Workforce evolution: Motivating and integrating older employees

By the time employees reach the age of 60, they are more likely to prioritise autonomy, flexibility, and work that interests them, as compared to compensation.

To retain these employees, organisations need to better understand what motivates them at work and introduce reskilling programmes that are tailored to appeal to older employees’ pursuit of interesting work and should encourage participation across all age groups.

According to Bain & Company’s Better with Age: The Rising Importance of Older Workers report, 22% of employees aged 55 to 64 say they need more tech skills and the space to mentor and share their expertise to help strengthen the overall workplace culture.

With 150 million jobs expected to transition to employees over the age of 55 by 2030, it is a developing trend that organisations must be better for, as James Root, Partner at Bain & Company and Co-Chair of the organisation’s think tank, Bain Futures, said, “People work longer into their lives, yet we’ve found it rare to see organisations put programmes in place to fully integrate older employees into their talent system.”

This trend is most pronounced in high-income countries, with experienced older employees expected to comprise a quarter of the workforce in the Group of Seven (G7) nations, nearly 10 percentage points higher than in 2011.

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Besides engaging in interesting work that offers autonomy and flexibility, 40,000 employees across 19 countries indicated that by 60, they are eager to continue mastering their craft and to make a positive social impact through their work.