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    一名男子停好自行车，摘下头盔，露出光秃秃的头和花白的眉毛。一位穿着矫形鞋的女士走进办公楼，另一位女士戴着双焦眼镜看着自己的智能手机，手机上的字体很大，以方便阅读。不，这并非西乐葆（Celebrex，用于治疗关节炎和类风湿性关节炎的药物——译注）的广告。这只是未来劳动群体的一个缩影。

    2008年的股灾及随后的经济衰退耗尽了许多婴儿潮一代的积蓄。美国劳工统计局（Bureau of Statistics）估计，2022年将有1,320万65岁及以上的人仍坚守在工作岗位上，而目前，这一群体的数量仅为730万。随着步入花甲之年的美国人推迟退休（有人是为了补充存储退休基金，有人则是因为觉得自己会活得更长久，因此需要不断赚钱），一个高龄的劳动群体即将形成。

    但是，办公室里并不会满是行动笨拙的老年人。未来学家索尼娅•阿里森预测，老年人将会比以往更加健康。她说，像“老爷车”一样，出现毛病的身体部位也能够进行替换。新的药物将能缓解许多病痛的症状，比如关节炎和高血压，这样，许多六七十岁的人也可以每日前往办公室或工厂上班。事实上，对于想要工作的老年人来说，限制因素可能是脑力的局限（与年龄相关的记忆力减退以及更为严重的疾病，如老年痴呆症等），而非体力因素。

    劳动力的老化引发出一个重要问题，即企业将如何解决健康福利。人力资源咨询公司美世（Mercer）健康和福利业务的首席精算师布鲁斯•理查兹预计，企业会着手调整其涵盖的治疗种类，由全体员工、而不仅仅只是高龄员工来为支付这笔费用承担更多的责任。至于退休储蓄计划，企业将会继续脱离传统的养老金计划，而采用能够减轻企业收入压力的策略——为全体员工提供固定的缴费计划。

    企业必须发挥创造性来管理60岁以上的员工群体。不过，许多企业的老年员工会成为一种资产。药品连锁店CVS公司（CVS Caremark）发现，许多客户更喜欢向更为年长、更有经验的药剂师咨询健康问题。为了留住这些有价值的员工，该公司已经推出了“雪鸟”（snowbird，比喻冬季向南方迁徙，夏季向北方迁徙的北美人——译注）计划，允许他们夏季在北方工作，冬季则前往南方工作。

    译者：qian

    A man parks his bike and unbuckles his helmet to reveal baldness and salt-and-pepper eyebrows. A woman in orthopedic shoes makes her way into an office building, while another peers through her bifocal glasses at her smartphone, the font on the screen bumped up a few sizes for easier reading. No, this isn't an ad for Celebrex. This is a glimpse at the workforce of tomorrow.

    The market crash of 2008 and the subsequent recession depleted the savings of many baby boomers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 13.2 million workers 65 and over will log office hours in 2022, up from about 7.3 million today. As aging Americans defer retirement -- either to restock retirement funds or because they expect to live longer and need to keep earning money -- an older workforce will take shape.

    But gawky walkers won't clutter offices. Futurist Sonia Arrison predicts that the elderly will be healthier than ever. Broken-down parts, she says, can be replaced "like a vintage car." And new drugs will temper the symptoms of many other afflictions -- arthritis and hypertension, for example -- enabling many people in their sixties and seventies to make the daily trek to an office or factory. Indeed, the gating factors for seniors who want to work may be mental limitations (age-related memory loss and more serious diseases such as Alzheimer's) more than physical ones.

    With an older workforce comes big questions about how companies will handle health benefits. Bruce Richards, chief actuary in the health and benefits business at Mercer, a human resources consultancy, predicts that companies will look to alter the kinds of treatments they will cover and put more responsibility for payment on all their employees -- not just older workers. As for retirement savings plans, companies will continue to move away from traditional pension plans and offer all workers defined-contribution plans, a strategy that takes pressure off corporate earnings.

    Companies will have to be creative about how they manage a workplace with staffs whose ages could span 60 years. But for many companies seniors will prove an asset. Drug chain CVS Caremark (CVS) is learning that many of its customers prefer to consult with older, more experienced pharmacists about health issues. To retain those valuable employees, the company has launched a "snowbird" program that lets them work up North in the summer and in the South for the winter.