UK employment levels amongst the over 50s at an all time highand growing faster than all other age groups

Stuart Lewis, Chief Executive of Rest Less, commented: “Falling fertility rates, medical advancements and a whole host of other societal changes that have taken place across many decades have resulted in a seismic shift to the demographic makeup of a typical workplace today.’

‘In organisations around the country, it is no longer uncommon to have five generations under one roof – a trend that is only likely to accelerate with older workers as the fastest growing demographic in the workforce.

‘Smart, forward looking organisations are starting to take advantage of the many benefits of age diversity and harness the diversity of thought, different approaches to problem solving and the marriage of experience and new perspectives that can be achieved through the huge value of multigenerational teams.

‘But as a society there remains much to be done. We work with a range of different organisations who are in the process of revising their workplace benefits, policies and hiring practices to ensure they are inclusive of all age groups. It’s becoming commonplace for age-inclusive organisations to offer robust policies on menopause, support for individuals who need to care for their own parents (and not just their children), flexible working options for all employees, equal access to training opportunities alongside many other age inclusive initiatives.

‘We are calling on organisations who are not yet intentionally embracing age in their teams to get in touch to find out how they can maximise the enormous talent opportunity lying right in front of us.”

Dr Emily Andrews, Deputy Director for Work at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “It is encouraging to see the soaring numbers of 50+ workers increasingly contributing to our economy and helping meet labour and skills needs over the past 30 years. This means more employers benefitting from the skills and experience of older workers, more businesses increasing their innovation and productivity through a multigenerational workforce.

“But we should not allow these history-making figures lull us into a false sense of complacency. The data also tells us that there are over 200,000 more older workers out of the labour market since before the pandemic. We know that hundreds of thousands of people aged 50 and over would love to add to these employment figures if there were jobs out there with the right support.

“It is vital that this ever-growing importance of older workers to the national workforce is recognised by the government and employers. The government can do this by encouraging a truly flexible approach to flexible working from employers and delivering employment support specifically tailored to older workers. Employers can commit to improving work for people in their 50s and 60s by signing our Age-friendly Employer Pledge.”

Case study

Fiona Lockyer is 60 and lives in Altrincham. She retired as a hotel general manager at the age of 56 having worked for 40 years and long hours as a committed career oriented business leader, mum of twin girls and a desire to travel.

When Covid arrived, Fiona found herself feeling bored and despite taking her pension payments, she felt she was lacking purpose and wanted to find it again.

Spotting an advert for a role as a casual wedding registrar, Fiona saw it as a good opportunity to use her hospitality skills, her confidence in public speaking and her ability to take the lead and decided to apply. She describes this role as ‘a joyful job’

An interest in decent coffee and a desire to learn how to make it properly led her to securing a second job as a part-time barista – a job where her hospitality skills are useful without having to be the boss.

Fiona says she works to live now, not the other way around and loves the flexibility which means she has room to pursue her passion for travel.

Rest Less’s Top Tips for Identifying an Age Inclusive Employer

1. Is the job description age inclusive? While this means avoiding terms such as ‘digital native’ or ‘highly energetic’, does it make you feel included and welcomed as an older employee? Avoid words like tech savvy, which put off both young and older workers alike, and instead list out the systems or technical skills needed.
2. When you look on the employer’s website and social media, are older workers represented through imagery? Are images of age-inclusive teams present?
3. Do the employee benefits include age-inclusive initiatives such as menopause support, financial advice, midlife MOT programmes, flexible work?
4. If you’ve been for an interview already, was age diversity represented in the different people you met?
5. Is your employer using Rest Less to recruit an age diverse workforce, have they received Rest Less’s Age Diverse Employer badge or have they signed the Centre for Ageing Better’s Age Friendly Pledge?