By the time workers reach around age 60, their priorities often shift, with factors like engaging work and increased autonomy becoming top considerations, according to research from Bain & Company.
Their findings indicate that as workers age, priorities such as interesting work, flexibility, and autonomy grow in importance, often outweighing the desire to climb the corporate ladder among older workers. Older workers are still looking for good compensation, the relative importance is less. Part-time or freelance work, as well as self-employment, often appeal to these workers.
“Too few firms recognize the changing needs and priorities of older workers or invest in integrating older workers into their talent system,” the researchers noted. “Creating roles that benefit both older workers and the company is not just the right thing to do, it’s also a business imperative.”
In a study of seven countries, including the United States, Bain found that older workers will account for more than a quarter of the workforce by 2031. That’s nearly 10 percentage points higher than in 2011, according to the analysis. During the same period, the share of young workers has declined quickly.
“According to Gallup, 41% of American workers expect to work beyond age 65. Thirty years ago, it was 12%,” Bain noted. “Even the spike in retirements during the peak-Covid Great Resignation now looks more like a Great Sabbatical, a blip in the long-term trend data, with a higher percentage of retirees reentering the workforce than in February 2019.
Research, however, shows that older workers are offered training less often than their younger counterparts, and multigenerational workforce programs, such as reverse mentoring and re-entry programs, are rare.
“The good news is that, with the right tool kit and mindset, aging workforces can help employers get ahead of their talent gaps and create high-quality jobs that turn older workers’ skills into sources of competitive advantage,” according to Bain.
