The Aging Workforce

The Impact of the Aging Population on the Health Workforce in the United States: Summary of Key Findings. (2006, March). Retrieved April 27, 2016, from

With longer life spans and a decrease in birth rates, older generations are working longer (age diversity). Age diversity is the acceptance of all age groups and their differences within an organization. Besides providing years of experience to younger generations, older employees can also increase organizational value (age diversity). In regards to Target, there are many older employees working, some due to the recessions and lost their higher paying jobs and could only get minimum wage jobs, since they were the only job openings. Bringing their experiences to the corporate culture allow for the ability to avoid certain

Age discrimination in the workforce is a major issue in Today’s society. Although this is hardly ever mentioned, it is a concern that affects the aging population and their work performance. Those who are of old age are often not given a chance and looked down on. They are thought of as being mentally and physically in decline, less adaptable, unwilling to be trained, and costly to the organization. The elderly are considered “slow workers.” They are often forced to work extra hard to prove to their employer, they are capable of working as effective as the young. Defining someone’s work performance according to their age is against the law. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) addresses discrimination against the older population. This Act was passed by congress to ensure people of age 40 and older are given fair judgment in the workforce; however, the maturing population of baby boomers has led to an increasing number of elderly workers. This has cause age discrimination to rise. It is important that we review and analyze age discrimination has a political issues that must be changed. Although ADEA sets out to help the aging population, changes should be made within the employer. In order to seek change, one must first understand ADEA and how it promotes fair treatment for the elderly.

In order to understand how the aging population impacts health care, why the older population is expanding needs to be established. In the year 2011, the “baby boomer” generation began to have their 65th birthdays. The other side of the older population is that technology is improving dramatically,

By 2020, approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population will be 65 years or older and employers have yet to come to grips with this fact. The aging population will affect the workforce through retirement and those continuing to work. Medicare and Social Security are very likely to undergo profound changes. Some who reach the age of 65 will not be able to retire due to the fact that they require outside income. Retired or not, the aging population will contribute heavily to the consumer market. Their demand for leisure-time pursuits and professional services will fuel local labor markets. This boom in the service sector may replace many low-skilled or unskilled jobs. The aging of the population will be far more dramatic that ethnic

The Department of Labor estimates that by the year 2012, the Labor Force will be over age 55 (Harvey 184). In a time when issues such as Age and Ability are at the far front for a lot of employers, understanding how to deal with an aging workforce is essential. The debate on how to address this issue is only beginning.

First and foremost, to understand how the Multigenerational Workforce works, we must know the driving forces behind the current four generations and where they stand today.

Some negative examples of how people in the workforce perceive older adults in the workforce are that older workers produce lower quality work, inflexible, less productive and are resistant to change. Some employers believe older adult workers skills are dated or do not have the required set of competence needed. Giving training and continuing education opportunities as well as companies adapting these courses to those with less experience technically will help with ensuring that older adults continue to feel like a vital part of the business and keep working until they decide to

Workspace demographics now span four generations. A twenty-something hired this year can expect to find that they working with colleagues who are older than they are by fifty or more years. The reason for this is primarily due to labor shortages for trained personnel in many industries. In addition, many older workers are now delaying retirement due for economic or other reasons. Many of the baby boomer generation can now be expected to delay retirement into their seventies. (Randstad USA)

Age discrimination has long been present in society due to the rapid development happening around us. According to Farney, Aday & Breault (2006), this era of ageism is defined as "discrimination against any age group", but it often is pointed to age discrimination among adults which is slowly causing a negative effect for them in the workplace. In the workplace, adults with more experience and longer history behind them are targets of this ageism belief that companies and employers tend to have (Farney, Aday, & Breault, 2006). They are shunned and even fired in favor of accepting new and fresh faces for the company they have worked for. Unknown to most companies and employers, this notion of favoring the young and banishing the old can

Between 2000 and 2010, the population 45 to 64 years old grew 31.5 percent to 81.5 million. This age group now makes up 26.4 percent of the total U.S. population. The large growth among 45- to 64-year-olds is primarily because of the aging of the baby boom population. The 65-and-older population also grew faster than younger population groups at a rate of 15.1 percent to 40.3 million people, or 13.0 percent of the total population. Growth rates for those fewer than 18 and between the ages of 18 and 44 were much slower. The 18 and younger group grew 2.6 percent to 74.2 million people, comprising 24.0 percent of the total population, while the 18 to 44 age group grew at an even slower rate of 0.6 percent to 112.8 million, comprising 36.5 percent of the population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011).

In general, seniors are vulnerable to a range of chronic health conditions such as diabetes, cancer, chronic heart diseases, arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease which adversely influence their quality of life. These diseases also increase demands on the healthcare system (5). It was reported in 2012 that approximately 85% of seniors aged 65 to 79 years and about 90% of seniors aged over 80 years have at least one chronic condition (6). In 2004, about 1.7% of the total Canadian labour force were seniors. The number of Canadian seniors aged 65 or over participating in the labour force was approximately 300,000 (287,000 of them are employed and 9,000 actively looking for work) (7). This impacts the health of seniors because the more the number of seniors participating in the workforce, the more physically active and healthier they are. Working also provides an additional means of income besides their pension funds which would help improve the quality of life.

On Tuesday, we discussed how ageism is impacting the workforces for many minorities who are trying to acquire a job. The conclusion based on the discussion was that workforces see minorities as novices and don’t trust them when it comes to making decisions. Two of the classmates even mentioned how they are assigned simple tasks at their workforce because their employer feels that they have less experience than other employees. My approach to this discussion is different since I started working in the sales retail field at the age of 16. Most employers I have worked with feel that older people are becoming slow and less attractive to consumers. Consumers rather see a young and intelligent employee assisting them over an older employee. This

Aging! We all do it every day, but have you ever thought how it is going to affect the rest of your life or more importantly your career? Aging isn’t something that we get to choose if we participate in, however working is, and aging may affect that choice. Right now, I want you to think about the age of sixty-five. What words pop into your head when you think of someone sixty-five? I’d imagine some of the words you thought of were retired, old, fragile, slow, as well as many others. Those words right there all help to explain the many concerns that one’s employer may have when hiring someone that is of the older population. When we think of the older population in the work force we don’t necessarily think of positive things, instead we think of things. When we think of this population in the workforce we generally think of lower production rates and higher costs. These can create issues among the older population, as employers must consider all the possibilities when hiring someone. We know that more people in the older population are continuing to try to continue their careers, but why? How hard is it for them to continue? What changes have made it easier? How are the younger and middle aged populations perceiving them in the work place? This are only some of the many question surrounding the increase of aged workers.

“The number of employees over the age of 55 has increased by 30 percent; however, the number of 25- to 54-year-olds has only increased by 1 percent” (Claire, 2009). In 2008 the eldest of the 77 million baby-boomers turned 62. Estimates are that by the end of the decade about 40 percent of the work force will be eligible to retire. As people begin to reach the age of retirement there may be not be enough new employees to fill the gap (Clare, 2009). Companies need to find ways to attract Boomers and Millennials. Companies that want to attract Boomers and Millennials need to be creative in their culture, HR policies and work environments.