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How to create age-inclusive workforces

The researchers found that older workers are given fewer opportunities for training and career development, and often face discrimination during recruitment.

Women are increasingly working for longer and driving the growth of the ageing workforce. But older women face particular challenges, often juggling work with caring responsibilities for grandchildren and older spouses or relatives. The research identified a need for workplaces and policymakers to broaden their understanding of caregivers beyond parents of young children.

“Older workers’ caring responsibilities tend to be unacknowledged,” said Associate Professor Hamilton. “But we know that 45-64-year-olds – particularly women – provide most elder and disability care. Existing provisions for working carers often don’t cater to those responsibilities. In Australia, carers leave is restricted to circumstances related to illness, injury or emergency, and may not include tasks such as taking older relatives to routine medical appointments.”

To create age-inclusive workforces, organisations should foster a culture that values diversity, while prioritising flexibility for everyone. Some organisations encouraged age inclusivity with initiatives such as grandparent leave, elder care leave and hybrid casual/part-time arrangements that let part-time workers increase their hours at will.

'At a certain age, you feel like you’ve earnt a bit of flexibility'

Christine Mayberry works for Lane Cove Libraries and, at 70, has no plans to retire. She spent years out of the workforce, looking after her four children. It left a hole in her superannuation that means she will keep working for years to come.

She is one of several older employees at the library and, said Mayberry, they receive strong support. She works four days a week as part of a job-share arrangement but can take on extra shifts when she wants them. When she was undergoing treatment for bowel cancer, she was able to take a year off, topping up her sick leave with long-service leave at half pay.

“When you get to a certain age, you do feel like you’ve earnt a little bit of flexibility,” she said.

She has had opportunities for training and development, including a recent course on digital access for children in libraries. She has sometimes found that younger colleagues make unfair assumptions about her tech skills and step in unasked to do jobs she is able to handle.

While Mayberry’s experience has largely been positive, many workplaces are less accommodating, with consequences for retention, morale, performance and productivity.

“If your diversity policy doesn’t consider age, you might be improving the working lives of some but not others,” said Professor Baird. “Inclusive multigenerational workplaces keep older workers from running out the door and taking their experience with them.”