Do older workers mean newer organization designs?

A year ago the Bureau of Labor Statistics released information on the employment of US workers aged 65 and over.

• Between 1977 and 2007, employment of workers 65 and over increased 101 percent, compared to a much smaller increase of 59 percent for total employment (16 and over).

• The number of employed men 65 and over rose 75 percent

• Employment of women 65 and older increased by nearly twice as much, climbing 147 percent.

• The number of employed people age 75 and over is relatively small (0.8 percent of the employed in 2007), this group had the most dramatic gain, increasing 172 percent between 1977 and 2007.

• Full-timers now account for a majority among older workers: 56 percent in 2007, up from 44 percent in 1995.

BLS data show that the total labor force is projected to increase by 8.5 percent during the period 2006-2016, but when analyzed by age categories, very different trends emerge.

• The number of workers in the youngest group, age 16-24, is projected to decline during the period the number of workers age 25-54 will rise only slightly.

• In sharp contrast, workers age 55-64 are expected to climb by 36.5 percent.

• The most dramatic growth is projected for the two oldest groups. The number of workers between the ages of 65 and 74 and those aged 75 and up are predicted to soar by more than 80 percent.

• By 2016, workers age 65 and over are expected to account for 6.1 percent of the total labor force, up sharply from their 2006 share of 3.6 percent.

So it is time to start acting on what this might mean for employers: more flexible work hour, different approaches to pay and rewards, more imaginative career development and talent management pathways, a greater opportunity for experience exchanges, younger leaders with older followers, changed employee/employer 'psychological contracts', changing of attitudes and stereotypes, and so on

inversions of leader age – younger leaders with older followers, changed employee/employer 'psychological contracts', changing of attitudes and stereotypes, and so on.