs
thatcould be donefromhome
werefrequentlyworking
remotelybeforethecoronavirus
pandemic. Duringthe
pandemic, thatnumberpeaked
at 71 percentandis currently at
59 percent.While amajorityof
thoseworkers early in the
pandemicsaidthey were
workingfromhomebecause
their officeswereclosed, the
proportionhasflipped,andnow
themajority saythey’re working
fromhomebecausetheywant
to.Remoteworkhasevolved
fromarare adhoc
accommodationto apreferred
wayoflife.
Ofcourse,certainconcerns
about thedownsidesof remote
workkeepsurfacing.

Remoteworkmakesit too
hardtomanageandmeasure
performance

Aswithmostmanagerial
challenges, thesolutioncomes
downtotraining.Inareport for
theNewAmericaBetterLife
Lab, former WashingtonPost
journalistBrigidSchulte,author
of “Overwhelmed:Howto Work,
Love,andPlayWhenNoOne
HastheTime,”offersan
extensivelyresearchedtoolkit
to helpmanagersand
businessesadapttoa“corona-

Debunking five misconceptions about remote work

Work
Advice

KARLAL.
MILLER

ientsreceiveda5.9 percentbump

intheirmonthlychecks—this

basedon annualinflationcalcula-

tionsfromJuly to September 2021

—eventhoughoverall priceshave

grown7.9percentin thepastyear,

according the Labor Depart-

ment’s latestreading.

So,whilecost-of-livingincreas-

es protect older Americans

againstmedium-andlong-term

effects of inflation,theydolittle

to shieldthemfromshorter-term

pricehikes, saidGaryEngelhardt,

aneconomicsprofessorat Syra-

cuseUniversitywhoseworkfo-

cusesonSocialSecurity, pensions

andaging.

“Thestingof risingpricesfor

olderAmericansis real,”hesaid.

“Suddenincreasesin prices,like

theoneswe’veexperiencedwith

gas,foodandhousing,willerode

thepurchasingpowerof thoseon

fixedincomesuntilthosebenefits

getadjusted.”

In interviewswithmorethana

dozenretireesbetweentheages

of 58 and 85,almostall said

higherpriceswereforcingthem

to skimponbasics.They reported

cuttingbackonmeatandvegeta-

bles,drivinglessandtradingin

gymmembershipsforJane Fonda

workoutvideos.Manysaidthey

werebuyingcheaper,shelf-stable

foodssuchaspasta andcanned

beansat dollarstores,andrelying

onchestfreezersandfood sealers

to storeaway extras.Allsaidthey

werelivingonsignificantlyless

moneythanwhen theywere

working,leaving them with a

smallercushionto guardagainst

costincreases and unexpected

medicalemergencies.

Onlyone,aformerloanofficer

whoreceivesSocialSecurityanda

portionof herex-husband’s state

retirement payments, said she

wasnotstrugglingfinanciallyor

panickingaboutthefuture.

“Inspiteof thefactthatthings

have goneupin price,I’mdoing

justfine,”saidArleneThomas,72,

wholivesin Elon,N.C.,whereshe

recently bought anew town-

house.“I do notdineoutor travel,

period,undercovid,so I’mactual-

ly savingmore.”

Backin Asheville,Morgansaid

shethoughtshe’d plannedwell

forretirement.She’d paidoffher

2013 ChevroletSonic andgotten

ridof her credit cards before

leavinga23-year career as afifth-

gradeteacherin 2018.Butrising

pricesandcontinuedeconomic

uncertaintyhavechippedaway at

anyfinancial securityshe thought

she’d had.

In arecentmomentof despera-

tion,afterhermonthlyelectricity

billjumped20 percent,shegotrid

ingstocovermonthlycosts for
prolongedandunpredictablepe-
riods.Americans in thatage
rangearemorelikelytolivein
poverty thanyounger adultsare,
CensusBureaudata shows,with
widedisparitiesbyage, race and
circumstance,includingwhether
theyrelysolelyonSocialSecurity
or have othersourcesof income.
TheburdenonolderAmeri-
cansis thelatestexampleof how
inflation—at40-yearhighs—is
exacerbatinginequalitiesacross
theeconomy. Higherpricesfor
food,gasandhousingareweigh-
ingheavilyon thosewhocanleast
affordtheincreasesandarecreat-
ingnewchallenges forapopula-
tionthatisalsomostvulnerable
to thenovelcoronavirus.Adding
tothestrain,millionsofolder
Americanshave givenupregular
incomesto retireduringthecoro-
naviruspandemic.
Half of olderpeoplewholive
alonearestrugglingto getbyon
lessthan$27,000ayear—orthe
bareminimumforasinglerenter
in goodhealthto coverexpenses,
accordingtotheElderIndex, a
cost-of-livingmeasurecreatedby
theGerontologyInstituteat the
UniversityofMassachusettsat
Boston.Thesteadyclimbof infla-
tionduringthepandemichasput
furtherstressonretirees.
“A nysmallchangeincircum-
stance—risingprices,amedical
emergency—canthrowanolder
person’s budget completelyoutof
whack,”saidJanMutchler,the
institute’s director.
LewisFaughtwas diagnosed
withlate-stagelungcancerearly
in thepandemic,forcinghiminto
earlyretirementfromhisjobas a
bowlingalleysupervisorin Cali-
fornia.Heusedhisstimulusmon-
eyto prepayforhis funeral and
nowliveson$1,205amonthin
SocialSecurity.
“I’mscrapingthebottomof the
barrel,”saidFaught,59,whore-
centlymovedin withfriendsto
savemoney, aspricesforevery-
thingwentup.“I domostofmy
foodshoppingin markdownbins
anddon’t buymuchelse.”
About 12 percent of older
adultslivesolelyonSocialSecu-
rity, whichpaysanaverage $1,658
permonth,a$ 93 increase from
last year,accordingto theSocial
SecurityAdministration.
AndalthoughSocialSecurity
paymentshave builtin cost-of-liv-
ingadjustments,economists say
there tends to be athree-to
12-monthlagbetweeninflation
andhigherpayments.This year,
forexample,SocialSecurityrecip-

INFLATIONFROMG1

For many retirees,

inflation cuts deeper

perts say, hasbecomemoredire

withinflation.

Homelessnessamongseniors

is risingrapidlyandis expectedto

triplein thenext decade,accord-

ingto arecentstudyledbyre-

searchers at the Universityof

Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, food

banksarereportingincreasedde-

mandfromretirees,particularly

grandparentsraisinggrandchil-

dren.And interestinreverse

mortgages —whichallowpeople

over theageof62toborrow

againsttheir homes—has nearly

doubledin thefirsttwomonthsof

2022 at GreenPathFinancial

Wellness,anonprofit organiza-

tionthatprovidesfinancialcoun-

seling,accordingto chiefexecu-

tiveKristenHolt.

Experts alsonotethatmany

pandemic-eraprograms,suchas

enhanced unemploymentben-

efitsandtheexpansionofthe

childtaxcredit,didlittle to relieve

theconcernsof olderAmericans.

“Thoseemergencyreliefmea-

sureswereveryeffectivein help-

ingfamilies withchildren but

irrelevant forretirees,”saidHelen

Levy,aprofessorat theUniversity

of Michiganandassociate direc-

toroftheschool’s Healthand

RetirementStudy.“Thereisn’t an

immediatemechanism to help

seniorsdealwithreal-timeprice

increases.Wheninflationis ris-

ingrapidly,likeitisnow,people

whorelyonSocialSecuritydon’t

have awholelotof flexibility.”

EdwardHiguera, 74,puts$25

of gasintohis2010 Chrysleronce

amonthandusesthathalf-tank

tostop bythree supermarkets

andalocal99-centsstore,where

hestocksupondrygoodsand

packaged salads.

“I consolidate mytripssoIcan

care premiums thatprompted

her to opt out ofthe benefit

altogether.Sherarelybuysmeat

anymore,andwhenshedoes,it’s

canned chicken or amarked-

downpackageofshrimpthatshe

stretchesintoaweek’sworthof

stir-frymeals. Otherwise her

mealsarepredictable:Oatmeal,

eggs,pasta salad,toastedcheese

sandwiches.

“I’ve becomeaveryboringper-

son,”shesaid.“Seriously,Ihave

doneeverything imaginableto

trytocutdowneverypennyI

can.”

An estimated9.5percentof

peopleoverage65livebelowthe

poverty line, compared with

8.8 percentofyoungeradults,

accordingto onemeasurebythe

CensusBureau.Thesituation,ex-

ofher front-loading dryerand

replacedit withtwowoodendry-

ingracks.Shealsostartedturning

offthe water heater afterher

morningshower.

“I feellikeI’mgoingbackward

in timejusttosave$20or $30on

myelectricbill,”she said.“I takea

veryhot shower,buteverything

else—washingdishes,brushing

myteeth —Idowithcoldwater.

Andthistimeofyear,it’svery

cold.”

Morganlivesonafixedincome

of about$35,000ayear,before

taxes,roughlyhalfofwhatshe

madewhenshewasworking.Her

paymentshave beenadjustedfor

inflation,shesaid,althoughthe

gains haven’t been enough to

makeupfor actualcosts, suchas a

15 percentjumpin monthlyMedi-

Povertyrates tendto be higheramongretirees

Sharelivingbelowthe povertyline

2

0

4

6

8

10

12

14%

15-24

yearsold

25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75-84 85 or

older

Source:CensusBureau via IPUMS THE WASHINGTONPOST

95 percent

confidence

interval

Note:Based on the SupplementalPovertyMeasure,which includesboth moneyincome and non-cash

benefits,suchas nutritionalassistanceprograms, housingsubsidies,tax credits and stimulus

payments. It subtractsoutnecessarytax, workand medicalexpenses.

JACOBBIBAFOR THE WASHINGTONPOST

LeslieMorgansaysshethoughtshe’dplannedwell forretirementin 2018 ,butrisingpricesand

continuedeconomicuncertaintyhavechippedawayatanyfinancialsecurityshethoughtshe’dhad.