Across many countries, labour shortages are a growing challenge. One key part of the solution is often overlooked: retaining older employees. Interestingly, many seniors are willing, even eager, to remain in the workforce beyond the traditional retirement age. What motivates them? Factors like workplace flexibility, recognition, a sense of responsibility, belief in their own abilities, and combating age-related stereotypes play an important role.
New insights into work motivation among older employees
Previous studies have shown that high job satisfaction and motivation can lead to longer careers. However, a more nuanced understanding of what drives motivation among seniors has been missing.
To bridge this gap, Job Satisfaction Knowledge Centre conducted a large-scale survey among workers aged 55 and above. The aim: to better understand what encourages older employees to stay and how organisations can support this.
GAIS makes it easier to focus on senior employees
The GAIS platform makes it simple to assess and follow up on the motivation and engagement of current and future senior employees.
Focusing on senior well-being can help retain valuable experience in the workplace. Likewise, focusing on employees approaching senior status can help prevent early retirement that might not actually reflect their own desires.
With GAIS, you can target specific age groups and even send tailored surveys to different segments. For example, an in-depth survey focusing on work-life balance might be especially relevant for current or soon-to-be seniors.
Seniors want to stay in the workforce
Surprisingly, many seniors are interested in staying in the workforce beyond retirement age, especially those with high employee engagement. Salary isn’t the deciding factor; rather, part-time arrangements, recognition, and flexible work hours are key elements.
> One in three would like to stay
Nearly one in three seniors (31%) say they would like to continue working past retirement age.
> High engagement leads to delayed retirement
Among seniors with the highest engagement, nearly half (49%) want to continue working. In comparison, only 19% of those with the lowest engagement feel the same.
> Part-time workers are more likely to stay
Seniors who wish to remain in the workforce are more often working less than 30 hours per week (23%) compared to those who prefer to retire (15%).
>Recognition and flexibility are most important
The biggest factors influencing seniors’ willingness to stay are feeling valued by their managers and colleagues and having flexible working hours.
What seniors worry about
The survey also examined the concerns that seniors have about remaining in the workforce.
> Those who don’t see age as a job change barrier are more engaged
Almost a third (31%) report they’re staying in their current role out of fear that their age would prevent them from finding a new job. Only 22% of seniors concerned about job change due to age want to continue working—while over a third of those without this concern would like to stay.
> Half of seniors worry about physical or mental decline
While most are not overly concerned about being forced to leave work, half of all surveyed seniors expressed some concern about losing either physical or mental capacity.
Perceptions, bias, and looking ahead
Colleague and manager bias can influence a senior employee’s desire to stay. So can their desire for increased responsibility.
> Almost 1 in 5 seniors have experienced age-related bias
Nearly 18% say they’ve experienced the perception that seniors are less ambitious than younger colleagues. Others noted stereotypes suggesting seniors are less resilient, less creative, less socially engaged, less flexible, and less productive.
> Seniors who want more responsibility are more likely to stay
One in ten seniors say they would like more responsibility in the future. Their work engagement is 12 points higher than those wanting less responsibility. Moreover, their desire to remain in the workforce is 24 points higher.
How the survey was conducted
The survey was conducted by Epinion on behalf of the Job Satisfaction Knowledge Centre. Responses were collected from 1,109 senior employees aged 55 and over, all currently active in the workforce. The sample is representative of the Danish population in terms of gender, age, and region.
Data was collected via a web panel between September 14–24, 2023. Employee engagement was measured using six questions that capture different dimensions of motivation and satisfaction. Results are based on the average of these six indicators.
Plenty of low-hanging fruit
The survey highlights many low-effort opportunities for companies to retain senior talent. The desire to stay increases by 28 percentage points when comparing seniors with the highest and lowest work engagement.
Offering part-time roles under 30 hours a week is a clear opportunity. Overall, flexibility and a culture of recognition are essential. Companies should also be mindful of ageism – the discrimination of individuals based on their age.
A strategic focus should also include preventing physical and mental burnout. Finally, increasing responsibility is a key factor in retention. Many seniors want to take on more—not less—indicating that leaders should adapt to individual needs when it comes to scaling responsibilities.
