A recent report commissioned by the Australian HR Institute and the Australian Human Rights Commission surveyed 604 HR professionals and business leaders and found the age at which workers are considered as ‘older’, is progressively getting younger.
The release of the fourth employing and retaining older workers report in April 2021 provides insight into the current employment climate for older workers, and shift in perceptions around Australia’s ageing workforce.
Australia’s ageing population
Although the findings are mixed, its purpose is to highlight how organisations are taking advantage of what older workers have to offer. There are calls for the reassessment of bias training, mentorship programs and succession planning strategies, all in the hope that this ensures a talented portion of the workforce are included. Especially for an ageing workforce who maintain wisdom, experience, professional networks and institutional knowledge.
Australia’s Age Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Kay Patterson, has commented that the findings show many businesses are disregarding the accompanying advantages from hiring and retaining older workers. She states:
“Older workers bring professional knowledge and experience to the workplace. Sixty percent of respondents said the departure of older workers had caused a loss of key skills in their organisation, yet businesses are still failing to learn this lesson…Age diverse workplaces are good for business and for the economy. Failing to hire and retain older workers is a missed opportunity for everyone.”
Some key findings
28% of respondents defined an ‘older worker’ as someone aged between 61 to 65 years old, however, almost 17% of respondents classified older workers as 51 to 54 years old, which was a notable jump since the 2018 published report.
39.5% of respondents recorded that they plan to work longer and expect to retire between 66-70 years of age, an increase of 7.7% from 2014. The number expecting to retire between 71-75 years of age has also grown, from 10.6% to 17.4% since 2014.
A decrease was identified in the number of organisations that say they ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ have an age above which they are reluctant to recruit. From 51.6% in 2014, to 30.3% in 2018 and down to 26.8% in 2021.
Dr Kay Patterson further comments on the findings surrounding older workers in the latest podcast from ABC’s RN Drive with Patricia Karvelas – listen here.