Employers should focus on retaining, attracting older workers
More than one-half (52 per cent) of Canadian employees expect to keep working beyond their official retirement age, according to a recent survey by Randstad.
Nearly one-half of the Canadian survey respondents said they'd be happy to work for an additional two years beyond the official retirement age, found Randstad’s latest Workmonitor, which surveys 400 employees in each of the 29 participating countries. Just 32 per cent of Canadian workers said they expect to stop working before they reach retirement age.
The ageing population will have a significant impact on the local workforce and employee willingness to work beyond the official retirement age should come as a relief to many employers, said Jan Hein Bax, president of Randstad Canada.
"In the context of the imminent skills shortage, this trend may be a win-win situation for both employees and organizations,” he said. “It is an opportunity for employers to tap into a pool of highly experienced and skilled workers who can also act as mentors for the younger generations of workers.”
In most countries, the same sentiment is shared. In India, Mexico, Singapore and the United States, more than 70 per cent of employees said they expect to work past retirement. Similarly, in India and Singapore, more than 75 per cent of workers say they would be happy to work two years beyond retirement. In France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, however, employees are less inclined to work beyond their retirement age — less than 30 per cent said they'd be happy to work beyond the age of retirement.
It's time for employers to realize the benefits of attracting and retaining mature workers, said Hein Bax.
"Mature workers are willing to continue working past retirement age for many reasons, including financial stability, social interaction or intellectual stimulation," he said. "Employers must find better ways to retain and attract Canada's still-ready-and-willing mature workers in order to gain a competitive advantage amongst today's ever-changing workforce."
