Retirees may help fill talent gaps this year

According to the Chinese calendar, 2024 is the year of the dragon. But 2024 might also be the year of the retiree.

This year, 12% of retirees are likely to return to work, in addition to the 25% of older working adults who had previously retired and returned, according to a Resume Builder survey of 500 US adults aged 62 to 85. Many cited inflation and increased cost of living (61%) as their main reason for returning to work, as well as debt (34%) and boredom (34%).

In the US, there are 9.6 million job openings and 6.4 million unemployed workers, according to the World Economic Forum. Stacie Haller, chief career advisor at Resume Builder, told HR Brew that people pros can look at retirees’ reentry as an opportunity to fill talent gaps.

“You’ve got a very experienced workforce out there that [is] coming back,” she said.

Professional skills down. When reentering the workforce, older employees may bring with them professional skills, like the ability to work in teams, and experiences, such as working in an office, that their younger counterparts don’t yet have, Haller said.

Because of this, they may be easier to onboard, especially in remote settings, where it can be more challenging to learn workplace norms, for example.

Organizations with employees from multiple generations are also generally more productive and creative, Jean Accius, AARP’s VP of international affairs, previously told HR Brew. “There’s tremendous value from multiple generations of learning from each other, of engaging with each other,” he said.

Don’t ignore ageism. HR pros should be mindful of hiring biases against older workers, Haller said, especially since age discrimination is common. The majority of adults who are 50 or older (62%) think older workers face age discrimination, according to research from AARP, and nearly 40% of adults over 40 cite ageism as a major concern when job searching, Axios reported.

“[You] need to be more understanding of seeing an older person’s résumé,” Haller said. “Just because somebody has an AOL [email] address, it doesn’t mean they couldn’t be a great worker for you.”

After they’ve joined the team, HR should focus on creating an environment that’s inclusive of older workers, Ashton Applewhite, anti-ageism activist and author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism, told HR Brew. “What every employee wants is to be able to take a personal day if they need it, is to be listened to, is to be respected, is to look around the room and see other people who look like them, whether you are 70 or 27.”