Labor shortage: Older workers are highly motivated...
...but many companies see them as a competitive disadvantage. However, a new Deloitte study shows that older workers are more skilled, motivated and flexible, and less concerned about pay and job security than many think.
Low unemployment, high wages and a skilled workforce: The Swiss labor market is in good shape. However, there are still a number of tests ahead. Digitalization will increasingly require different and new skills from a large majority of the workforce. The demand for employees with strong skills in creativity, social intelligence and the use of digital technologies is growing. Even today, individual sectors such as ICT or healthcare are having difficulties finding personnel. In addition, the aging of the workforce will make better use of previously untapped labor potential inevitable. "In 2016, for the first time, more domestic workers left the labor market in Switzerland than joined it. If things continue like this, we will have a shortage of around half a million workers by 2030. Companies need to start thinking not only about how to find the right trained workers, but how to find enough workers at all in the future. A key strategy is to better exploit existing but underutilized labor pools. There is a lot of potential among women, older workers, and part-time employees," says Myriam Denk, Head of Future of Work at Deloitte Switzerland.
Older workers, women and part-time workers
Various options for coping with the looming labor shortage have already been debated: Longer working hours are probably not a suitable solution, and raising the retirement age seems impossible in the short term. Increasing the immigration of qualified workers also does not seem to have a political majority at present. Increasing automation will indeed trigger structural change in the labor market. However, it is unlikely that automation will be able to fully compensate for the effects of demographic change.
So how can we address the future labor shortage? "We see enormous potential in the existing but underutilized labor pool. This lies mainly with the 'hidden reserve' and with the employed who work part-time and could increase their workload. Women and workers aged 55 and older make up a large part of this," explains Michael Grampp, chief economist at Deloitte Switzerland and author of the new Deloitte study "Motivated, optimistic, and oblivious to duty". "Many are already (early) retired, so they're not actively looking for work - but they could certainly see themselves working. However, to keep the employability of older workers at a high level, it is essential that they are flexible in terms of salary expectations and working hours."
Companies need to rethink the age issue
According to the Deloitte survey, 27% of the over-50s in Switzerland would like to continue working beyond retirement age - with highly qualified workers strongly overrepresented. In addition, 85% of those over 55 say they are motivated at work, 89% like their work and 81% think their work is valued - all significantly higher figures than for all other age groups.
"No longer qualified enough, not motivated enough, not flexible enough - the prejudices many employers have against older employees are unfounded. Companies absolutely must rethink their attitude toward this demographic group. Those who continue to perceive older workers as disadvantageous and focus exclusively on younger ones when recruiting are making a strategic mistake," analyzes Myriam Denk.
For many Swiss companies, older workers are not currently considered a valuable resource. According to the Human Capital Trends 2018 from Deloitte one-third of Swiss companies consider older employees to be a competitive disadvantage. This is significantly above the international average of 20%. In addition, according to the current CFO survey by Deloitte only just 20% of Swiss companies resort to the deliberate recruitment of older workers and other alternative groups to alleviate the shortage of skilled workers.
More flexible career models required
Of the 27% of over-50s in Switzerland who would also like to work beyond retirement age, 51% want to work as they do now, while 35% only want to reduce their workload. If they had a free choice, 27% of the over-55s would prefer part-time employment, 15% freelancing, 10% self-employment and 18% a portfolio career, i.e. splitting their working hours between different activities and/or projects. Accordingly, it is crucial for companies to redesign traditional work models in order to become more attractive to additional work groups. "Companies need to offer more career models that allow employees to work longer and more flexibly. They also need to adapt their HR strategy to enable longer working lives and reduce unconscious bias in the recruitment process," says Myriam Denk.
Alternative career models for the over-55s include so-called "arc careers" - in which workload, responsibility and pay are gradually reduced - job sharing with younger successors for knowledge transfer or roles as coach or mentor. It would also be conceivable to form a pool of interested retired employees in order to bring their know-how back into the company on a needs-oriented basis ("gig basis").
Source: Deloitte
