There is evidence to suggest that the large-scale work-from-home experiment mandated by the COVID-19 pandemic could have had the long-term effect of helping older workers to stay in the workforce for longer. This development could have implications that last for years to come.
In 2019, 13.8% of UK residents aged 50 years and 51.9% of those aged 64 years were economically inactive, according to a report by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, the same report hinted that remote working bodes well for many older workers.
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What did the ONS findings say?
The relatively high proportions of UK residents who were economically inactive were deemed to have adverse implications for the UK economy, as it was estimated that UK gross domestic product (GDP) had lost out on £88 billion as a result.
In 2019, men aged at least 59 years and women aged 60 years or older cited retirement as the main reason for being economically inactive. However, poor health was also found to be a major factor in driving early departures from the labour market.
A “dangerous and economically damaging” trend
In September 2021, following a Department for Work & Pensions report that the previous year had seen older people leaving the workforce earlier, a number of recruitment, HR and financial experts shared their thoughts about this development.
Sarah Loates, director at HR consultancy Loates, told City A.M. that the development would be “dangerous and economically damaging”, as “older employees are a goldmine of skills, pragmatism and lived experience”.
Nonetheless, School for Seniors co-director Suzanne Noble wondered whether older people had been making early exits from the workforce “because they’ve wanted to, to make the most of life after the experiences of the pandemic, or because they are being pushed?”
The proof of the pudding is in the eating
The other findings in the ONS report include that, in June and July 2020, 10.9% of older workers who had a long-standing illness, disability or infirmity and were working from home claimed that they were intending to retire later, while just 4.9% of those not working from home said likewise.
Meanwhile, across all ages, workers who primarily or recently worked from home were less prone to sickness absence than those who claimed to never, or only occasionally, work from home.
This could be largely because, even when workers were unwell, many of them could have still felt more capable of working than what would have been the case if they had been required to travel to a dedicated workplace.
How can employers help to level the playing field for older workers?
Of course, if you are an employee, one big question is how you can help to ensure that older members of your team are able to work as productively and efficiently as their co-workers based in a traditional office.
You can make technology a key part of this equation, such as by giving both your onsite and offsite workers access to the same unified communications system from Gamma (https://www.gamma.co.uk/resources/blog/beginners-guides-to-uc-what-is-unified-communications/).
