People are working longer – and many are enjoying it. Gone are the days when you retired on your 60th birthday, happily armed with your gold-plated carriage clock and dreams of a relaxing and long retirement.
Currently in the UK the state pension age is 66. Between 2026-2028, this will increase to 67, but many are continuing to work far beyond that age. An article in The Guardian from October 2023 stated that more than one in nine workers in the UK (11.5%) are now working past their 65th birthday, compared with just 5.2% in 2000.
What has changed?
Well, people are living longer. Advances in medical science and a growing awareness of how to adopt a healthy lifestyle have been contributing to increasing life expectancy, even with a sharp drop due to the pandemic. The Office of National Statistics published figures in January of this year that life expectancy at birth in the UK was 78.6 years for males and 82.6 years for females.
With the cost-of-living crisis and a fragile economy, many pension age workers who are in good health are continuing to work, or are returning to the workforce, helping them sustain their standard of living, but also make a meaningful contribution to the economy and society.
As well as helping their finances, many older workers believe working helps them feel young, relevant, valued, and appreciated.
So, what benefits does it have for a workforce to be multi-generational?
With age comes wisdom…
Or so we like to think! But overall, the experiences that an older worker has – be that just general life experience, but also specific work-related experience is incredibly powerful, and that knowledge becomes part of a succession plan, passed down to less experienced colleagues.
Creating a cohesive workforce
Encouraging tolerance and an appreciation of your colleagues is a strong principle to foster within your organisation, creating a culture of inclusion and celebrating diversity.
Collaboration
People will approach problems in different ways, particularly at different stages of their life. Having a multi-generational workforce encourages collaborative working, with different methods explored.
There are inevitably some challenges with navigating a multi-generational workforce. Older workers could potentially to be slower at picking up the workings of new systems or practices, particularly with the advancement of technology (but perhaps not). They may not be able to adapt as quickly to changing situations and there could be a clash in communication styles between the generations, but these are all manageable with clear guidance and communication from senior leaders.
So, lets embrace multi-generational workforces for what they are – a diverse mix of age and experience, working collaboratively together.
Here at Allen & York, we understand the importance of creating a workforce that can work cohesively. That’s why we connect purpose-led organisations with purposeful people. Working with individuals, technical experts, talent acquisition specialists and recruitment teams, we help recruit individuals to look after the environment and the people working within it.
We’ve built a vast network of talent, managed by dedicated professionals. We’re passionate about creating great places to work globally.
To see what we can do to help you, please contact one of our experienced, friendly consultants on +44(0)1202 888986 or email hello@allen-york.com