Four in five employers, 83 per cent, believe longer working lives are inevitable as life expectancy rises and nearly one in three see this as a business risk over the next five years, according to Canada Life.
The report, Building Longevity-Ready Workplaces in the UK, calls for workplaces to adapt to an ageing workforce as over half of the UK workforce will be aged 50 or older by 2030, contributing around 730 billion pounds to the economy.
Canada Life surveyed 600 employers and over 3,200 members of the public as part of its ongoing Life100 Plus research. The findings show that while most employers accept that people will need to work longer, few are taking steps to prepare, with only 12 per cent of private sector employers having a clear strategy to recruit and retain older workers.
Many employers are putting individual measures in place, and these include promoting work-life balance, 41 per cent, valuing skills and experience as much as qualifications, 29 per cent, and offering flexible working to those with caring responsibilities, 25 per cent.
Canada Life UK CEO and Great-West Lifeco Incoming CEO Europe Lindsey Rix-Broom says: “The longevity megatrend is shaping lives across the UK and beyond, transforming the makeup of our population and the way we live and work. The implications are clear: workplaces must adapt, but this isn’t something that businesses can solve alone. It demands collective solutions that harness the potential of people of all ages.
“The traditional three-phase model of education, work and retirement is quickly becoming outdated. In its place, we must create working environments that better reflect the complexity and fluidity of modern lives. This starts by better understanding the changing motivations, priorities and concerns of the UK population at different life stages, and by supporting businesses to address the challenges and capitalise on the opportunities that this brings.
“It is clear from our research that building longevity-ready workplaces requires collaboration and meaningful dialogue between individuals, employers, advisers and policymakers. Getting this right is not only a practical necessity – it is a moral imperative and a pathway to unlocking the growth and potential of the UK’s workforce and, by extension, the wider economy.”
