By Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay
Many businesses say they’re suffering from labour shortages, but what are their management practices and what measures could be put in place to retain experienced workers?
In 2022, I conducted two studies on behalf of the Comité consultatif 45+ (Advisory Committee on Workers Aged 45 and Over), an organization whose members include Québec companies and trade unions. One of these surveys was conducted among a labour pool. We surveyed more than 2,000 Québecers aged 50 to 75, both those active in the labour market and those who are retired, to learn about their professional aspirations and the obstacles they faced in their careers.
The second survey was conducted among 279 private, public, and non-profit organizations in order to gather information about how they manage their experienced employees.
This article is part of our series The Grey Revolution. The Conversation Canada/La Conversation invites you to explore the impact of the aging boomer generation on Canadian society, including housing, working, culture, eating, travelling and health care … discover with us the upheavals underway, and those to come.
The first observation: companies are not addressing the topic of managing aging workers very well.
Only 37 per cent of them have implemented measures to encourage people aged 50 and over to stay on the job. In the private sector, this figure is 46 per cent, but in the public sector, it’s only 24 per cent.
Older workers still face prejudice. Many companies dismiss them or don’t encourage them to stay.
Many organizations no longer offer older workers training or interesting projects or assignments, nor do they invite them to mentor younger or new employees — even though mentoring can encourage people to stay employed and give meaning to their work.
There are biases and prejudices against this age group over their ability to find solutions or innovations or master new technologies. Nonetheless, companies do recognize the expertise and commitment of experienced workers, particularly when it comes to customer relations.
Extending careers
In the employee survey, 26 per cent of retired respondents reported they had extended their careers.
One in five said they would have liked to keep working if it had been possible, but half had no interest in continuing — suggesting there is already a natural age limit to work, and showing that extending careers alone cannot solve the labour shortage.
Continuing to work is still a relevant option, since half of the workforce is interested. But there are obstacles.
Retirement culture is beginning to decline in some sectors, as the average retirement age in Québec has increased in recent years. However, the COVID-19 pandemic produced the opposite effect in certain sectors, where the health and contagion risks are greater for older people.
Incentives to leave employment or stay employed vary depending on the sector: private, public or non-profit.
Why do people choose retirement?
What factors discourage older people from considering extending their careers? In 30 per cent of cases, it is the desire to travel or pursue volunteer projects. In 21 per cent of cases, their spouse’s retirement comes into play. Twelve per cent of those surveyed — mostly women — retire to take care of their grandchildren or a loved one.
Family circumstances play a role for women (spouse, grandchildren, etc.), as does volunteering. These activities contribute to the construction of identity, which work may no longer, or not always, allow.
The results reveal that 38 per cent of respondents no longer want to work, including six per cent who can simply no longer stand their job.
Barriers to staying in employment
The workforce survey also shows that 37 per cent of respondents in employment had the opportunity to take early retirement, which encourages them to leave their jobs earlier with favourable conditions.
Forty-two per cent of respondents said that it was financially possible for them to retire. Thirty-eight per cent cited personal reasons for retiring, 36 per cent cited overload and fatigue, 28 per cent cited excessive mental strain and 26 per cent cited health problems.
More women than men cited excessive mental strain (34 per cent compared to 22 per cent of men) as the reason for their decision, and this is more frequent in service sectors, while physical workload is more often found in manufacturing. They were also more likely to cite their spouse’s retirement (20 per cent versus eight per cent), the health of a family member (12 per cent versus six per cent) and the COVID-19 pandemic (nine per cent versus four per cent).
Measures to retain employees
According to the findings, the factor that would most motivate employees to remain in their jobs would be a phased-in retirement without any obligation to leave (54 per cent).
In second place is an opportunity to leave active employment and continue working for the company as a self-employed worker (52 per cent).
Finally, the possibility of retiring and returning to a similar or different job, full-time or part-time, came in third place (46 per cent).
In addition, 45 per cent of respondents mentioned the option of retiring and becoming part of a pool of experts who could be consulted on demand.
In terms of work organization, the desire to transfer skills and knowledge, or “know-how,” motivates workers to remain in their jobs the most (55 per cent). Adapting or reducing the physical workload comes in second place at 45 per cent, followed by taking on a training or supervisory role (44 per cent).
Other factors favourable to retaining workers would be the possibility of attending training courses or development workshops after the age of 50 (42 per cent), adjusting the time spent on a given task (40 per cent) and reducing or adapting the mental workload (39 per cent). Mental workload refers to the intensification of work related to planning, data research, writing, etc.
Taking action on how work is organized
Companies cannot do anything to reduce personal or family factors, but they can take action to organize work in a way that reduces physical and mental workload. Organizations can also develop different forms of reduced working hours, such as a four-day week or longer holidays. They can also offer flexible working hours, time banks or the possibility of spreading and varying working hours over the year.
It’s interesting to note that other groups of employees also want adjustments to their work schedules for various reasons: young people want to study, play sports or travel; parents want to balance work and family life; older people to pursue other activities such as travel, volunteering or sports.
Organizations could offer the same measures to everyone, thereby avoiding any allegations of age-based favouritism. In addition, they could ensure greater recognition of experienced workers, entrust them with stimulating assignments and instil a real sense of purpose in their work, which is often lacking in many environments.
Only these types of measures will enable organizations to retain their older workers.
Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay, Professeure à l’Université TELUQ, Université du Québec, directrice de l’ARUC sur la gestion des âges et des temps sociaux et de la Chaire de recherche du Canada sur l’économie du savoir, Université TÉLUQ
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