The age-positive workplace: Embracing the value of late-career employees 

As the way of working evolves and the average age of the Australian population continues to increase, organisations must work harder to recognise and combat both conscious and subconscious biases in the workplace. There is an opportunity to challenge the status quo by designing work experiences through the lens of the employee. As we fully embrace the workplace definition of the Experience Economy, the key is to recognise there is no ‘one-size-fits all’.  Specifically, the value and contributions of our seasoned and incredibly experienced late-career employees must be harnessed and celebrated. 

Mercer’s Recalculating Australia’s Ageing Population report shows labour force participation rates for people aged 55-64 increased from 60% in 2010 to 68% in 2021. Similarly, the participation rate for those aged 65 and over increased from 12% in 2015 to 15% in 2021. This upward shift in older workers should be seen as a chance to further diversify the workplace with a wider breadth of knowledge, skills and experience.

We know that having diverse teams can lead to increased innovation, new approaches to problem-solving, increased productivity and knowledge transfer. But age diversity is something that can easily be left out of day-to-day team considerations. As our report highlights, the recent changes in population demographics is a call to shine a light on what organisations can do to attract and retain mature talent. 

As organisations continue to grapple with persistent talent and skills shortages, the untapped resource of experienced workers can help fill talent gaps. But recent research by the Australian Human Rights Commission and AHRI, suggests that organisations are ignoring this cohort of potential workers. The research indicates that ageism has been identified as potentially blocking older people from the workforce, revealing that that one in six organisations will not consider hiring people aged 65 and above.

Natalie Yan-Chatonsky, author of the book, The Art of Full Time Living, has interviewed hundreds of people entering the second half of their lives. One prevalent theme during these conversations was their shared concern about feeling irrelevant and undervalued as they grew older. Yan-Chatonsky says that there are plenty of misconceptions about late-career employees in the workplace, like being less productive or having a fixed (rather than a growth) mindset. There are also perceptions that they are “too set in their ways”, aren’t skilled in technology, or are less interested in training and development than younger colleagues.

While ageist stereotypes paint a picture of late-career employees as unadaptable or opposed to change, in reality they have gone through an immense amount of change.  In the last two decades alone the workforce has seen more technology advancements in job redesign than any other era, showing the reality of mature worker adaptability.

When explaining the benefits of having an age-diverse team, Yan-Chatonsky points out that late-career employees also have highly developed people and communication skills and their hands-on experience makes them calmer in high pressure situations. And if they’ve been in an industry for the majority of their career, they can offer an unparalleled level of stability and ‘crystallised intelligence’ as well as large networks built on meaningful relationships. These are all skills that an age-positive workplace can harness and share across the organisation.

While it's important to acknowledge that negative bias towards age does exist in the workplace, recent comments from the Age Discrimination Commissioner, the Hon Dr Kay Patterson AO suggest ageism is one of the easiest forms of prejudice to shift. And workplaces can lead the charge. 

It is important to individualise the employee experience based on both demographic and psychographic factors so that allows for a better understanding of their employee’s preferences. This provides a more comprehensive approach to understanding employee needs rather than relying on demographic characteristics alone. Our consultancy work has shown that biases may lead to incorrect stereotypes and poorly designed systems. This impacts both the employee and the organisation. 

Our Global Talent Trends 2022-2023 research has also shown that in a post-pandemic environment, people risks continue to weigh heavily on executives. More than one in three of them agreed that the pandemic has helped them realise the returns of investing in employee health and wellbeing. With a greater focus on total wellbeing, the opportunity is to engage and listen to understand employees. This includes understanding  ‘moments that matter’ when it comes to ensuring support is both relevant and impactful.  Over a third of organisations surveyed have plans to expand their benefits program to be more inclusive and supportive of all workforce segments.   

Some needs are more demographics-driven. These include flexible working arrangements, support for physical and mental health, coordinated care, caregiving, and retirement planning. “With our ageing population, it’s clear that caregiving support, particularly for employees with ageing family members or partners, is becoming a core requirement of employee benefits and wellbeing programs,” Will Burkitt, Head of Care & Living with Mercer says.

On the other hand, regardless of age, finding meaning and purpose in their work, along with a desire to make an impact, is a shared goal amongst many employees. However, the way in which older workers go about achieving this may not look and feel the same as a younger worker. This should be seen as an opportunity to better understand them rather than a challenge to overcome.

Organisations can also enable late-career employees to recognise and capitalise on their strengths in an ever-changing work environment. This can be addressed by offering development opportunities that nurture their leadership capabilities and help them adapt to change. In addition, giving employees the chance to step outside the confines of their roles allows them to explore how they can utilise their experience in different and innovative ways throughout the organisation.

Inter-generational and cross-functional mentoring programs are another great way give both older and younger team members the chance to learn from each other’s experiences and gain new perspectives. Burkitt says that this works to enhance innovation but also addresses an important aspect of business risk. “Knowledge transfer and skill retention is a significant risk in many Australian businesses as this generation retires and can already be felt in a number of industries,” he says.