Workforce Shortages from an Aging Population

Underneath the every day work life are the macro-trends that have a profound impact on business and our future. One of those trends is the Caregiver Crisis. Earlier this year, Serah Louis, writing for Moneywise, reported that 1 in 3 caregivers left their jobs to provide care. With that departure from the workforce, nearly $150 billion in lost wages could accrue by the year 2050. The crisis is not likely to get better. Americans are living longer with advances in medicine. The overall population is aging and the younger generations are having fewer children. This means that fewer people will carry more responsibility. Labor shortages mean that it is harder and more costly to get help. Sometimes the only option for care is for a child to come and care for an aging parent. My mother moved in with us about 8 years ago. Over the past 3 years, she's needed increasing help. We were fortunate that my wife was already staying at home, but providing care has created stresses that we never imagined. Perhaps most practical: home life is now work life. So there's always a sense of "being at work." But the freedom to leave, travel or an evening out requires coordination that we didn't foresee. A March 2022 article by Kathyrn Tyler on Supporting Employee Caregivers noted that 40% of caregivers say that their supervisors are not aware of their additional responsibilities. Further, many employees fear speaking about their additional responsibilities because they might be viewed as less committed to their jobs. Tyler also notes that Deloitte has dramatically expanded its support for caregivers. They provide up to 4 months off for caregivers. On the other hand, Tyler also points out that caregivers are in the roles on average for 4.5 years. The caregiver crisis is a real one. Whether in the private sector or non-profit organizations, the need to recognize the value of caregiving but remaining flexible in serving those employees will be key. How are you addressing these needs in your organizations today?

Workers over 55 make up more than 20% of today’s global workforce. By 2031, 150 million MORE people over 55 will be working. But only 4% of global companies have #multigenerational workforce programs that integrate older workers.  Kudos to the #Bain report, “Better with Age: The Rising Importance of Older Workers,” for calling out this gap. The report’s authors don’t mince words, noting that “Too few firms recognize the changing needs and priorities of older workers or invest in integrating older workers into their talent system.”  They urge executives to face up to the demographic and social realities of the 21st century; longevity trends in tandem with longer work lives, coupled with lower birthrates have already shifted the global workforce younger to older workers in the Group of Seven countries. These trends mean that investing in older workers is a business imperative to maintain future growth and productivity.   Better With Age recommends three steps for companies that commit to supporting and empowering their older workers as a growing component of a #multigenerationalworkforce: • Reflect an understanding of what motivates older workers in retention and recruitment policies • Commit to including older workers in reskilling programs for future capability needs • Recognize and respect the strengths of older workers and allow them to do what they do best Refreshingly, the Bain report also discusses the challenges involved in changing organizational culture and integrating the contributions of older workers in ways that reflect their motivations at work and the realities of life after 55.   What will it take to convince the majority of global organizations that are NOT currently investing in programs to integrate older workers? One data point that might penetrate if we repeat it often enough: that additional 150 million people over 55 who will be working by 2031 is just 10 million fewer workers than the TOTAL US workforce today. Companies that don’t invest in the expanding pool of talent and productivity represented by workers over 55 may be out of business sooner than they expect. With thanks to the authors of Better with Age, #JamesRoot #AndrewSchwedel #MikeHaslett and #NicoleBitler And to Mike Mansfield Tim Driver Janine Vanderburg Lucy Standing CPsychol, AFBPS, CPBP, MSc, BSc Ingun Bol 🌍 Doug Dickson Lawrence Kosick Dr. Joe Coughlin Danielle Duplin and so many others who advocate for  #activeaging and #agefriendlyempoyers

You can't sweep the elephant in the room under the rug. The U.S. is now experiencing the Great Retirement, with more than two million retirees leaving the workforce for good. This comes after the Great Resignation, in which many workers quit their jobs in search of better opportunities. More than half of pre-retirees and retired Americans are considering delaying or coming out of retirement, which raises the question of what is actually happening. Well, unfortunately, much of the Great Retirement may not be as voluntary as you think. And it highlights problems that haven't gone away. We're in the midst of a global worker shortage. By 2030, we could have more than 85 million unfilled jobs, which equates to $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenues. When it comes to the current workforce, our economy is not only being bolstered by Baby Boomers who have put off retirement, but also by retirees who have rejoined the workforce are looking for work in retirement. Essentially, older workers are what is and will keep us afloat as declining birth rates chip away at our future workforce. The notion that more retired workers are staying on the sidelines portends a global economy that's likely in trouble. So what's creating this situation? That's where things get dicey. Skills atrophy is often cited as a reason where older workers are less tech savvy than younger workers. Yet, you can also fault companies for using discriminatory language in job descriptions that intentionally filter out older workers. The bigger and continuing problem, however, is ageism. We can talk about the progress we've made as a society and culture, yet age discrimination is prevalent in the workplace. All of these factors are essentially preventing and blocking retired workers from rejoining the workforce. Sadly, that says more the state of our culture than it does about our economy, though the consequences will be felt by everyone https://lnkd.in/g8gtnt65 #workers #retirement #ageism #discrimination #agediscrimination #culture

Our latest findings reveal that the swift turnover in skilled-trades labor may saddle companies with a $5.3 billion burden annually for talent recruitment and training, with further productivity dips as new talent is brought up to speed. In this labor-scarce, costly landscape, the report shows that productivity is the answer to prosperity in the short-term; whereas organizational transformations in talent and operations, strategic investments in capital and technology, and adept management of economic hurdles to boost productivity will be required for long-term success. Key takeaways: - The aging population and lack of young tradespeople are driving the skilled-labor decline. - Renewable energy targets demand 1.1M construction workers and 1.7M for maintenance by 2030, urging rapid upskilling to keep the pace of the energy transition. - As labor becomes scarcer and more competitive, companies face challenges in finding and retaining skilled workers, as construction and manufacturing wages soared by 23.5% and 20.1% post-COVID. - Addressing workforce challenges will likely demand collaboration across private, public, and social sectors. Though the challenge is both complex and still evolving, the report highlights the incredible opportunity it poses for individual companies, cross-sector collaboration, and US economic productivity growth on the whole. Thanks to Ezra Greenberg, Erik Schaefer, Brooke Weddle, and the McKinsey & Company team for your insights. https://mck.co/3JlF8zp #Talent #Workforce #SkilledTrades

A worker shortage is now, shared by Professor Bill Stankiewicz. While concerns of automation displacing workers persist, many countries are already having trouble filling manufacturing jobs—and between declining and aging populations, the situation is likely to get worse. For example, the population of the European Union is projected to peak at 453.3 million in 2026, before gradually declining 7.5 percent to 419.5 million by 2100.2 A more immediate concern for manufacturers, however, is the rising number of retirees. In the United States, the retirement of baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) represents about 3.5 million people missing from the labor force compared to pre-2020 trends.3 The U.S. manufacturing sector, in particular, is experiencing a substantial labor shortage, exacerbated by a lack of manufacturing education and training.4 The shortage of skilled workers is projected to lead to as many as 2.1 million unfilled manufacturing jobs through 2030, potentially costing the U.S. economy up to $1 trillion. This makes the efficiencies of Industry 4.0 automation more impactful than ever. Automation can potentially fill in the gaps. If predictive maintenance teams are spread thin, which is the best use of their time? Searching for problems or fixing them?  AI, robotics and automation will help. "The United States has one of the most automated car industries in the world: The ratio of robots to factory workers ranks fifth, tied with Japan and Germany and ahead of China," says Takayuki Ito, President of the International Federation of Robotics. "This is a great achievement of modernization. However, in other key areas of manufacturing automation, the US lags behind its competitors.” The majority of industrial robots are imports from overseas, as there are few robot manufacturers producing in the United States. Globally, 70% of installations are produced by four countries: Japan, China, Germany and South Korea. Within this group, Chinese manufacturers are the most dynamic, with production for their huge domestic market more than tripling in five years (2019-2023). This puts them in second place after Japan. China´s success is based on their national robotics strategy. Its manufacturing industry installed a total of about 280,000 units per year between 2021 and 2023, compared to a total of 34,300 installations in the United States in 2024. Best Regards, Professor Bill Stankiewicz , OSHA Trainer, Heavy Lift & Crane Instructor Savannah Technical College Subject Matter Expert International Logistics Member of Câmara Internacional de Logística e Transportes CIT-at The International Transportation Industry Chamber