The Power of an Age-Diverse Workforce

The pandemic’s effect on the labor market has been described and named in various, evolving ways. Originally portrayed as the Great Resignation, this effect has proven more complicated and changeable than such a title would suggest. With so many uncertain public health, economic, political, and global factors at play, we need to be especially careful not to jump to far-reaching conclusions too quickly.

For example, a substantial number of retirees have re-entered the labor market over the past year, driven by economic necessity at this time of high inflation. More flexible work arrangements for all employees have been a factor as well.

Retirement no longer equates to ceasing to work. According to a new survey by AARP Research , 42 percent of adults age 50-plus either are working in retirement for financial reasons or expect to do so.

While we need to be cautious about predicting the depth or duration of trends in the labor market, we should also use this time of intensified focus on the workforce to illuminate the contributions of older workers and multigenerational teams and to eliminate negative stereotypes that stand in the way of an age-diverse workforce.?

In a survey of 6,000 global employers, the overwhelming majority of global executives said that a multigenerational workforce is a key to success, yet more than half don’t include age in their diversity and inclusion policies.

Myths about older workers hurt these workers—and hurt the bottom line. Older workers have the highest levels of engagement. They bring institutional knowledge and loyalty, wisdom, experience, the capacity to serve as mentors and much more.?

Employers can stimulate intergenerational collaboration by dispelling harmful stereotypes about older workers, including the belief that older employees can only thrive in a traditional workspace.?

The image of older workers as technophobes is wrong and counterproductive. Workers across the age span have proven adept at teleworking. This realization will have lasting consequences. At the same time, younger workers are more likely to be mentors in tech solutions, just as many older workers can share their institutional knowledge and experience. An age-based digital gap is so often exaggerated, but it is shrinking as various age cohorts grow older and as technology becomes ubiquitous.?

Research shows that multigenerational teams increase productivity and engagement, and lower absenteeism. Multiage teams have better market insight. What can employers do to create and support multigenerational teams??

One of the best ways to facilitate collaboration is to take very deliberate steps to build multigenerational teams for specific projects. An example of this practice is bringing together workers with various competencies to solve a specific problem or develop a new strategic plan. Other key components for building and sustaining a strong multigenerational workforce include: Staying alert for unconscious bias; promoting training opportunities; focusing on life stage, not age; and being deliberate about knowledge transfer.

At the organizational level, companies should include age as part of their diversity, equity and inclusion strategy; focus on commonalities; and provide mentoring and reverse mentoring opportunities. Managers can create mixed-age project teams when possible, to increase the diversity of thought, experience, and problem-solving ideas. This approach leads to greater innovation.

Another key building block for an age-diverse workforce is upskilling and reskilling. An AARP survey found that two-thirds of older workers are interested in additional job and skills training. Companies should make sure reskilling and upskilling opportunities are offered in such a way that it is easy for older workers to take part. This includes asynchronous opportunities.

We see important signs of progress in recognizing and building support for an age-diverse workforce. For example, in the international arena,?AARP is collaborating with the World Economic Forum and OECD on the Living, Learning, and Earning Longer collaborative , or LLEL. Together we are researching the benefits of and sharing best practices that support an age-inclusive workforce. We’re looking at issues that include worker retention and career transitions. So far, 73 companies have joined LLEL.

In another encouraging development, more than 1,000 companies have signed the AARP Employer Pledge and thereby agree that they:?

• Believe in equal opportunity for all workers
• Recognize the value of experienced workers
• Recruit across diverse age groups and consider all applicants on an equal basis, regardless of age
• Believe that 50+ workers should have a level playing field in their ability to compete and obtain jobs

Whatever challenges we confront in the economic sphere, we will be in a stronger position to meet them if we recognize and act on the compelling case for an age-diverse workforce.