Hello, I must be going

Fewer workers are planning to retire in the next few years, which "could have a profound effect on the workplace over the next several years," said Max Caldwell, head of Towers Perrin's global work force effectiveness practice. "As older employees decide to stay in the work force, advancement opportunities for younger workers will be increasingly limited. Baby Boomer, Gen X and Gen Y cohorts will likely interface more often and for a longer period of time." So here's the conflict:

1. Older Americans ought to keep working in order to lighten the burden of Social Security and assorted benefits on younger generations.

2. Older Americans ought to retire in order to make room for younger generations with their noses pressed to the closed window of the job market.

3. Before the economic downturn. Americans had begun to work longer, prompted by changes in Social Security, longevity and attitudes. Now, dwindling 401(k)s have delayed retirement for many.

I have no idea how this conflict will play out, but regardless of age, we all have an interest in the outcome.

Irregardless, don't fall into these traps

Try and. The correct phrase is "try to." )

Hopefully. Hopefully means "with hope" and describes a subject who feels hopeful. It does not mean "it is hoped that."

e.g. versus i.e. These two are used interchangeably, but have different meanings. e.g. means "for example." i.e. means "that is."

Chomping at the bit. The correct phrase is "champing at the bit."

Could care less. "I couldn't care less" is correct.

You've got mail. Popular movie, but the correct phrase is you "have" mail.

Heart-wrenching. The correct term is "heart-rending."

Barb wire. Barbed wire is the wire, covered in barbs, placed on the top of fences.

Anxious versus eager. Anxious suggests a sense of nervousness or fear. Eager is ready to do something.

Lay low. "Lay low" is an action. "Lie low " means to conceal yourself or bide your time.

Class dismissed.

"The Office" view of promotions

If you’re of a certain age, you remember the fuss Canadian psychologist Laurence J. Peter kicked up in 1969 with the ''Peter Principle.''

Peter’s premise: people in a workplace are promoted until they reach their ''level of incompetence.'' He argued this happens because we wrongly assume that people who are good at their jobs will succeed one level higher, so we promote them. But often the new job is so different from the previous job that the employee can't handle it. The employee drags the efficiency of the firm downward. Remind you of the ''The Office?'' -- clogged with incompetence.

Italian scientists say promoting people at random, and alternately promoting the absolute best and absolute worst performers, will help avoid that trap.

New look at older worker

''Older workers don't suffer from the deficiencies that a lot of people think they do," says an economics professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara (my alma mater). Read more.

A catchy phrase or two

Do words convey a different meaning? Consider these actual changes from the U.S.government and business

Toxic assets becomes legacy assets

International financial regulation becomes macroprudential oversight

M&A banker becomes adviser to the free flow of capital

Layoffs at Nokia are synergy-related head count adjustments

Global financial crisis is global economic restructuring

(It's anyone guess what leveraging synergy means now)