The future is bright: the future is ageing

by Dianne Bown-Wilson

Back in the fifties and sixties numerous outlandish predictions were made about work in the twenty first century. Some - like computers and mobile communications technology have come to fruition; others like unisex jumpsuits, work pods and jet-pack transportation so far (fortunately) have not.

What was never predicted however is one of the most radical changes of all that is taking place right now: the rapid ageing of the workforce. Worker and retirement ages are increasing inexorably to the extent that within the next few decades working to well past age 70 will be the norm.

Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point, analyses how some trends, ideas and behaviours cross a threshold, ‘tip’ and take off before becoming recognised as a ‘phenomenon’. Certainly in respect of the ageing workforce everything is increasingly moving towards such a tipping point, to the extent that before too long the majority of employers will be scratching their heads and wondering ‘Why didn’t we see this coming?’

So what’s going on? Well, at present, research shows that:

• The UK birth rate has long been declining, longevity has increased rapidly in recent decades and within the next few years the UK population will have more over 65s than under 16s.

• The majority of workers aged over 50 now either need to or want to keep working in some form past traditional "retirement age" - a situation which is exacerbated by the current economic crisis.

• Following the 2006 Age Discrimination legislation pressure is being applied to abolish the existence of a fixed retirement age - a situation which would enable older workers to remain employed.

• Skills shortages in many industries are already occurring due to reduced numbers of younger workers entering the workforce and are predicted to increase greatly in the next decade as today's 50 and 60 year olds retire.

But far from this being a “perfect storm” situation where several negative influences coincide, the most enlightened employers can see that this represents a “perfect opportunity” – older workers want to work longer and employers need them to work longer. All that’s missing is finding new ways of making it work.

A strategic and managed solution

Utilising and maximising the strengths and skills of workers throughout their entire working life involves balancing employer and employee needs and adopting a transitional approach to managing employees’ working lives, particularly in their latter years. This means:

• Recognising that employees have different wants and needs at each stage of life.

• Treating employees as individuals rather than categorising them by age.

• Creating flexible working packages to suit those at different life stages.

• Providing training and support for employees at all ages - both to enable them to continue to develop in their careers and to help them with key aspects of future life planning e.g. pensions.

• Ensuring that older workers pass on valuable skills and knowledge in their latter working years through mentoring schemes, mixed age work teams and effective succession planning.

• Working to abolish ageism and ageist attitudes and to establish an age-neutral workforce which benefits from the different skills and insights that each generation brings.