Our right to work in the United States allows us to insure against risks, sustain health, accumulate wealth and insure family prosperity. Your earning ability, no matter your gender, race, physical ability or disability, is an asset to your family and future generations to come.
Where have all the workers gone? The Great Exodus has the potential of a cataclysmic ruin of future generations, as businesses turn to robotics and software. There were “3.5 million workers leaving their jobs monthly in 2019 to retire, work from home and/or relocate, dropping to 1.9 million in April 2020, (SHRM).” We have heard about the 78 million boomers’ bubbles bursting for years, as millions of workers leave beautiful cushy offices empty, unwilling to return to cubicles deeming it time to retire.
Businesses will adapt to continued transformations in technology. We aren’t just shifting; this feels like transformation. Melissa Jezior, of Eagle Hill Consulting, advised companies to, “embrace the idea that business strategy and workforce planning will look different post-pandemic and to get started on identifying the talent, skills and roles that will be necessary to prosper once the health crisis passes.” She warns against, “backfilling roles with the same skills. But bouncing forward means identifying and cultivating new skills through upskilling, reskilling and in hiring practices.” I want to add embracing more technology. In the seventies, the theory was computers would replace human capital. We may be forced to, as this generation feels burnt out and seeks work-life balance.
This time last year, there was a prediction of a “Turnover Tsunami of 50%” from SHRM surveys. Businesses are impacted today, while still dealing with the aftermath of COVID. These are disasters that are not termed “Acts of God” by the insurance industry, as are the hurricanes, true tsunamis and disasters happening globally impacting businesses, while the threat of inflation continues, per top economists. And maybe World War III? We could say, “don’t look up or pay attention.”
After the Civil War, World Wars I & II, the 1929 Stock Market Crash, etc., the US rebuilt, from the lighting rod to the smart phone through four Industrial Revolutions. We may be in the fifth today.
We have been hit hard by this International COVID Pandemic, as we mourn with those of you who lost loved ones, jobs, relationships, family divisions and/or lost income.
Our ability to earn a living today represents the hope of our future and allows us to contribute to our community. We must protect our families and community by protecting ourselves against disability, disease, financial disasters and promote, as well as restore and conserve emotional well-being.
As I read about the history of our country and my industry, I see the consequences of risk and prudence in transferring risk, as life insurance became important in the 1800s “representing the savings of millions of Americans (Insurance and the U.S. Economy),” Homeowners, Renters Insurance, Property & Casualty, Workers Compensation, Errors & Omissions, Cyber Liability, Employment Practices Liability, Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, STD/LTD, carriers pay claims and “provide financial stability of individuals and the nation, along with fueling American Industry, (Insurance & the U.S. Economy).”
If we ask ourselves, do I wish to be a productive person for as long as I possibly can or “become a burden on society (Insurance & the US Economy)?” My heart races as I see my family, my grandchildren’s precious faces. Even Nona has a responsibility to them with every decision I make in our family’s net value, business enterprise and individual contribution.
Our Human Life Value is our earning power by the number of remaining working years, as insurance and financial institutions base our health and ability of earning a living on. If planned and insured properly, we safeguard against involuntary liquidation of assets. This protection of Human Life Value is regarded as a principal link between present and future generations. This value can be lost in whole or part through death or disability causing loss of earning capacity. The lack of properly planning for transferring risk, retirement and having a will and/or trust to protect against the inevitable can cause more than the loss of our life, it impacts our family, communities and the US economy.
Danone Simpson, MBA, GBDS, is CEO of Montage Insurance Solutions. To learn more, visit montageinsurance.com.
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