There are presently nearly as many workers aged 55 and older as there are workers in the 25-34 age group. In 1996, there were nearly three times fewer workers aged 55 and over as there were aged 25-34.
This is creating a sense of urgency among employers who need to adapt their social programs and internal policies to this new reality, says Mercer Canada in its report, Next Stage: Are you ready?, published in October.
Mercer’s report says it is in the interest of employers to include aging workers as a strategic asset to their teams, given their experience and desire to stay in the workforce longer.
Be “age-ready”
“With labour force size, participation rate and productivity so closely tied to business and economic growth, the experienced workforce is a source of talent and competitive advantage that employers need to embrace now,” says Pat Milligan, senior partner and global leader of Mercer’s Multinational Client Group. “To be ‘age-ready’, however, requires a thoughtful and careful analysis of this workforce segment, as well as a change in mindset as to how experienced workers truly add value to organizations.”
In order to stimulate economic growth, the G20 countries agree that it is essential to encourage people to take control of their health so that they remain active and productive economically. These measures are thus pushing older workers to work longer and reduce their dependence on the healthcare system. Such measures would help reduce the burden on the healthcare system.
Breaking down barriers and encouraging experience
Employers still need to be encouraged to hire older workers and improve the working conditions of older employees. Many still neglect to encourage generational diversity, ignore older people, or misunderstand them, so they are not included in strategic workforce plans, says Mercer. According to the 2016 World Economic Forum's The Future Jobs report, only 4 per cent of respondents indicated that they plan to invest in experienced employees as part of their workforce strategy.
According to Statistics Canada, the ratio of older workers in business, finance and administration was equal in 2018, compared to the year 1996, when the ratio was 3.1 young workers for every worker aged 55-year-olds and older. In 22 years, the number of young workers in these fields has increased by 2 per cent, while the number of older workers has increased by 236 per cent.
Yet age bias and cultural and psychological barriers make companies hesitant when hiring older workers. Employers tend to be ageist and prefer to hire younger employees than to develop strategic workforce plans. This is despite the fact that employees aged 50 and over have a lot of experience and stay in the job market because they want to contribute to the success of their employer and, above all, because they feel capable, says Mercer.
In some occupations, the aging of the workforce may be exacerbated by the difficulty of attracting younger workers or by structural changes, such as in education or insurance, where working conditions may be more difficult, while jobs in technology may discourage older workers.
