The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has stressed that HR must take steps to make the workforce more inclusive, with different generations working side-by-side.

A new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, states that governments and employers should collaborate to promote multi-generational labour forces to adapt to ongoing changes - accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic - in the world of work.    

The new report stated that by 2050 more than four in every ten people in the world’s advanced economies are likely to be aged older than 50 years of age. In addition, there will be one person aged 65 and over for every two persons aged 20-64 - compared to one for every three today.

According to the research undertaken in 37 countries, the report found that older workers can augment the productivity in their company through age and skill complementarities between younger and older workers - and their own experience.

There is a problem, however, as the research suggests that HR and leaders tend to classify workers by their age and then create policies based on this. The OECD suggests this may achieve the opposite from that which is required, as workers of all ages are more alike in their attitudes to work - and they are inclined to value similar things.

The OECD suggests that recruitment and retention strategies should be focussed upon - together with improving job quality and maximising training and development - in order to promote an age-inclusive workforce, with job advertisements being age-proofed in order to attract talent from all age groups.

Additionally, phased retirement programmes could be an effective method to retain older workers, allowing them to work for their employers in a different capacity rather than immediately transitioning to full-time retirement.

Currently, only 41 per cent of adults across the OECD take part in job-related training, with younger; more highly qualified employees on full-time contracts more likely to receive training than older, lower skilled and part-time workers.

Stefano Scarpetta - Director of Employment, Labour and Social Affairs at the OECD - said:

“Many employers are struggling to establish effective policies that continue to support workers’ living, learning and earning at older ages. Part of this inaction is fuelled by widespread misconceptions about the strengths and capabilities that different generations bring to the workplace.

Workplace policies and practises cannot be implemented in isolation for specific groups at specific times in their careers – it is not about targeting one age group at the perceived expense of another. Employers will only succeed if they develop initiatives in the context of nurturing an age-diverse workplace and taking a life-cycle perspective with supportive public policies and good social dialogue. Doing so will benefit all of us as well as future generations in terms of greater prosperity and well-being.”