When the December frost sweeps across Rhode Island, Paula San Souci packs her bags and heads for southern Florida, where sunshine, palm trees, and a job at a nearby CVS pharmacy are waiting for her.

The pharmacist had always vacationed in warmer climates, but she wanted to avoid New England winters altogether. So last year she signed up for a CVS program that allows her to become a ''snowbird" worker, splitting her time between stores in Greenville, R.I., and Marco Island, Fla.

''It's a welcome change at this stage in our lives. Winters had become too cold and dreary in Rhode Island," said San Souci, who is living at Lely Resort in Naples, where the temperature reached 77 degrees yesterday. ''We love being able to still be outdoors even if it's sitting on our lanai eating dinner in the middle of February, rather than being bundled up on the couch in Rhode Island."

San Souci, who lives with her self-employed husband, will return next month to Rhode Island, where she's been a CVS pharmacist for 24 years. Snowbird workers like San Souci are a new and growing phenomenon nationally as companies grapple with ways to retain and attract older workers. Fearing labor shortages as baby boomers age, companies from Borders bookstores to Home Depot are allowing workers to transfer to stores in warmer regions during winter.

''More employers are open to the idea of being more flexible to meet the needs of this demographic," said Deborah Russell, AARP's director of workforce issues. ''Snowbird programs offer a whole new kind of flexibility people had not thought about before. It allows older workers who are looking to retire to continue work in ways that suit them."

As pensions dry up and people live longer, more workers say they plan to keep jobs during retirement years. About 70 percent of older employees plan to work past 65 at least part time or never retire at all, citing money as the top reason, according to a recent AARP study. By 2014, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates people 50 and older will make up 32 percent of the workforce -- an increase of about 12.5 million people -- up from 27 percent in 2005.

This winter, about 300 CVS workers nationally moved south to work in stores in sunny spots such as Florida and Arizona as part of the chain's snowbird program. At CVS and other companies, the snowbird perk is usually available to all employees but it's mainly aimed at older workers.

During the past two decades, the Woonsocket, R.I., company has tried to attract older workers by tapping into senior centers to recruit staff and accommodating employees who have time-shares and second homes. CVS started its snowbird program two years ago. All of its efforts have paid off: employees age 50 and over now account for nearly 19 percent of its workforce, compared to 7 percent in the early 1990s.


For CVS, the stores have the flexibility to absorb snowbirds, especially during the winter when pharmacies in states like Florida receive an influx of customers. Moreover, hiring older workers makes good business sense, said Steve Wing, CVS's director of government programs, because older workers bring a better work ethic and can relate more to CVS's older customers.

''A lot of time customers will go to older employees to ask for recommendations for over-the-counter medication because they probably have the same aches and pains," Wing said. ''If we don't learn how to recruit and retain older people, we won't have a business."

Not all snowbird arrangements involve working in a company's southern offices. Two years ago, Susan Brenner, a senior vice president at Bright Horizons Family Solutions, set up an office at her second home overlooking the 11th hole of a golf course in Lake Worth, Fla. Brenner spends a lot of time traveling, anyway, so Bright Horizons didn't mind when she proposed a move to Florida during winter.

''My laptop, a nearby airport, and the willingness of Bright Horizons to support me in meeting my personal needs made my Southern office a reality," said Brenner, 61. ''In return for this company's attitude, I am always ready to offer my colleagues a few days in the Lake Worth sun. Golfers have preference."

Bright Horizons, which is based in Watertown, is used to offering flexible work environments, but usually it's for employees with young families. Over the past five years, however, the number of workers age 55 years and older jumped 81 percent to 1,054 from 583, presenting different kinds of needs, said Ilene Hoffer Serpa, a Bright Horizons spokeswoman. Whether employees want to work from home or from offices in warmer locations, the childcare company says it's willing to accommodate people.

''There's a shift that recognized the fact that people without children have their own desires and needs for flexibility, whether it's caring for older parents or changing the place they live," Serpa said. ''It's easier to retain people than train people and so we want to help support people in every part of their life."

At Home Depot, about 300 employees nationally -- a mix of sales associates, cashiers, and other positions -- worked a snowbird schedule last year. Home Depot spokesman Yancey Casey said the company puts time and effort into training older workers who bring great value -- life experiences and more stability.

''We don't want to lose that," Casey said. ''We want to do whatever we can to make sure they have a place to work."

For San Souci, the CVS snowbird, her time in Florida means enjoying bicycling, boating, and a beach year-round. The 48-year-old is slowly reducing her hours but plans to work at least until 65. And maybe even after that.

''Even on my busiest days, I would rather be working in Florida, simply because when I leave the store at 10 p.m. and venture outdoors, it's still 70 degrees," San Souci said. ''Every day feels like a vacation."

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