Yet with this maturing workforce comes a complex and sensitive set of legal and managerial issues. The Supreme Court ruled in late April that law firm Clarkson, Wright and Jakes had acceptable grounds for obliging partner Leslie Seldon to retire at the age of 65.
Following the Coalition Government's abolition of the default retirement age (DRA) last October, this new ruling gives businesses back the option of retiring mature workers – providing they can offer a 'public interest' defence. The notion of 'public interest' could, for example, mean businesses demonstrating that the timely retirement of older workers is needed in order to recruit new, younger employees and keep the talent pipeline from being blocked by ageing workers at the top. This justification has now been cited by Cambridge University as it implements an Employer Justified Retirement Age (EJRA) of 67.
Other businesses may well follow suit – though they may have to brace themselves for discontented employees considering legal action to assert their right to remain at work.
But I would argue that mature workers have an essential role to play, and that business can reap the benefits of a well-managed, diverse workforce.
At first glance, retiring older workers to make way for younger ones does make business sense; failure to keep the talent pipeline flowing can be disastrous for continued business success. And there are also great benefits both to businesses and individuals in supporting more mature employees. These people have lots of useful experience, can offer senior consultancy, and can mentor more junior members of staff.
In turn, they may need help with keeping their skills fresh and finding a role within the organisation that best suits them and enables them to add value. With the decline of the 'job for life' mentality, 21st century careers will see employees change career more often, building up a portfolio of skills and thriving on variety. This takes time, planning and resilience, yet can produce workers who combine experience with energy and the ability to innovate.
This resilience can be fuelled by organisations which appreciate employees' need for seasonality. Taking career breaks or sabbaticals gives employees time for developing new skills and interests, or dedicating themselves to family life. Employees return refreshed and re-motivated, and ready to work further into their maturity in order to complete a full and varied life. Similarly, boomerang workers – those who leave to take up a role elsewhere and return later to their former organisation – combine an in-depth working knowledge of the organisation with fresh insights and energy.
To attract and retain the best and most varied talent, businesses need to support individual employees in building up career resilience and longevity.
Steps that businesses can take to achieve this include:
Asking why employees come to work. Understanding employees' values and motivations enables businesses to maximise workers' sense of purpose
Helping individuals to understand how they contribute to the organisation's goals. Setting clear, achievable objectives keeps morale high
Ensuring individuals have someone to whom they can turn to for support. A career coach can help mature workers to plan for the long term
If these considerations are taken into account, good performance management could negate the need to declare an arbitrary retirement age, and businesses could instead work with employees to ascertain a mutually beneficial point for retirement. Businesses who encourage mature workers will find that they reap the rewards of a 'full house' of experience, dedication and energy.
Penny de Valk (pictured), CEO of Fairplace Cedar
