LEWISTON – Mario Blais was concerned that some of the younger employees at Electro Static Technology in Mechanic Falls were missing work for avoidable situations like mid-day doctor’s appointments.

His solution: Every month hold a drawing for the employees with zero minutes of lost time. The winner gets a half day off, with pay.

“It seems to be paying off,” he said.

Blais, a Baby Boom-era worker, was applauded for his innovative idea at a seminar Tuesday that looked at Maine’s changing work force. And the accolades came from a cross section of attendees: other Boomers, Gen X-ers (born between 1964-1978) and Millennial workers (post 1978).

“This generation – the Millennial workers – is rewriting the rules,” said Carol Albert of Manpower, a presenter at the Chamber-sponsored seminar. “It will level off, but companies that are successful will recognize it, accept it and work with it.”

The challenge for companies in Maine is to attract and retain a work force that has varying (and sometimes conflicting) values, motivations and rewards. The loyal, pay-your-dues worker that typified the World War II generation translates into workers driven by status and power for Boomers, then segued into the “work-to-live” ethic of Gen X-ers. Today’s Millennial workers are driven by a need for important and interesting work “that fits well between the weekends,” quipped Albert.

“We all have our strengths and weaknesses,” said Albert. “I was tired of people always giving the bum rap to the younger generation.”

Her suggestion: Accept that your business might have to change to appeal to younger workers and embrace the challenge.

“There is no corporate ladder with Gen X-ers or Millennial workers,” said Albert, herself a very energetic Boomer. “It’s more a corporate lattice, and it shakes things up in the workplace.”

Attracting and keeping young workers couldn’t be more important as Boomers move en masse toward retirement. John Dorrer, director of Labor Market Information Services for the Maine Department of Labor, said the data paints a pretty sobering view: In 2017, the average age of a worker in Maine will be 62.

“It’s a loaded gun,” said Dorrer. “Eighty-million Baby Boomers came into the labor market in the early to mid-’70s when there were too many workers for the available jobs then. They’re going to define the workplace again when they retire.”

And while employment rates are expected to remain stable over that same period, who will fill those jobs is a big question. Maine’s population gain between 1990 and 2000 was only 3.8 percent versus the 13.1 percent nationally.

“Demographics is destiny, I’m a real believer in that,” Dorrer said.

In Lewiston-Auburn, workers 45 and older hold 43 percent of the jobs in hospitals, 43 percent of the jobs in professional, scientific and technology fields and 42 percent of ambulatory health-care companies. Conversely, they hold 13 percent of the food-service jobs.

Dorrer encourages every human resource manager and CEO to think hard about where they will find workers in the future. His department is in the process of combining data from myriad sources and presenting it in easy-to-use formats that will help Maine businesses. (Go to www.maine.gov/labor/lmis and click on the local employment dynamics link.)

“It’s a far more serious challenge to meet the replacement demand for workers than (stimulating) job growth,” he said. “Some of the best jobs in Maine are the ones people are leaving.”

Numbers for pullout

Current workplace mix:

45 percent – Baby Boomers

40 percent – Gen X-ers

10 percent – Millennial workers

5 percent – World War II workers

9: Average number of jobs held by typical U.S. worker between 18 and 34 years old

16: Average number of months before workers in their mid-20s leave their jobs

83,000: People who quit their jobs every day in the United States

Source: Manpower, based on Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics data