‘Age isn’t just a number – it’s a competitive edge’: Australia’s ageing workforce will bring unique opportunities and challenges

Life expectancy and the age of retirement are continuously rising. With more and more older people remaining in the workforce for longer periods, workplaces will need to learn to accommodate a large variety of age groups.

We’re living in an interesting period for workplace diversity, as for the first time, there are five generations mingling together under one roof.

This unsurprisingly brings challenges as leaders must cater to a diverse age range, keeping people who could be separated by multiple decades happy and healthily cooperating.

“Aussies are retiring later, and our workforce is becoming increasingly multigenerational. Today’s workforce comprises three distinctly different generations, all at varied stages of life, with different ways of working and priorities. To bridge the talent gap and reap the benefits from the wealth of experience each generation has to offer, businesses need to shift their perspectives on age and reframe their HR strategies,” commented Damien Andreasen, vice-president APJ at HiBob.

“With experts predicting a growing talent gap in the coming decades, this ‘unretirement’ presents an opportunity for businesses to plug the skills gap and labour shortage, but also means employers now face a new set of challenges – from navigating different communication styles, stereotypes, and assumptions, to different priorities and ways of working.”

A major challenge when dealing with multigenerational workers is proficiency with technology. Older workers are constantly thrust head-on into new ways of living and working with tech that wasn’t around just a few years ago.

This can be overwhelming, and while organisations may need to increase their digitisation to stay ahead, leaders must also recognise the strain this can put on the less digitally minded employees.

Mr Andreasen said: “There is also the question of the impact of emerging technologies on job roles. Companies need to think in terms of reskilling [and] upskilling versus rehiring since the labour market for high performers is also getting tight. The onus on businesses centres on creating retention cultures for all age groups.”

“To address these, employers need to challenge assumptions, embrace diversity, and commit to creating a workplace where every generation can thrive and learn from one another. Indeed, older generations are benefiting from the Gen Z expectations of employers, such as having freedom within a framework. Conversely, they act as mentors to younger generations.”

What are the benefits of having older workers remain in the workforce?

While there are certainly challenges in catering to a diverse workforce, there are also plenty of opportunities to thrive.

“Age isn’t just a number – it’s a competitive edge,” said Mr Andreasen. “Embracing the contributions and strengths of different age groups can promote innovative problem-solving, decision-making processes and learning the value of emotional intelligence that comes with maturity, creating a more robust and resilient organisation.”

“Older professionals can also play a pivotal role in knowledge transfer within an organisation, which is particularly effective in modern companies where trends and technologies evolve rapidly. While younger professionals can benefit from their senior colleagues’ industry knowledge, experience, and insights, older workers can learn about emerging trends and technology from the younger generation – making it a real win-win situation.”

He continued: ”As younger employees prepare to step into leadership positions over the coming years, having strong role models who can lend an experienced hand will help shape the next generation of leaders and guide teams towards achieving their goals.”