The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that in the year 2010 there will be 167 million jobs and only 157 million workers available. The projected shortage of 10 million workers, along with reports that boomers have not saved enough for retirement, has some experts speculating that companies will become increasingly age-friendly.
As attention shifts to the aging workforce, several questions are emerging:
- What will the workforce really look like in five years?
- Will boomers retire in traditional ways, or will they redefine late career and retirement with more of them choosing to "work in retirement"?
- Will organizations need to hire mature workers, and how will they respond to a growing workforce of third age boomers?
Whether you're an HR professional or a hiring manager, it's worth considering recent research that cites the advantages of an older workforce:
Knowledge and Skills
Hiring older workers is a strategic way to import experience and knowledge into an organization. Mature workers possess a heightened awareness of their capabilities, having honed them through practical experience. They know what they can and cannot do. Having accumulated skills and knowledge over a career lifetime, they often embody the "best practices" that organizations hire consultants to research.
A recent survey and report by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)¹ found that more than two-thirds of respondents indicated that their organizations have hired retirees from other organizations and careers. In half of those companies, retirees were working in both full- and part-time positions.
The SHRM report further emphasizes the advantage of adding outside ideas and perspectives by hiring older workers. The skill set of the mature work force aligns well with an economy that increasingly depends on knowledge and a service orientation.
Seasoned Proficiency
What qualities do mature workers bring to the workplace? Research on the strengths of the older workforce paints a very interesting picture. A Conference Board² study expounds on several appealing characteristics of older workers: reliability, compassion, honesty, productivity, creativity and commitment to quality work.
SHRM¹ reports that older workers are loyal, have a strong work ethic, and add a diversity of thought and approach to team projects. Knowledge and experience contribute to good judgment and efficient decision-making. In short, older workers know how to work. They have a perspective on the work cycle and appreciate what is needed to accomplish a project.
Creative Problem-Solving
Older workers find ways to solve problems by drawing from their experience. Studying the creative output of artists, economist David Galenson³ found a distinction between "conceptual innovators" and "experimental innovators." Conceptual innovation refers to paradigm-breaking inventions that often occur early in careers. Experimental innovation focuses on improvements made through incremental problem-solving that builds upon existing methods.
This latter type of "practical creativity" was found to occur in later life. Citing other research on aging and cognition, a recent Newsweek4 article reinforces the idea that day-to-day problem-solving creativity gets stronger during the later years. Older workers can use their years of experience to analyze situations and adapt. They offer the capability of finding new ways of accomplishing tasks, by transferring what they know and reworking current approaches.
Flexibility: A "Just-In-Time" Work force
The emerging older workforce may fit perfectly with an organization's need for a flexible workforce. Mature workers can be a great solution to work tasks that don't fall neatly into steady full-time jobs. SHRM¹ reports that workers 50-plus may be more willing to work part-time or seasonally to fill "labor on demand" requirements. Their flexibility can mesh well with an organization that has cyclical peaks and valleys in service or production. For more information about workplace flexibility and the aging workforce, see the new Center on Aging & Work at Boston College funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
The Numbers!
One final compelling reason for hiring workers over 50 is simply the demographic reality. Eight thousand boomers turn 60 each day, and the workforce is getting increasingly older. SHRM¹ reports that from 2001-2010, the number of workers aged 25-54 will increase by 5 percent. During that same period, the number of workers over age 55 will increase 46.6 percent.
Simply put, older workers may well be a significant pool of potential job candidates in the future. When this demographic trend is coupled with shortages in particular industries (such as healthcare), it's easy then to imagine how older workers will naturally emerge as a significant portion of the workforce.
As individuals and employers navigate the changing landscape of workforce, there's a wonderful opportunity to think creatively about the talents of the 50-plus workforce.
NEXT: The intangibles: Qualities a mature workforce adds to an organization's environment and culture. Part 2: More reasons to hire boomers
References / Sources
- "Older Workers Survey." Research Report. June 2003 SHRM / NOWCC / CED (SHRM is the Society for Human Resource Management. It serves the needs of HR professionals by providing comprehensive resources and advances the HR as an essential partner in developing and executing organizational strategy; NOWCC is the National Older Worker Career Center, which focuses on expanding employment and training opportunities for workers age 40 and over through job placement, education, research, and advocacy; CED is the Committee for Economic Development, a nonpartisan organization of business and education leaders focused on policy research on major economic and social issues.
- "Managing the Mature Workforce." Research Report. The Conference Board July 2005 ( The Conference Board is a not-for-profit organization that creates and disseminates knowledge about management and the marketplace to help businesses strengthen their performance and better serve society).
- "Galenson, David. "A Portrait of the Artist as a Very Young or Very Old Innovator: Creativity at the Extremes of the Life Cycle." National Bureau of Economic Research, 2004.
- "Springen, K, Seibert S. "Artful Aging." Newsweek, January 2005
