Question 3 (LO1, AC1.3)
Introduction
These older employees are known as the baby boom generation and is the largest of the
generations which has existed in the labour market for over forty years. This class of people
have immense experience and knowledge to share with their colleagues. The labour market
will tighten as there are less people in the generations before and after the baby boom.
(Taylor, 2019) says, “Between 1945 and 1964 a total of 17.6 million babies were born in the
UK. There were 16.1 million births between 1965 and 1984 and only 14.8 million between
1985 and 2004”. Therefore, it is vital that employers create the people management policies
and practices required to engage, develop, and maintain an age diverse workforce, and
utilize the experience and knowledge they have efficiently. Poor health is one of the vast
causes for economic inactivity among the ageing workforce. (Ageing-Better, 2018) says “by
2030, 40% of the working age population will have a long-term condition”.
1.
Key challenge
High levels of absenteeism is an aging workforce trend.
People are leaving work before they are ready to retire because of their health. Due to a
health condition more than one in five people aged 50 to state pension age who are out of
work left their last job, (DWP, 2017a). This suggests that employers should address this by
asking workers if there is anything they can do to support them or make any adjustments to
their job role so they will not leave. (Mouland, 2018) agrees, claiming that, “early access to
support, small adjustments to the workplace and working patterns, and managers who treat
staff with empathy can make all the difference in enabling individuals to manage their health
at work”.
Health is another factor holding these workers back from their full potential. Forty-two per
cent of 50- to 64-year-olds have a disability or long-term health condition, often resulting in
needing to take additional sick days or time out of the workplace for medical visits, (O'Flynn,
2017). This is contradicted by (UNISON, 2017) saying “there is no evidence that overall
older workers have more time off, indeed there is evidence that older workers are less likely
to have frequent short-term absences from work”.
1a. Recommendations
There are simple steps that organisations can take to support older workers with long term
health conditions. (Nicol, 2020a) says “HR and People teams need to adjust their health and
wellbeing policies to accommodate these potential health problems and keep these
employees in the work force”. Having conversations with all employees is vital to find out
what they want from their current and future working lives.
A postal company had issues with absenteeism among their ageing workforce and had put it
down to their workload and their health problems. To overcome this trend, they decided to
lighten the work for their ageing workforce by adding additional holidays for these workers. In
the end this didn’t solve the problem, it was the monotonous, hand-operated procedures that
caused chronic, physical problems. The absenteeism among this ageing workforce was
reduced substantially by automating the hand-operated procedures. (NIBUSINESS, n.d.)
says “consider adjustments to their job to allow them to return to work and/or do their job
more easily”.
2.
Key challenge
Filling the skills gap between the older workers that retires and the number of
youthful employees with the correct expertise to replace them.
(Hope, 2017) says “for businesses, the challenge is massive, but the opportunity to benefit
from a diverse range of skills and experience among older talent is also huge. Employers are
dealing with a workforce that is markedly different to just a decade ago, which will continue
to evolve, and there is a need for many to catch up with this new reality”. With a diverse
workforce there is an opportunity to maximise a variety of skills and talents and to retain that
experience for longer. (Jenkins, 2019) says, “older workers can be seen as poor performers,
difficult to get along with, untrainable, unable to use technology, resistant to change and too
expensive to keep around. They are often seen to lack marketable skills or perceived to
have less potential to progress”.
(O'Flynn, 2017) says, “as the number of experienced team members grows, one benefit of
providing these individuals with extra training is their ability to then mentor junior employees.
Utilising the combination of the latest skills training plus years of knowledge built up in a
number of businesses, a mentorship scheme within the workplace can not only help build
the skills but also professional working relationships”. There is a perception that older
workers in their late 50s are on a downhill slope and will soon be retired. (DWP, 2017b)
says, “older workers are less likely to receive training than employees in younger age
groups. However, older workers are no less satisfied with the training they receive, or the
opportunity to develop skills, than employees aged 22-49”.
2a. Recommendations
It is essential to make employment more age-friendly by offering flexible working plans,
decreased hours or ability to alter the time and place of employment. (Nicol, 2020b) says,
“flexible working is an important part of creating a better workforce experience for old
employees with 78% of workers over 50 saying that they want more flexible working hours”.
(Cotton, 2018) says, “government also has a role in encouraging employers to consider the
new demographic realities, especially post Brexit”. For instance, encouraging organisations
through the supply of information guidance and advice about designing work, jobs and working
hours that support more older employees to continue in the workplace.
Organisations don’t want to lose the knowledge and experience of the ageing workforce but
to adjust their roles and use them as mentors, as coaches and trainers for other employees.
Older workers transfer vital knowledge and skills, knowledge-sharing is the number one
benefit of an age diverse workforce, as identified by 56% of HR decision-makers surveyed,
(CIPD, 2014).
(Smeaton & Parry, 2018) says, “flexible working is important for workers of all ages. It can
help older workers balance caring responsibilities or personal health circumstances and
enable a phased transition to retirement.”.
Conclusion
It is important for organisations to hold onto the ageing workforce if they can as they have
immense experience and knowledge which they can share with other work colleagues.
To have regular conversations with the ageing workforce to find out if there are any
adjustments required to their role or any support needed that will keep them in their job for
longer.
Be able to manage sickness absence for older workers as they tend to have long-term
health conditions, whereas the younger generation tend to have short-term absences.
Not all the ageing workforce will have health problems later in life as some like to keep
themselves active.
References
Ageing-Better, 2018. Health warning for employers Supporting older workers with health
conditions. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ageing-better.org.uk/sites/default/files/2018-04/Health-warning-foremployers.pdf
[Accessed 28 May 2021].
CIPD, 2014. Managing an age-diverse workforce. [Online]
Available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/managing-an-age-diverseworkforce_2014_tcm18-10838.PDF
[Accessed 10 May 2021].
Cotton, C., 2018. The impact of an ageing workforce. [Online]
Available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/news-views/cipd-voice/issue-16/impact-ageingworkforce#gref
[Accessed 10 May 2021].
DWP, 2017a. Fuller Working Lives Evidence Base 2017. [Online]
Available at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_da
ta/file/648979/fuller-working-lives-evidence-base-2017.pdf
[Accessed 10 May 2021].
DWP, 2017b. Older workers and the workplace. [Online]
Available at:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_da
ta/file/584727/older-workers-and-the-workplace.pdf
[Accessed 12 May 2021].
Hope, D., 2017. Sickness absence: plan now for the ageing workforce. [Online]
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[Accessed 11 May 2021].
Jenkins, J. A., 2019. An ageing workforce isn't aburden. It's an opportunity. [Online]
Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/an-aging-workforce-isnt-a-burden-itsan-opportunity/
[Accessed 13 May 2021].
Mouland, J., 2018. Health warning for employers. [Online]
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[Accessed 10 May 2021].
NIBUSINESS, n.d. Manage absence and sickness. [Online]
Available at: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/print/node/9537
[Accessed 14 May 2021].
Nicol, C., 2020a. 6 ways to effectively support an ageing workforce. [Online]
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[Accessed 10 May 2021].
Nicol, C., 2020b. Sage Advice Wisdom for smarter business. [Online]
Available at: https://www.sage.com/en-gb/blog/support-agingworkforce/#:~:text=%206%20ways%20to%20effectively%20support%20an%20ageing,%E2
%80%8B.%20Older%20employees%20are%20much%20more...%20More%20
[Accessed 03 May 2021].
O'Flynn, M., 2017. The importance of L&D opportunities for older employees. [Online]
Available at: https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/content/features/the-importance-of-l-dopportunities-for-older-employees
[Accessed 11 May 2021].
Smeaton , D. & Parry, J., 2018. Becoming an age-friendly employer. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ageing-better.org.uk/sites/default/files/2018-09/Becoming-agefriendly-employer.pdf
[Accessed 10 May 2021].
Taylor, S., 2019. Resourcing and Talent Management. 7th ed. UK: CIPD Publications.
UNISON, 2017. The ageing workforce Health and safety implications. [Online]
Available at: https://www.unison.org.uk/content/uploads/2013/06/On-lineCatalogue214743.pdf
[Accessed 14 May 2021].