The future belongs to the elderly!

Despite all the youth mania, the future belongs to the elderly. And it's high time we took the 60+ generation seriously. Why? One explanation.

The population is ageing. This is nothing new. But now that 55-year-olds already make up the highest proportion of the population in Switzerland and more and more baby boomers are retiring by the dozen, quite a few companies are finally starting to take the previously overlooked, ridiculed and sidelined group of senior citizens a little more seriously.

This increased focus is primarily driven by self-interest, above all by the unprecedented staff shortage in summer 2022. In addition to the well-known demographic trend, the economy is currently experiencing a massive post-pandemic reopening - and with it the massive search for staff that was cut during coronavirus. However, the labor markets are virtually empty and not enough applicants can be recruited from abroad either. As a result, companies are suddenly looking at older people in Germany as potential employees. According to the NZZ, there is a lack of suitable applicants, especially for management positions here.

The young old still have big plans

"Finally!", many a senior citizen will think. Because in view of increasing life expectancy and the high standard of living in Switzerland, young old people are fitter, more mobile, more active and more digital than ever before. We often hear that 60 is the new 40. Because they are a long way from a peaceful old age, a rollator and a nursing home. "I get bored just sitting at home," says Remo U., 65, an accountant from Zurich who has been retired for six months. And he is not alone in this. 60 to 75-year-olds in particular want to continue to have a job, pass on their experience and do something good for themselves. Because - and this has been scientifically proven - those who continue their education as they get older, who are curious and mentally fit, stay healthier and can therefore contribute more to the job market.

Even if our society still lives in a veritable youth mania, age is by no means a disadvantage for professional success. In fact, the opposite is true, according to numerous studies (for example in the HBR). After all, knowledge and experience, the main drivers of job performance, increase with age, even up to over 80. No wonder the whole world looks with respect at Warren Buffet, the now 92-year-old star investor from the USA, or that only two of the 46 US presidents were under 50 at the end of their term of office. Konrad Adenauer, Germany's first Chancellor and a defining figure of an entire era, was 87 when he stepped down.

There is also no age limit when it comes to learning new things. The NZZ recently reported that 70-year-olds are more open than 20-year-olds, based on a study by the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute (here). And who would have thought it, the older the start-up founders are, the more successful they are.

Companies need to adapt

So what is stopping companies in Switzerland from working more with older people? There are definitely enough motivated applicants; the online job platform seniors@work alone has over 10,000 candidates in its database. However, companies' structures are often not yet designed to employ people who are looking for something other than a traditional full-time position. But this is exactly what retirees are pushing for - part-time in any form, ideally in hybrid working models with home office and free time management. But they are not alone in this. Generation Z and the millennials also prefer this new way of working - keyword "New Work". So the change is probably only a matter of time.

Pensioners are also customers

However, senior citizens are becoming increasingly relevant to the economy not only as employees, but also as a group of buyers. This is because with increasing life expectancy, (still) good pensions and future additional wages at retirement age, the affluent clientele of the over-60s is becoming ever larger.

Targeted offers for older people can still be significantly expanded, especially as "senior citizens" are a very large segment, spanning around 30 years. Their interests and needs are correspondingly diverse. And products and services alone are not enough. Rather, older customers could also be looked after by people of a similar age - whether in sales, consulting or telephone support.

In the end, we have come full circle: neither on the employee side nor on the buyer side will we be able to avoid the old in the future!