"Voices of Experience: Mature Workers in the Future Workforce"
Deborah Parkinson
The Conference Board, November 2002.
Available Online
According to this Conference Board study of 1,500 people over the age of
50, older workers are receiving little encouragement from their employers
to remain in the workforce despite a shortage of skilled workers and an
increasingly aging overall talent pool. Many of the respondents reported
that they were blocked from developmental opportunities because of their
age. In spite of this lack of support, many older workers expressed a desire
to remain active in the workforce, with fewer than half planning to retire
in the next five years. Of those planning to remain in the workforce, 68
percent cited financial needs and 64 percent expressed a desire to build
up income. Among those planning to retire, one-third of the survey participants
between the ages of 50 and 55 said they are not respected by their employers.
The study concludes that more needs to be done to engage aging workers.
The survey respondents suggested that fair compensation, learning opportunities,
and flexible scheduling and gradual retirement alternatives were keys to
keeping them in the workforce.
