The Aging Workforce: Some Implications, Strategies and Policy Considerations for Human Resource Managers

Abstract

An aging population is changing the nature of the workplace. When combined with age discrimination legislation, employers now face the fact that they can no longer ignore and then quietly retire their older workers. One outcome of this is that the proportion of older workers is increasing. Further, they intend to stay at work longer and resist being an easy target for organizations when they restructure. Because of the magnitude of this workplace phenomenon, human resource managers need to be aware of issues related to older workers. This article provides an insight into the unique nature of older workers, their expectations and some consequent implications for organizations. Together with strategy and policy considerations for managing older workers, the role of older women in the workforce is also reviewed. Where possible, Australian research is cited but this article is not intentionally nation specific.