Savvy Employers Ready Themselves for Demographic Change, the Military First and Foremost

Martha Farnsworth Riche, Cornell University

Labor-intensive employers are aware that demographic changes are transforming the workforce. As an employer of primarily young people, the All Volunteer Force is moving now to understand two important demographic changes: a population of young adults that is relatively stable in terms of size, but rapidly changing in terms of racial and ethnic diversity. The stable population size suggests more competition with other employers for young adults, as well as from such alternative life choices as more higher education. The increasingly diverse population suggests more work group conflict/less work group cohesion without specific management attention. This paper focuses on the interaction between employer requirements and demographic changes.