Four fifths (83%) of UK employers believe people will need to work longer to support themselves in later life, with half (50%) believing the shape of work will need to change in the future, a new report from Canada Life has found.
The report ‘Building longevity-ready workplaces in the UK’, which surveyed 600 employers and more than 3,200 members of the UK public, highlights the need for the UK’s workplaces to adapt to longer working lives.
By 2030, more than half of the UK workforce will be aged 50 or older, contributing an estimated £730 billion to the economy. Against this backdrop of increasing longevity, the study’s findings reveal that almost one in three (30%) UK employers recognise that an ageing workforce is at risk to their business over the next five years. Meanwhile, four in 10 (42%) UK adults agree that it is likely they would need to rethink their retirement plans by retraining or pursuing multiple careers, should living longer become the norm.
However, only just over one in 10 (12%) private sector employers are future-proofing their business by having a strategy in place to recruit and retain older workers, the report found.
Lindsey Rix-Broom, incoming CEO Europe, Great-West Lifeco and CEO Canada Life UK, said: “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.”
Canada Life said employers acknowledge that they have an important role to play in helping employees and workplaces adapt to longevity. This includes investing in skills development throughout employees’ lives (72%), being mindful of how motivations shift with age (70%) and by thinking differently about workplace structures (65%).
However, employers also feel that preparing for longevity is a collective responsibility, with three-quarters (73%) believing the Government will need to take a more active role in helping people work for longer.
Rix-Broom added: “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.”
Main image: jeremy-thomas-E0AHdsENmDg-unsplash
