More and more businesses are taking steps to attract and retain over-50s talent. With the number of later-life workers rising, employers are keen to take the opportunity to fill skills shortages and reap the benefits of a multigenerational workforce.
Common steps include fostering an age-inclusive culture and reevaluating recruitment processes (for example, by implementing age-blind hiring and using age-inclusive job adverts). However, one often overlooked approach is providing flexible working arrangements.
According to the Centre for Better Ageing and Timewise (a consultancy firm specialising in flexible working), 72% of people aged 55 and over in the UK already work flexibly or want to. Their research even describes it as: “the number one workplace practice that would allow [older adults] to work for longer.” Despite this, they reveal that employers aren’t generally proactive about offering flexible arrangements.
Below, we’ve pulled together some of the top reasons why older adults are looking for flexible work – to help give employers an idea of why they might want to offer it.
1. To achieve a better work-life balance
In the research mentioned above, the Centre for Ageing Better and Timewise rolled out a survey to find out why over 50s are currently working flexibly or would like to. The results showed that the most common reason (72% of respondents) was to achieve a better work-life balance.
We continually hear from older adults who’ve worked classic nine-fives for decades and want to use the next chapter of their lives to pursue the things that matter most to them. These can range from travelling to getting stuck into hobbies to spending more time with family.
For example, Glaucia Sayers, a former physiotherapist we spoke to in 2019, now enjoys working as a part-time nanny because it allows her to take virtual learning courses and engage with arts and crafts. In much the same way, remote working allows Angela Laws to travel the world in her 70s.
By proactively offering remote working arrangements, employers provide opportunities for people of all ages to balance work with other aspects of life. This can help them retain over 50s talent and make roles more attractive to later-life jobseekers.
2. To balance care responsibilities
The UK’s ageing population not only means that people are staying in employment for longer, but also that many more older workers need to take on caring responsibilities for older relatives. Plus, YouGov research indicates that 40% of UK grandparents provide regular childcare for their grandchildren.
Overall, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) tells us that one in five people aged 50-69 provide informal care – the highest proportion of any age group. And, as our population ages, (which it’s predicted to do), this number will only increase.
With this in mind, if employers want to attract and retain the experience and knowledge of later-life workers, it’s important to offer flexible working strategies to help them balance caring responsibilities.
This may be as simple as offering flexible start times, so people can attend to their loved one’s needs first thing in the morning before work. Or, employers can offer slightly more complex solutions, such as a compressed workweek (for example, the chance to work four eight-hour days as opposed to five 10-hour days). This would give employees longer continuous periods to provide care.
3. For health reasons
Last year, The Guardian interviewed Simon Woodall, a 52-year-old self-employed carpenter who went part-time after suffering a heart attack. While the change cut his income considerably, Simon chose to prioritise his health, saying, “I’d rather work less and be alive for another 30 years than have an extra £10k a year.”
Simon isn’t an outlier in this respect. As we all know, our risk of developing health conditions increases with age, and the survey mentioned above reveals that 29% of over 50s seek flexible work arrangements for health reasons.
However, unlike Simon, lots of workers aren’t self-employed. Plus, many are often unaware that they’re entitled to request flexible arrangements or simply don’t feel comfortable doing so. Therefore, if employers are interested in hiring and retaining later-life talent, it’s important to be proactive and make this clear where possible – to both prospective and existing employees.
Flexible working strategies can help later-life workers with health conditions in plenty of ways. For example, offering remote work (thus, removing the commute) can make roles more attractive to people with limited mobility, and part-time/flexible hours can make work more manageable for those with chronic fatigue or pain.
4. To ease into retirement
After decades of work, the prospect of stopping suddenly can be daunting. Some older adults may worry about missing out on the benefits of work (for example, social connections with coworkers and the sense of purpose it brings), while others might be unable to afford to retire completely but still want to achieve a better work-life balance.
We’ve recently seen a rise in the number of people returning to work after retirement (or ‘unretiring’), which shows that these concerns are justified. For example, Dee Flower (who we spoke to back in 2019) retired but almost immediately regretted it – and rejoined the workforce eight months later.
With this in mind, flexible solutions like part-time work can serve as a middle ground, allowing later-life workers to get a taste of retirement before fully committing. Phased retirement – where you gradually reduce your workload and hours over time – may also be a good solution for some.
Final thoughts…
As the Centre for Ageing Better and Timewise tell us, the practicalities of providing flexible work arrangements for over-50s aren’t that different from those of other age groups. Older adults are still interested in the same opportunities as different demographics – such as remote/hybrid work and flexible start times. However, their motivations might differ.
Understanding why over-50s are looking for flexible working arrangements can be valuable to employers. It can help them realise the demand and implement strategies to offer them proactively to retain and attract over-50s talent.
To get help and support with offering flexible work to over 50s, you can email us at [email protected] or get in touch here.
Have you had success retaining and/or attracting over-50s talent with flexible working arrangements? If so, we’d like to hear from you in the comments below.