POPULATION, PYRAMIDS AND PROMOTIONAL PROSPECTS

The widely-held concept of upward career movement in a tall organization hierarchy may be out of reach for many Canadian baby boomers. Calculations presented in this paper indicate that the closest match between the age structure of the labour force and a typical hierarchical organization pyramid occurred in the late 1970s, and that over the 1980s a substantial mismatch has emerged, with the baby boomers saturating and overflowing the middle ranks of the organization hierarchy during their prime working years. The major solutions involve flattening organization hierarchies and adopting and rewarding spiral career paths. Various personnel and public policy implications of these changes are explored. A strong emphasis on human resource planning and supportive public policies are needed to accommodate the inevitably changing structure of the future Canadian labour force. -from Authors