Employers driving away older workers – 62% of over 55s have been overlooked for promotion within their current company.
Overlooked for Promotions
2 in 3 white collar workers over the age of 55 have been overlooked for a promotion in the last year 鈥� compared to over a third (37%) of professionals under the age of 30, who have received a promotion.
The findings 鈥� from an upcoming聽Diversity & Inclusion report聽from recruitment consultancy聽Robert Walters聽鈥� highlights how in spite of a fiercely competitive hiring market, over 50s are being overlooked for opportunities in favour of much younger and less experienced workers.
In fact, in a survey of 6,000 professionals, a third of over 55鈥檚 stated that they are not at all aware of what they need to do to receive a promotion, in comparison to just 12% of Gen Z professionals.
Over 55鈥檚 Leaving the Workforce
Since 1971 the rate of economic inactivity across the UK has been decreasing 鈥� with the number of employed increasing decade on decade. However, post-Covid-19 rates have shot back up and now over one fifth (21.4%) of the population are classed as economically inactive (unemployed).
The Office for National Statistics聽estimates聽that 50-64 year olds will soon account for almost three quarters of the UK鈥檚 economic inactivity, further adding to concerns of a 鈥榮ilver exodus鈥� of older workers leaving workplaces at a faster rate than usual and not chasing further employment opportunities.
Statistics from an聽upcoming report聽from Robert Walters show that Boomers (56-75 yrs) and Gen-Xers (41-55 yrs) are in a better position to take early retirement – with double the number of older professionals receiving higher pension contributions as a key workplace benefit compared to Millennials (26-40 yrs) and Gen-Z (aged: up to 25yrs).
Not only that, but the same research found that a fifth (17%) of over-50s feel their manager doesn鈥檛 take the time to understand their personal challenges 鈥� the highest % of all the age groups surveyed.
According to the survey, the three main challenges for over-50s progressing in their career are the lack of opportunities (41%), difficulty in balancing work and personal lives (33%) and lack of training (21%).
New Age Side-Hustle
In place of traditional work, a new phenomenon is working its way up the age bands 鈥� with more people over 50 taking on casual work or a 鈥�side-hustle鈥� to avoid the challenges of full-time employment.
In a recent poll by Robert Walters, 45% of over-50鈥檚 said that they are open and actively looking for part-time work outside of their full-time job with freelancing, consulting roles, and project-based work aligned to their main professional skillset being the most popular part-time roles.
Increasingly we are seeing more over-50鈥檚 step into the social media and influencer space 鈥� where not only are older professionals using聽TikTok聽to explain complex areas in their field of work like finance, real estate, or law 鈥� but also providing lifestyle tips to their age demographic around fitness and style.
Chris Poole adds: 聽鈥淓mployers should be concentrating on resolving the issues deterring over-50s from work. They need to compete with the allure of early retirement and more casual work options by implementing skills-sharing schemes to help stimulate promotion opportunities for mature workers, or establishing more accessible hybrid-working options to accommodate the need for flexible working.鈥�
鈥淚f we have learnt anything from the past few years it is the importance of employers being receptive to the needs of employees 鈥� both current and prospective. In times of economic uncertainty and a global skills shortage, we simply cannot afford to lose our most experienced and skilled mindsets.鈥�
