Flexible working in the age of longevity

Flexible working in the age of longevity

WE ARE living for longer, which is impacting on how we want to work, learn and live, and employers need to adapt to these changes. Global life expectancy is growing at its fastest rate since the 1960s. Today, a 20-year-old has a 50% chance of living to 100. A long life can be a gift, but of course it also has implications on how we live our lives and in particular how we plan to work and fund those extra years. Clearly, there is a role for employers and HR directors to create work environments that recognise and maximise the potential of the 100-year life span.

End of the three-stage life

Traditionally, our lives have been made up of three distinct phases, namely education, work and retirement. This made sense for previous generations who would enter the workforce in their late teens, retire in their mid-60s and perhaps die at 70. Now, we could be working into our 70s and even 80s. That could mean more than a 50-year working life, which presents several problems for the three-stage life.

Firstly, one education period at the beginning of your life may not be enough to sustain a career this long. Already we’re seeing skills and knowledge gaps in today’s workforce as technology continues to evolve.

Secondly, retirement has increased from five years to something closer to 20. Funding that requires intensive saving during a working life. Finally, working 9-5, five days a week for 50 years can take a hefty toll on the health and well-being of workers.

In reaction to these changes, experts are already advocating for a new, multi-stage life where we are encouraged to take time out of the workplace to build up new skills and knowledge or perhaps introducing a phase of exploration; where we build up life experiences, as well as professional and personal networks that can help us transition between different life stages and even careers.

End of lockstep

A concern among HR practitioners is the impact of the end of “lockstep”. We enter and leave education with people the same age as us and largely climb the professional ladder at the same rate. Employers like this certainty and predictability and whether they admit it or not, age is used as a marker of experience, and for development and promotion policies. As the three-stages of life comes to an end, new sequences and possibilities become available, such as the 40-year-old intern making a career change or even the 70-year-old freelancer.

Age is no longer a stage

Across a 70-year life, we have 611 000 hours to use and spend. For a 100-year life, this increases to 873 000 hours. How many of those could be productive hours? Individuals have a role to play in deciding this, ensuring that they take care of their health, and maintain the right professional skills and contacts. However, businesses also have an important role to play to ensure that employees don’t face burnout over a long career.

HR departments should actively encourage healthy behaviour and time away from work to relax, and to spend time with family and friends. Businesses also shouldn’t be afraid of encouraging employees to spend time out of work to retrain and upskill. That will help to avoid people being left behind by technological advancements in the workplace. It will also go some way to plugging the skills gaps currently facing many sectors.

The role of flexibility

In many ways, longevity has already made significant changes to the world of work today. We see growing numbers of career changers, the rise of portfolio careers and people increasingly taking a phased approach to retirement. We expect to see the demand for flexible working generally to intensify as people look for a different, multi-staged approach to their career and lives.

Joanne Bushell, the vice-president of Sales at IWG for Africa, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus and the Baltic states said: “With working lives that could stretch to 50 years, flexible working also has a vital role to play in avoiding burnout, reducing commuting time and increasing work-life balance. Importantly, flexible working also allows time for upskilling and retraining in a way that can suit employees and employers.” A 100-year life can be a gift. But to ensure it is, we need to rethink how we approach our lives and in particular, how we do business.

Supplied by IWG, Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott

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