Should we continue to deprive ourselves of the skills of the over-55s with their proven experience amidst escalating skilled labour shortages? An attempt to find answers through an analysis of various players in the French-speaking Swiss economy, touching on a subject that has become a talking point for society as a whole.
With Switzerland set to lose some 430,000 workers between now and 2040, companies are struggling to recruit the over-55s. This contradiction was highlighted during the round table at the launch of the joint white paper Seniors in the workplace: more essential than ever published by Éditions Favre. The work includes an analysis of the situation by Activis, the Interiman Group company specialising in short-term and permanent assignments for older workers.
Four figures from business, HR and journalism shared their insights at the launch event. They were journalist and columnist Martina Chyba, Jérôme Cosandey, head of the Labour Directorate at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Marco Taddei, head of the Swiss Employers’ Association for French-speaking Switzerland, and Costantino Serafini, head of the AvantAge Switzerland programme and under whose direction the white paper was produced.
A projected shortfall and enduring prejudice
The trend is clear: while Gen X is getting ready to retire, hot on the heels of the baby boomers, young people are few and far between in the workforce. “We’ll need to pull out all the stops”, warns Jérôme Cosandey, noting that the increased participation of women, the inclusion of people with disabilities, automation and, of course, older workers, are just some of the measures required to address the projected labour shortfall.
Nevertheless, a survey presented in the white paper shows that one in five companies in French-speaking Switzerland do not employ anyone over the age of 55. But why? Martina Chyba believes that this is mainly due to outdated representations. “We’re made to understand from the age of 45 that we’re no longer digital natives.” Yet the companies surveyed actually recognise that older employees aren’t any less creative or productive. And therein lies the paradox.
The burden of stereotypes and not of costs
Unsurprisingly, the cost of experienced employees regularly comes up in discussions, especially because of the higher LPP (2nd pillar) pension contributions. Marco Taddei puts the figures into perspective, however. The difference represents “a few dozen francs a month” which is no excuse for rejecting job applications. This is particularly the case as older employees often stay at companies for longer. This is a key advantage when it comes to recouping the costs of initial or ongoing training. “There is a better return on investment”, points out Jérôme Cosandey, who also notes that younger workers often switch employers more quickly.
Although the current economic situation is taking its toll on certain industries, the age pyramid won’t change. In Costantino Serafini’s view, getting rid of older staff in a tense environment would be a strategic error. “The economy is cyclical, while demographics are not”, as he points out. That’s why he is very much in favour of training measures during periods of short-term unemployment, as a way of maintaining employability for experienced staff.
Marco Taddei believes that having better protections against lay-offs, which is often championed by the unions, would be counter-productive. “Employers would stop taking the risk of recruiting if they couldn’t get rid of people easily.”
Adapting jobs, preventing exits
One of the blind spots highlighted by Martina Chyba covers the daily lives of older workers. “At 60 we have to produce just as we did when we were 30”, she laments. It is a situation that fails to take into account physical realities such as fatigue, invisible disabilities (a hearing impairment in Chyba’s case) and mental load. These are all good reasons for reorganising labour conditions to make people want to continue working past the age of retirement.
To achieve this, there seems to be consensus around one tool: careers guidance from 58 onwards. The reality, however, is that it is still not widely available, even though it would enable HR departments to address issues such as health, aspirations, training needs and potential adaptations. All of these things would support older employees in the latter stages of their working lives.
In the same spirit, and rather than creating measures aimed solely at older workers, Jérôme Cosandey invites us to consider implementing tools that would benefit the entire workforce. These could include offering flexible working hours or training courses tailored to the age and aspirations of each individual. “Positive discrimination for some can quickly become negative discrimination for others”, as he reminds us.
Overcoming an outdated contradiction
Martina Chyba, whose work is consistently well received, warns of another risk: internal segregation. “Let’s avoid age ghettos”, she says. One way for older staff to both learn and to transfer their skills would be to have the generations intermingle, with the introduction of hybrid teams, reverse mentoring or cross-internships. She reminds us that when programmes had to continue amidst the unprecedented circumstances of the Covid pandemic, older staff with their resilience set an example to younger colleagues.
Last but not least, all of those involved agree on one key point. Older workers are worth their weight in “grey gold”, thanks to the reliability, loyalty, expertise and interpersonal skills that we typically associate with them. The challenge is therefore to align HR practices, public policies and attitudes so that this invaluable resource – one that is “more essential than ever”, as the white paper’s title puts it – is fully utilised. As one speaker summed up: “We criticise older workers for having too much experience and younger ones for not having enough of it. It’s time we got beyond this contradiction.”