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The Coming Boom in Older Workers
By Richard Nantel | July 30, 2007
I’ve been thinking a lot about aging. (No, I’m not planning to quit my job, buy a red convertible, and join a rock band as part of a midlife crisis.) Specifically, I’ve been thinking about the future impact of a rapidly aging population.
The Canadian Census Bureau reported a couple of weeks ago that the Canadian population is getting old fast. The same trend is occurring in most Western countries, including the United States.
Median age in Canada:
- 1996: 35.3
- 2001: 37.6
- 2006: 39.5
- 2031: 44 (projected)
(Highlights of the findings are available here.)
With the boomers thinking about retirement, most organizations are now scrambling to implement talent management strategies to find, hire, train, and retain the best young workers.
What a lot of people seem to be ignoring is that there will be increasing pressure to keep older people in the workforce longer. The Toronto Star today ran a story, “Keep boomers working: Senator“,
Some older people will continue to work because they have not saved enough for retirement. But, many others will have benefited from the magic of compound interest, will be financially secure, will have no real need for the money, but will choose to work to keep active, to advance a cause in which they believe, etc.
These financially secure older employees will introduce significant challenges to organizations everywhere:
- How do you keep employees who aren’t working for the money engaged?
- How to you keep them happy?
- How do you keep them?
I just can’t see these people sitting in cubicles from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. doing the Dilbert thing. They’ll want flexibility, a pleasant work environment, stimulating projects, social interaction, etc.
Best to start planning for this now.
Topics: Aging, Learning, Talent Management |
