Older Workers Are Coming Back To Work On Their Own Terms

Older workers, many of whom left their jobs at the peak of the pandemic, are returning to the workforce in growing numbers according to this recent piece from BizWomen. 

Driven by receding fears about viral exposure and the need to supplement inflation-depleted retirement savings, the percentage of people entering the workforce age 55 years or more increased by almost a point and a half from September of 2019 to September of 2023.

This trend is welcome news among the 60% of recently-polled hiring managers who prefer hiring older workers. 

That said, these labor force veterans are choosing to make their return to work on very different terms and even in different industries than they may have in their previous careers. 

Further, having spent time outside the workforce has provided many older returning workers not only with new priorities as to what they expect from an employer in exchange for their labor, expertise, and experience, but also a new perspective on the labor market as a whole, which, while softening, still provides these workers significant bargaining power in order to obtain what they want.

What Do Older Returning Workers Want?

Flexibility: Older workers are seeking jobs with less schedule rigidity and in many cases less responsibility in order to accommodate their desired work level, amount, and timing. Some of the ways that these workers are attaining their sought-after flexibility is through:

• Entry-Level Work: About 80% of surveyed hiring managers said they have seen an increase in older workers applying for entry-level positions relative to a few years before. 
• Part-Time Work: There was a 6% increase in the proportion of part-time workers accounted for by those age 55 and older between September of 2019 and September of 2023.
• Remote Work: 43% of workers over the age of 50 claimed that remote work had made them less likely to retire, and 25% claimed that being forced to go back to a job-site full time would increase the likelihood that they retire. 

To Give Back To The Community: Older workers making their way back into the labor market are often seeking a greater sense of purpose or feelings of pride in their contributions to society via their labor.  Between September of 2019 and September of 2023 there was a 2.7% increase among workers age 55 and older in jobs that directly benefit the community, including health care workers, teachers, and non-profit support staff, while there was a 4.6% decrease in these older returning workers taking professional services jobs over the same time frame.

Compensation & Benefits: In one recent survey of workers 50 and older, higher pay and better health insurance topped the list of compensation and benefit priorities, while the benefits that interested these workers least were technology training, wellness programs, and leadership training opportunities. 

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You can read more about this topic and how best to attract and retain older workers coming back to the workforce here. 

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