Recent figures from WEALTH, financial wellbeing and recruitment specialists show that 39% of workers believe they will never be able to retire because of the impact of the cost of living crisis. Those aged 33-44 are the age group make up most of this figure and 32% of workers will look to delay retirement.
The switch from final salary schemes to group personal pension plans means that even those who have saved via these schemes may not have enough in their pension pot to retire at their pre-planned age. The introduction of auto enrolment in the UK means that younger generations will have benefited from a full working life of pension contributions, however those in older generations may not have saved into pensions at all.
So with an aging workforce who are looking to stay employed for longer how can employers reap the benefits?
Increased diversity
By removing bias in recruitment employers can attract older people to jobs. Reversing the trend to employ younger people for more “junior” jobs can bring increased diversity to the organisation. Whilst the older person may not want to have a job with huge responsibilities, they can bring expansive experience and knowledge to the workplace. Older workers pick up newer skills from younger people and in return younger people can benefit from the different approach to tackle projects and solve problems that older workers bring.
In house mentoring
Older workers can tend to be more resilient in stressful situations, due to their having experienced similar instances previously. They may be able to better understand how to handle unexpected situations such as setbacks and customer complaints. Sharing this knowledge and supporting younger members of the team leads to better outputs from all employees whilst reducing training costs.
Less Staff turnover
Younger people are more likely to outgrow their roles, and leave to advance their careers, however, it’s less likely to happen with older workers who have different reasons for working.
So next time you recruit for that role, make sure you use age-neutral job ads. For examples,a avoid asking for a degree which, due to increased university attendance amongst younger generations, might exclude older workers who have the skill needed to go the job effectively, despite the lack of a degree. It may be a good idea to include a line that states applicants of all ages are welcome to apply.
Remember, creating an inclusive age-positive workplace could open new opportunities for existing employees.
