It’s not surprising that after the value of retirement accounts plummeted in the last year more Americans at or near the age of retirement plan to stay on the job longer than originally planned. Sylvia Ann Hewlett, founding president of the Center for Work-Life Policy, in a blog for Harvard Business Online noted that the percent of working Americans aged 65 and older climbed to 16 percent, up from 12 percent a decade earlier, and almost two-thirds of employed Boomers expect to continue working during their golden years. But financial need is not the only reason that Baby Boomers are choosing to work longer. Nearly a quarter of those surveyed by the Center for Work-Life Policy say they enjoy their jobs and feel they still have a lot to offer their employees. Says Hewlett, “47 percent of Boomers—whose median age is currently 54—see themselves as mid-career!”

That, of course, presents employers with certain challenges. As Boomers stay on the job, there is less room for Generation Xers to move up the corporate ladder and for the impatient Gen Yers to see opportunities for them. But there is a way for businesses to address the needs of all of their generational groups by offering more flexible workplaces. For example, a Gen Y employee may want more time to pursue outside interests; a Gen Xer may need more time to attend to her children; and the Boomers may want to work less hours providing them time to do pro bono work for a favored non-profit organization. Each of these groups wants more flexibility in his or her work and home lives. The trick for employers will be to find the right mix of incentives to offer each group and get away from the idea that one size fits all. While financial rewards may be important to workers saving for their kid’s education and their own retirement, other incentives may work for older and younger employees.

It’s time for managers and HR executives to identify the various needs their employees have and to craft reward systems that are more personal. This won’t be easy. Let’s face it, it’s easier to say that the annual increase for all employees this year is 3% and let individual managers figure out how to spread that out to their department’s pool of workers. It’s a lot harder to see your employees as individuals and recognize that each has needs that can be as important to them as money. One worker may need a flexible schedule to take care of an aging parent, another may need to leave early on Wednesdays to get to a class, and still another may want to work four days a week and have a day off to pursue other interests. Some may welcome a special assignment overseas or the opportunity to work with a skunkworks group researching a new product.

No one solution works when it comes to incentives. What about your workplace? Are there any attempts to move to a more personalized rewards system? What incentive would work for you?