Will boomers retire when they reach the age of 65? Early signs show that the vigor for productive work will still be there post-retirement age, changing the nature of what retirement really means. But while Boomers are showing a desire to continue working, it's not in the traditional 40-hours-a-week sense. I expect an explosion of older workers interested in working part-time, consulting, and volunteering, especially as companies increasingly accept and adopt flexible working arrangements.

Where will these people work? People have increasingly adapted third places (public places that are not one's home or place of work) as workplaces, basing themselves out of public places with a laptop and a mobile phone. But will an older post-retirement worker want to work on their consulting, writing, or volunteer organizing in a public coffee shop?

As someone accustomed to working in an office, I expect an increasing interest in personal office spaces that also offer infrastructure and a community of people with shared interests. Co-working spaces have begun to establish footholds in urban areas among the younger generation, but I expect the idea to spread geographically and demographically. Older co-workers demand a different kind of space and community than younger ones, and there could be a huge market for creating interesting co-working spaces for a demographically diverse set of co-workers. These spaces could provide differentiated workspaces to address the unique and shared needs of these groups, thereby creating stable physical workspaces, enabling regular interaction with people, and promoting flexibility of hours. What do these kinds of workspaces look like? How can public spaces adapt to host these types of environments?