ROCK OF AGES
ARTICLE BY STEVE BUTLER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE - PUNTER SOUTHALL ASPIRE & AUTHOR OF MANAGE THE GAP: ACHIEVING SUCCESS WITH INTERGENERATIONAL TEAMS
As the changes in the increasingly, multi-generational workforce impact, the statistics are compellingly revealing: According to the Office for National Statistics1
found that almost a third of UK workers now expect to be employed after their 70th birthday.
The shift is a clear reflection of the UK’s changing society and it will create new challenges for employers. The change in demographics suggests that fewer young people will be entering the workforce in the next couple of decades and retaining them in an increasingly competitive market will be tough. On the other hand, older people will want or need to stay economically active, and companies will need them too. Many businesses are failing to prepare for this shift. A recent report from the House of Lords Select Committee on Intergenerational Fairness and Provision3
highlighted that many employers are
failing to anticipate the implications of an ageing workforce. The Centre for Ageing Better4
also
found that only one in five employers is discussing the ageing workforce strategically. While academics and government have been predicting this demographic timebomb and analysing the implications for the workplace for 20 years or more, there seems to be a disconnect between the conversations in academic and government circles, and the lack of action in companies. Businesses will need to face these challenges sooner rather than later. Different generations are likely to have different skills, assets and attitudes towards work and how companies manage these differences will be critical. It will affect the training employers give,
the benefits they offer, the hours employees work and the way they should work together. These challenges will also bring opportunities. Employers will have the chance to turn the changing demographics into something positive for their business and to harness and embrace the different skills, experiences and attitudes of each generation.
To manage an age-diverse workforce successfully, organisations need to acknowledge how the mindsets and life experiences of different generations affect how they approach their work and working together. The rift between the post- 1980 digital generations compared with the preceding analogue ones is something organisations shouldn’t underestimate. The under 45-year-old ‘digital workers’ will have very different attitudes and mindsets to the over 45s ‘analogue workers’. For example, an ‘analogue’ man in his fifties will be very different from a female ‘digital’ employee in their 30s. Both may be hugely talented, with all the skills the business needs, but when it comes to how they approach work, they are likely to be chalk and cheese. The analogue probably comes to work dressed smartly, arrives on time, likes his own desk and carries himself as someone who has been around the block more than once. However, he has kept pace with change and has
, more than 24 percent of people living in the UK will be aged 65 or older by 2042, up from 18 percent in 2016. Other research from Willis Towers Watson2
12 | thehrdirector | DECEMBER 2019
SPECIAL REPORT
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