Getting ready for the workforce of the future
By Ellie Boughton
What do the following diverse group of workers have in common?
Rupert Murdoch
Germaine Greer
Ita Buttrose
Dame Judi Dench
Frank Lowy
Mick Jagger
Apart from all being successful in their own spheres, these workers are all aged over 70 and some are in their 80s. In the future, your organisation is likely to have a much greater percentage of older workers. This isn’t just because of Australia’s aging population but because Australians are going to need to work to an older age before they can retire.
At the recent AHRI Convention in Brisbane, Professor Lynda Gratton presented statistics showing that more than 50% of the people born today in western economies will live to an age of 100 or greater. But what kind of life will this be? Professor Gratton argued that most people will now need to work into their 80s in order to be able to afford to retire and live to an age of 100+ years. For others, they will seek a longer working life as they enjoy the stimulation and social contact that work provides and do not wish to pursue a 40-year retirement. One example of this continuing interest in work is Dr David Goodall, he is aged 102 and still has an honorary professor position at Edith Cowan University. A recent ABC article about Dr Goodall indicated that he enjoys the social contact he gets through work and that he typically works 4 days a week.
How does your organisation ready its HR and leadership practices for more mature aged workers?
If employees are likely to stay in the workforce for longer, this presents organisations with both opportunities and challenges. Organisations will have an opportunity to select from a broader range of applicants, however, organisations will also need to manage a more age-diverse workforce and may need to review how learning opportunities are provided to staff. Each of these elements is addressed below:
Recruitment
Research indicates that many Australians aged 50 years or older experienced age-discrimination when looking for work. A 2015 research summary, ‘Too old to work, too young to retire’, also highlights that employers can adopt a biased view of older applicants incorrectly assuming that mature workers are difficult to train, will resist new ways of doing things, get less done and are more likely to have workplaces absences. In contrast with this, Voice Project research shows that mature workers tend to be more engaged than younger workers and higher engagement has been linked to lower absenteeism rates.
This research on employer bias is a good prompt to check that your recruitment processes are objective and fair. Do you have accurate role specifications that are used to objectively weigh up the skills of all applicants? Are you using the more valid recruitment techniques (e.g. structured interviews)? Improving recruitment practices will be advantageous to all applicants (not just mature ones) and will help ensure the best employees are selected to be part of your organisation.
Engagement
How do managers/organisations engage older workers? Voice Project examined data from over 5000 people to explore the impact of age on engagement. The data showed that the drivers of engagement were nearly identical across age groups. For workers of all ages, the priorities for organisations to focus on to improve engagement include better change management, building trust with senior leaders, better recognition practices, improving the effectiveness of recruitment and selection, and enabling career development.
One more specific factor that appears to be a slightly greater priority for maintaining the engagement of mature workers is wellness (the employee’s capacity to manage work demands while maintaining acceptable stress levels). Some of the ways that the wellness of mature workers can be supported is through workload management, involvement, continued access to training, approachable managers and flexible work conditions. How good are your managers at involving staff (seeking their views and feedback)? Are there flexible arrangements to enable employees to change their hours or transition from full-time to part-time employment?
Development opportunities
If employees are working for longer this has implications for the career development practices of organisations. It is already the case that not all development opportunities are hierarchical. The concept of longer and more varied careers indicates the continuing need for organisations to facilitate lateral career moves to maintain job satisfaction and skill development.
Gratton also highlights the likelihood that in a 60-year working life that employees may seek the flexibility to take extended leave (a sabbatical) to renew skills. Some Australian organisations allow employees to take up to 12 months’ unpaid leave. Can your organisation support periods of extended leave?
In addition, Gratton & Scott highlight that workplaces will continue to automate routine work elements. Given this, it is important to provide learning options that are focussed on building competencies that enable employees to adapt to new or changing roles.
As with recruitment and selection, it is also important to ensure that older workers are not excluded from learning opportunities because of biases (e.g. a belief that they’re too old to learn something new). Regularly communicate formal learning opportunities, secondments, networking events, and job vacancies to all staff.
Looking ahead
The idea of a longer working life has challenges for individuals and organisations. Current biases against mature workers in many organisational practices need to be overcome to enable individuals to support themselves and to continue to contribute to the economy. The good news is that most of the suggestions in this blog will also benefit workers of all ages by improving recruitment & selection, engagement, and the development practices in organisations.
What are your thoughts about working to the age of 80? Does your organisation embrace mature workers?
References
DiAngelo Fisher, L. (2013). Sabbaticals: Growing employer support for pushing pause on your career, Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 8th November 2016, from www.afr.com/leadership/sabbaticals-growing-employer-support-for-pushing-pause-on-your-career-20130227-kbp9a#ixzz4PNaMhsAx
Gratton, L. & Scott, B. (2016). The 100-year life. London: Bloomsbury.
Hamlyn, C. (2016). David Goodall, 102yo scientist, told to leave Edith Cowan University post, ABC News. Retrieved 9th September 2016 from www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-21/102yo-researcher-told-to-leave-his-edith-cowan-university-job/7769422
Langford, P (2015). Generational Differences (or Lack Thereof) in Drivers of Employee Engagement, from www.voiceproject.com/articles/371/generational-differences-or-lack-thereof-drivers-employee-engagement
McGann, M., Bowman, D., Kimberley, H., & Biggs, S. (2015). Too old to work, too young to retire. Retrieved 28th November 2016, from library.bsl.org.au/jspui/bitstream/1/7905/4/Workforce_vulnerabilities_in_midlife_and_beyond_research_summary_2015.pdf
Schmidt, F.L., & Hunter, J.E. (1998). The validity and utility of selection methods in Personnel Psychology: Practical and theoretical implications of 85 years of research findings. Psychological Bulletin, 262-274.