talent management
Career Development
and Nonretirement
HR HAS A ROLE TO PLAY IN HELPING MATURE
WORKERS WEIGH THEIR CAREER OPTIONS
The workforce is aging. In addition,
older workers are no longer accepting
conventional retirement.
Ignoring these trends can be detrimental
for organizations, and HR has a key
role to play in addressing these issues.
AN AGING WORKFORCE
According to Statistics Canada, the median
age is now 40.5 years in Canada and those
over age 65 now outnumber individuals
younger than 15. Population aging and the
shrinking of the workforce have been ongoing
concerns, because the large number of
baby boomers equates to a larger proportion
of individuals in the second half of life.
This means higher numbers of mature and
older workers in the workplace.
REJECTION OF TRADITIONAL
NOTIONS OF RETIREMENT
Increasingly, as older workers enter their
60s, they are not retiring; instead, they are
weighing their options for later life work.
Working past traditional retirement age
is becoming increasingly common during
later life, whether adults aged 50 and over
remain in their current occupation or pursue
second careers.
With the intersection of these two workplace
trends, greater numbers of older
adults are participating in today’s workplaces
than ever before. Furthermore, they are
expected to remain in the workforce longer
than in the past. As the trend toward later
life work among the growing population of
older adults builds, this shift is impacting
organizations in many ways. Naturally, HR
must be at the forefront. There are five steps
that can be taken to address this new workforce
shift.
IDENTIFYING NEW CAREER
PATHWAYS
In the workplace, traditional career paths
have shifted and it is more difficult for individuals
to build their pathway, connect
into new opportunities and advance their
careers. With the movement beyond traditional
career trajectories into the new
emerging reality with our aging workforce,
HR plays a key role. In fact, identifying
common career pathways and developing
additional career trajectories will engage
workers – both young and more mature.
By Suzanne L. Cook, Ph.D.
IT IS CRITICAL FOR HR TO HAVE
DEEPER CONVERSATIONS
ABOUT LATER LIFE WORK
RATHER THAN CONVENTIONAL
DISCUSSIONS ABOUT
PENSIONS AND BENEFITS
AS INDIVIDUALS PREPARE
FOR THIS STAGE OF LIFE.
Smailhodzic/Shutterstock.com
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ JANUARY 2016 ❚ 31
